Like most libertarians, I'm a non-interventionist, and I've had a nuanced perspective on the Russia/Ukraine conflict. I have opposed conceptually the concept of NATO as the type of foreign entitlements George Washington warned us about.I've written about the related concerns of a favorite Old Right senator, Robert Taft who had opposed the creation of post-WWII NATO, including its provocative nature bordering on the USSR. I also thought that whatever the intent of NATO, the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the USSR had made NATO an anachronism. In fact, NATO responded with aggressive expansion into former Warsaw Pact states, which exacerbated Russia's concerns over NATO border states--including possibly Ukraine. (This is why I've repeatedly objected to Ukraine joining NATO.) I've also argued there is a moral hazard issue, with the US underwriting much of NATO's overall defense costs, not to mention European countries should be taking the lead in achieving regional stability.
Now I'm not going to go into a detailed history here of the dispute between Ukraine and Russia. But one of the most important key facts is that roughly a fifth of the Ukraine population identifies as ethnic Russian. To anyone cognizant of the current conflict, it should be a surprise that a majority of Crimea is Russian ethnic; so are a number of urban areas in the south/east of Ukraine. The matter of Crimea is especially sensitive; it was acquired from the Ottoman Empire to Russia in the late 18th century. It got transferred from Russia to Ukraine in 1954 under Soviet rule. (Russia seized and annexed the territory in 2014 in a time frame there was a revolt against the pro-Russian Ukraine government leading to the current government.) Russia has been acutely sensitive to what it regards as discrimination and repression of its past emigrants and their descendants.
The Azov battalion, an initially far-right resistance group, gained a reputation in 2014 and later for ferocious fighting against the Russians. (Both Azov and Russia have been accused of human rights atrocities.) They also have a reputation for well-produced video clips on social media. Many Ukrainians thought in many ways the battalion was more effective than the professional Ukraine military and drew financial support from Ukraine oligarchs and others (including some Jewish backers) for that reason, not their ideology (which Putin and others have described in neo-Nazi terms) My understand is the military arm got upgraded to a regiment and incorporated into the National Guard but not the military per se.
All of the above provides a context underlying the current conflict. We can only speculate on Putin's motives for his February unprovoked invasion. Some speculate that Putin openly regrets the dissolution of the USSR and cites a common history:
The two countries’ shared heritage goes back more than a thousand years to a time when Kyiv, now Ukraine’s capital, was at the center of the first Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, the birthplace of both Ukraine and Russia. In A.D. 988 Vladimir I, the pagan prince of Novgorod and grand prince of Kyiv, accepted the Orthodox Christian faith and was baptized in the Crimean city of Chersonesus. From that moment on, Russian leader Vladimir Putin recently declared, “Russians and Ukrainians are one people, a single whole.”
There have been separatist pro-Russian movements in eastern Ukraine, and some argue that the 2014-plus conflict was never really resolved. No doubt Ukraine's ambitions to join the EU and NATO was fundamentally unacceptable to Putin.
I still see Putin's invasion as morally unacceptable and a violation of the non-aggression principle. I had nuanced stances on American policy: any military assistance to Ukraine had to be primarily defensive in nature; I did not want to see bombing of Russian cities or counter-invasions. I didn't want Ukraine admitted to NATO, I didn't want the US to provide all assistance or to provide Ukraine a blank check. I didn't want Zelensky to put preconditions on peace talks.
The current post was triggered by the weekend truck bombing of the Kerch Bridge linking Russia to Crime and a key Russian supply link to its war efforts in south/east Ukraine. Three people were killed, including 2 in a nearby passenger car. Putin called it a "terrorist" attack and blamed the Ukraine government. (Russian intelligence has since arrested 8 suspects, including 5 Russians.)
Now at this point I have to confess (and I've written a few tweets to the effect) I have had my fill of Ron Paul and his innumerable conspiracy theories, constant assertions of blowback and the like.And don't ask me why, hut he has frequently been in RT (Russia Today) clips and posts. I must have come across at least a handful of libertarian tweets (I think one of the most outrageous ones came from the LP of New Hampshire, which MAY have since been deleted after I blasted it, not that I'm taking credit for it.) But a common theme was American tax dollars are funding terrorist activities. Another was a poll I think that tried to paint the conflict as between the devil and the deep blue sea, like do you choose WWIII (Russia opening the door to the use of tactical nukes) or killing women and children? And I'm like, "Dude, Russia is doing both of these things." But the common themes of the US funding Ukraine Nazis or terrorism is striking a raw nerve. This is basically people repeating Russian propaganda. We already know of Russian reprisal attacks in Kyiv and elsewhere, including a children's playground and several civilian fatalities..
Now I realize it's not just some libertarians accusing the US of funding Nazis or terrorists; I even saw AOC getting attacked at one of her town halls over her funding vote.
I don't know about about the specifics of the attack, but let me point out that (and I think I recently tweeted out a source) the Ukraine military had pointed out said bridge was a primary military target some time back--and Ukraine didn't take credit for the attack. I 5hink the explosion was intended to take out the bridge--not passenger cars.
But more egregious, what do these hypocritical malcontents have to say of literally thousands of civilian casualties, including several hundred children killed in Russia's unprovoked war in Ukraine?
