HOW THE WAR IN UKRAINE WAS PROVOKED

The war in Ukraine was provoked; nobody simply wakes up one morning and decides to invade another country. Russia has, at times, floated the idea of joining NATO, but this proposal was rejected by the alliance. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the question naturally arises: why does NATO still exist? After Russia’s proposal to join NATO was rejected, Russia asked that Eastern European countries not be allowed to join the alliance, yet NATO continued to expand right up to Russia’s borders.

Following the Orange Revolution and mass protests in Ukraine in 2004, Putin became increasingly suspicious of the West, which he blamed for funding pro-democracy NGOs. He was further angered by NATO’s ongoing expansion into Central and Eastern Europe: Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania joined in 2004; Croatia and Albania followed in 2009. Georgia and Ukraine were promised future membership in 2008, though they have remained outside.

When Obama became president, Putin again floated the idea of joining NATO, which was once more rejected. He then made it clear that Ukraine should not join NATO, warning that this would create a major problem. Later, when Joe Biden became president and began pushing for Ukraine’s accession into NATO, Russia considered this a crossing of a well-defined red line. As a result, Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022—not simply to expand its territory, but, in its view, to protect its interests, security, and sovereignty. In the end, the Russo-Ukrainian War is not a matter of mere territorial expansion or an action taken out of boredom.

Russia should have relied on diplomacy rather than using military force in another sovereign country. In the 1990s and 2000s, Russia could have been a friend of the West and Europe, but instead we made them an enemy for ourselves, and because of that, we are now their enemy as well. We should not be surprised. I am not justifying Russia’s actions—what they are doing is wrong. I am instead drawing attention to the constant lies we are told by politicians and media outlets: that Russia simply wants to expand its land area and nothing more. We are taught in schools and educational institutions about propaganda and how harmful it is, and that we should think for ourselves. Yet the reality is that they are quietly conditioning us—and future generations—not to see through their propaganda, teaching us only to recognize the propaganda of our so-called enemies. People, think for yourselves and don’t believe everything that they constantly tell you!

We are just as bad as those in the East—Russia, China, Iran, etc.—and we might even be worse. The whole world needs God and His grace to see through these lies.

I strongly encourage you to watch this video of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou, who explains this in a similar way: https://youtu.be/6uVdwKm5o4A?si=EEdMK2kVUVDZVIHc