Yes, I wish Russia would do more too to push back. But they are playing safe for now. Maybe next guy won't
The fact is that Russias hand gets better with time, they have a lot of problems but are dealing with them... the last thing they want now or ever is open war with the US, and those that claim that is already happening, it is not.
Russian governance system lacks modern, free, fair and just values to inspire others. It also lacks the promise of prosperity...
For a foreign country the Russian system is ideal because it does not interfere with them. The Russians don't seek to impose their rules and morality on others... they just want to trade... you can buy their stuff or you can choose not to. They wont punish you or withhold business because you trade with someone else like the US does.
The Russians seem to be much more free and much more fair than the west.
And a promise of prosperity is worthless... how do those people in the US who live in trailer parks because the bank owns their house, who work three jobs to pay the bills including the mortgage on the house they no longer own feel about the promise that anyone can make it rich... their only chance of getting rich is dealing drugs and the CIA doesn't like competition so you will either end up dead or in jail for that...
It is not the position of any countries government to make promises of a good life... not until there are sure fire cures for things that can kill you like cancer, or things that make you wish you were dead like AIDS... they can keep you alive... if you can afford the medication you will be on for the rest of your life... which will keep you poor.
With regards to Ukraine along list of due change should take place both inside Russia and inside Ukraine if Russian soft power is to win back the hearts and minds.
Alternatively, quadrupling existing stocks of smart weapons and doubling modern land and naval forces weapons could win it decisively back minus the hearts and minds for a while.
The territory comes with the people and vice versa, and both have enormous baggage that makes them not so appealing.
Best case for Russia is that they finally have a free and fair election that elects someone all Ukrainians can get behind and everyone puts the guns down and moves on and tries to salvage the mess that is what the country is today.
US first then the EU models are based on freedom, equality and the promise of prosperity.
Bullshit.
Both places big is power and power rules. All the major media in the US is controlled by 6 people... 6 very white very rich people who are men. How do you think that effects the freedom and equality of the country.
I am glad you call it the promise of prosperity... because that is all it is for most of the people.
The UK wants to exit the EU because the EU has a small group of elected people who tell everyone in the EU what they should do.... that is the opposite of freedom, and very little to do with equality.
That being said it does not mean the ordinary Ukrainians will get much beyond a feeling of belonging to such a promise-.
What are the ordinary Ukrainians getting right now... apart from being shelled by their own government... they are not in NATO or the EU and their own government has blocked them off from their closest largest neighbour that was their biggest customer in all areas of their economy... so what sort of freedom and equality and prosperity are they enjoying right now?
The freedom to eat grass or move away from the country you grew up in to avoid starving and poverty?
Communism promised equality, liberty and prosperity for the poor masses.
They did no worse than the west... there were no poor in the sense of no job and no home and no food like there is today in the west...
At the moment Russia lacks an ideology that inspires and a model to copy.
Isn't that the best ideology though, what is wrong with you that you need your government to make you want to progress and succeed?
Would you believe your government if they say you could be rich too?
US literally defines modern pop-culture, it is the trend-setter in every area of it.
It is at the core of a consumerist culture of use and then throw away that is leading to mountains of waste plastic that China has stopped accepting and will likely end up dumped somewhere on the sly.
When 350 million americans were doing it they were creating more waste than the rest of the world put together, so what happens when 1.5 billion Chinese and 1.3 billion Indians start doing the same thing...
America... doing more to fuck the world than the last 5 big asteroids to hit us... including the one that wiped out the dinosaurs.
Ironically they could be part of the solution... but they wont... it isn't good for business.