Ukraine war provoked by the West: a common Western misconception
Hedges, and many others' are wrong about Russia's true motives in Ukraine
In his recent article, Chris Hedges expressed his view that Russia had started the war in Ukraine after being provoked by what he sees as an expansion of the West into the realm Russia views as its own and due to the perceived threat of Western aggression. He does a decent job of describing historical episodes of deception accompanying many wars the US had been involved in. To his credit, he does unequivocally refer to the Ukraine war as a crime on the part of Russia. But I think he fails to recognize the true roots of that aggression.
For one thing, many major figures, including Russia's President Putin himself have expressed a view that Ukrainians are but a wayward factions of Russians, Ukraine is not a nation and thus making Ukraine part of Russia is or Russia akin to reclaiming its lawful property. This imperial view appears to be honestly held by many in the ruling elite in Russia, and, given the merger of the oligarchy and the ruling class, the state itself, in today's Russia this is indistinguishable from said state's official policy.
Also, how sincere are these same people when they express concern about Western aggression when their combat vehicles include components manufactured in France, Germany and other Western and NATO nations? How sincere are those who, while screaming from rooftops about their perceived concerns about Western aggression, hold billions of dollars worth of deposits in Western banks and own billions of dollars worth of elite real estate and yachts in the West? The list can be continued but you got the point, I am sure - judging by their actions, not words, these people are not particularly concerned about NATO's plans to take over Russia. At least if they were, they wouldn't literally burn the better part of their military might in Ukraine.
Hedges may have fallen into a common trap. Yes, elites in the West lie aplenty. But so do their counterparts in the East. And the existence of one group of imperialists - such as the Western globalist movement, for example - does not mean they are the only game in town when it comes to imperial ambitions. The current ruling power in Russia, albeit it seems to be on its way down, it an aggressive imperial power, and one can only disregard that fact at one's own peril.
References
They Lied About Afghanistan. They Lied About Iraq. And They Are Lying About Ukraine.
Chris Hedges, THE CHRIS HEDGES REPORT, 2 July 2023
Vladimir Putin's twisted perception of Ukraine
@borepstein , 23 May 2023
Phantom victory of the "Russian world" - memory holed, but not forgotten
@borepstein , 8 January 2023
Prominent Putin propagandist rages on live TV about losing his Italian villa - which is next to George Clooney's - because of sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine
Alex Hammer, DailyMail.com, 27 February 2022
Russia uses western components for its combat vehicles
Dylan Malyasov, Defense Blog, 20 May 2022
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