Ukraine was explicitly rejected last time they tried to join NATO. Although they will get in now, and so will Finland and Sweden, so it was obviously counterproductive!
But Russia doesn't even care about that. They're just ideologically opposed to Ukraine existing and want its industrial resources back. They don't even say it themselves, you just make excuses for them.
As it stands, Mexico doesn't even bother with significant defense spending because they know that the US isn't all that interested in invading and no one else is going to try to invade a country which shares a land border with the US.
On the other hand, the various Russian neighbors who have joined or have expressed interest in joining NATO have done the same calculus and determined that Russia is cannot be relied on to not threaten their borders.
2. I didn't mention batteries. Cobalt is used in many components in EVs
3. Clearly my example was illustrative, generally, of the exploitation of children for mineral resources the country didn't use. The children in Congo is child exploitation writ large.
The kids in Congo are mining something for some application and for someone and that someone is us.
> Russia vs Ukraine
I think you misread my comment. I did not pass judgement at all on the war (on this comment at least). I was just pointing out that whether you take Kiev's numbers as true (450 000 dead Russians + 50 000 dead Ukrainians) or Moscow's (450 000 dead Ukrainians + 50 000 dead Russians) the number of dead is curiously the same.
Half a million dead souls in Donbas, no matter their nationality is a tragedy being comprehension.
No we're not, eg Tesla batteries don't contain cobalt anymore.
> be they 90% Ukrainian or Russian is irrelevant
This is pro-Russian "anti-imperialism" propaganda, it's Russia's fault that Russia decided to do that and not anyone else's.