Adam's Guide to Russian aggression

Bro fuck Russia - they want sympathy for their economic challenges then they are going about it all wrong

If Ukraine just "wanted it to end" and was willing to give up their country to Russia to do so, then they would have just done that. It seems abundantly clear that that's not what they want to do. Which goes back to the core question- Does Ukraine get to have a say in it's own fate or just have it decided by outside powers? If we want to help Ukraine to decide it's own fate, we have to support them in their decisions.

Don’t you just… want it to end?

Yes, but we're largely helpless. Personally, I'm sitting about 9 megameters away as the crow flies. My president has made threats that have had basically no deterrent effect. I have even less power. So... we yammer.

I want it to end.

It is totally within Russia's ability to end the conflict: withdraw from Ukraine.

Russia chose this conflict because of the precedent of countries rolling over when faced with Russia's army. That's not sustainable.

People are dying, families are being separated, homes are being lost, a massive economic crisis is underway in Russia. I don’t get how people here are talking about it so coldly, like it’s just a matter of politics and good/bad guys, business as usual.

Yes, and I guess most people had the most of their emotions and empathy expressed in the first weeks when they encountered the topic. These are rather stressful feelings, so it's hard to keep it up all the time when a war drags on for over a year. I still see it expressed quite often. But my point is, people probably either turn away from the topic or find a way to deal with it without being overwhelmed by emotions.

On the other hand, not expressing emotions when talking about specific aspects of the war does not mean they are not present. Personally, I'd find it would hinder factual discussions about political or technical subtopics if everyone would include an empathy disclaimer in their comment. The moments keep coming when this war hits me hard in random situations, mostly when thinking about how life changed for families in the region. But personally I don't need to talk about it online, and I don't see how it would help others, especially those of concern.

I am interested in politics, technology, strategy and many other things involved in this situation, so I'm happy to read and talk about it. I can understand this can seem cold although I don't see it as that.

In the end, I guess, any attention a conflict receives is good, even when strictly viewed from the empathy camp. There are many other conflicts no one cares and talks about, which means the people suffering can have no hope for outside help.

Russia must not be allowed to benefit from this aggression in any way whatsoever, because that would incentivise future aggression. Lives are lost today in the fight to beat Russia back to where they belong, and that's the price of saving many many more lives in future wars Russia would wage in Putin's quest to restore the glory of the Soviet Union if waging wars would benefit them.

Russia is a threat to all its neighbours and that continues until either a permanent change in Russian foreign policy, or until they no longer have any neighbours.