Yes, Putin’s a tyrant, but one must understand the roots of his dangerous rage.
It is often forgotten that the cause of the current conflict arose from a 1990 U.S. promise that NATO would never be expanded into the former communist states of Eastern Europe. Not “one inch to the East,” Russian leaders were promised by the U.S. Secretary of State at the time, James Baker. Despite this promise, NATO soon expanded into Eastern Europe, eventually placing the alliance up against Russia’s borders. The present-day U.S.-Russian conflict is the direct result of this expansion.
Putin is long-suffering. He’s a total classic Russian patriot. He’s not willing to forgive and forget.
Keep in mind, unforgiveness can lead to revenge. Revenge can lead to murder, just like in the Bible’s very first family with Cain and Abel. Putin is showing his true heart.
Andrei Tsygankov, a professor of international relations at San Francisco State University, whose books include Russia and America: The Asymmetric Rivalry. “Russia views its actions as a purely defensive response to increasingly offensive military preparations by NATO and Ukraine (according to Russia’s foreign ministry, half of Ukraine’s army, or about 125,000 troops, are stationed near the border),” he wrote days ago. “Instead of pressuring Ukraine to de-escalate and comply with the Minsk Protocol, however, Western nations continue to provide the Ukrainian army with lethal weapons and other supplies.”
He went on to say, “Whatever plans Russia may have with respect to Ukraine and NATO, conflict resolution greatly depends on the West. A major war is avoidable if Western leaders gather confidence and the will to abandon the counter-productive language of threats and engage Russia in reasoned dialogue. If diplomacy is given a fair chance, the European continent may arrive at a new security system that will reflect, among others, Russia’s interests and participation.”
Yes, Putin is a dangerous man, and Zelensky may be a puppet, but we’re not being told the full story.
Putin seeks revenge for what he sees as being double-crossed and wants to re-establish the Motherland of Russia. The unpredictable Donald Trump is gone, Biden is in the White House and Ze;ensky is running Ukraine. Now is his time.
It’s also especially troubling when the left-wing media complex and the democratic party are all marching in lockstep. We’re not getting the full picture in the States.
I’m praying for discernment in these very interesting times. More on this in Episode 121 of The Brian Sussman Show Podcast – listen here.