That is because the point of my post was that you have repeatedly misrepresented the bases of the US and its allies vis a vis Russia. You have used the term "surrounded" and the term "encircled". Neither is factually correct. Most of us adults know that a deliberately incorrect statement is a lie, and that makes you a liar.
And maybe the reason that so many countries to the west and southwest of Russia would rather have US bases and security promises than play nice with Russia is that Russia has proved itself to be an avaricious, murderous, thieving, aggressive neighbor. And that means Russia has sown the seeds of this conflict.
Carmine is an internet punching bag. As someone else noted, he’s reverse trolled now. Americans goad/troll him up to get him to say more idiotic conspiratorial stuff, so we can insult and humiliate him and his America-hating fringe movement.
Russia doesn’t have any military bases around the world, because they have no allies other than a few scattered failed states (Cuba, Venezuela, Syria), and because Russia is too weak to project such forward power. They can’t even move a platoon across a river 30 miles from their own border. They are absolutely incapable of maintaining military power anywhere, much less at a distance.
American military bases and troops are stationed around the world at the invitation and with the permission of the host countries. America has strong relationships with democracies around the globe. Russia does not, never has and never will now. Russia is an outcast for the duration of its probably short existence (5-10 years). Everyone, even other authoritarian countries like China, will be glad when this diseased, unhinged country falls apart and is occupied and de-Russiafied.
That is a 100% false statement. U.S. is like a mafia boss in the manner in which U.S. approaches nations. U.S. asks nations for a favor and the favor is to allow U.S. to build one to three military base(s) on a country's soil.
Jeezus Christ this is so incoherent and upside down I don't even know where to start. Since 1900? Do you think Hawaii wanted to be taken over by the US??? Do you think a country has to intervene militarily for it to be a wrong? US destruction of a myriad of countries and killing millions is ok as long as they didn't take actual territory?? Um, as if no one knows parts of Ukraine were Russian?? If Russia takes eastern Ukraine it's taking it's territory back. Rightly so after the scumbag US left Ukrainian leadership broke the Minsk agreement and bombed, killed thousands of Russians in Donbas for 8 friggin years. Yeah, I think Russia has a right. Which Soviet block nations want to associate with the West? Belarus? Serbia? Kazakhstan? Uzbekistan? Ah, you mean the corrupted countries like Ukraine which the US led coup overthrew a legitimate govt and install their own puppet?? And you are wondering why that leadership is so close to the US? Do their every bidding? Gtfo
there is so much wrong with your post that I don’t even have time to respond to all your counterfactual BS.
Carmine is an internet punching bag. As someone else noted, he’s reverse trolled now. Americans goad/troll him up to get him to say more idiotic conspiratorial stuff, so we can insult and humiliate him and his America-hating fringe movement.
Russia doesn’t have any military bases around the world, because they have no allies other than a few scattered failed states (Cuba, Venezuela, Syria), and because Russia is too weak to project such forward power. They can’t even move a platoon across a river 30 miles from their own border. They are absolutely incapable of maintaining military power anywhere, much less at a distance.
American military bases and troops are stationed around the world at the invitation and with the permission of the host countries. America has strong relationships with democracies around the globe. Russia does not, never has and never will now. Russia is an outcast for the duration of its probably short existence (5-10 years). Everyone, even other authoritarian countries like China, will be glad when this diseased, unhinged country falls apart and is occupied and de-Russiafied.
That is a 100% false statement. U.S. is like a mafia boss in the manner in which U.S. approaches nations. U.S. asks nations for a favor and the favor is to allow U.S. to build one to three military base(s) on a country's soil.
At the risk of indulging your college freshman ideas, which American military bases abroad have been developed as a result of Mafia-type behavior and how? You can find lists of American bases in foreign countries online, and then list which ones you think were Mafiaed.
Those dopey Russians. if they had just realized they could Mafia up foreign bases, they would have them all over the globe. Maybe Russia’s highly developed sense of morals prevented that?
“I know you're working for the See Eye Aye! They wouldn't have you in the Moff Eye Aye! Why can’t we be friends? Why can’t we be friends? Why can’t we be friends!?”
German, Japan/Okinawa, Guam. U.S. placed a government in Iraq then Iraq welcomed the largest reinforced embassy in the world. Iraq doesn't count. Did Cuba invite/offer U.S. a base? It never counts after U.S. puts in their favorite gals & guys in government. Don't be foolish poster.
All the major countries, including the United States, Russia and China have "tentacles" (i.e. commercial and political relationships) in other countries. You allege that the US has some European countries in "bondage" and countries elsewhere in "servitude", but those are just value judgments without facts offered to support them. Who is in bondage and who is trapped in servitude?
But unlike Russia, in modern history (1900 and thereafter) the United States has not intervened militarily in any country with the intent or result of gaining territory. Compare that to Russia in just the past few decades. The proof is in the attitude of many former Soviet bloc nations -- they would rather associate with Western Europe and rely on NATO's joint defense agreement that turn to Russia. What does that say about which side they think is more likely to steal their country?
Jeezus Christ this is so incoherent and upside down I don't even know where to start. Since 1900? Do you think Hawaii wanted to be taken over by the US??? Do you think a country has to intervene militarily for it to be a wrong? US destruction of a myriad of countries and killing millions is ok as long as they didn't take actual territory?? Um, as if no one knows parts of Ukraine were Russian?? If Russia takes eastern Ukraine it's taking it's territory back. Rightly so after the scumbag US left Ukrainian leadership broke the Minsk agreement and bombed, killed thousands of Russians in Donbas for 8 friggin years. Yeah, I think Russia has a right. Which Soviet block nations want to associate with the West? Belarus? Serbia? Kazakhstan? Uzbekistan? Ah, you mean the corrupted countries like Ukraine which the US led coup overthrew a legitimate govt and install their own puppet?? And you are wondering why that leadership is so close to the US? Do their every bidding? Gtfo
You may not like or agree with the analysis, but it isn't incoherent. It seems you feign outrage at the fact that I excluded military exercised before 1900 that were for the purpose of grabbing territory and resources so you can avoid dealing with the points I raised. By limiting the time span to 1900 and thereafter. I also excluded such actions by Russia. The world was indeed different then, and most countries that had the power to do so grabbed strategic territory. I don't justify such actions by the US or anyone else. But in the modern world, after two world wars, most countries have stopped stealing land. And then there is Russia ...
No, eastern Ukraine isn't Russian. Many people there speak Russian but that doesn't make it Russia just as Canada, New Zealand, Australia and many others speak English but aren't a member of the United Kingdom.
I didn't say that no Soviet bloc countries were willing to affiliate with Russia, so your response just dodged the question. The question is why so many of the other Soviet bloc countries want to be part of NATO rather than align with Russia? Why do they fear Russia and prefer to trust far away America? Could it be that they have seen Russia's actions up close over the past few decades and know exactly what Russia is?
And you still haven't backed up your statement about multiple European countries being in 'bondage' to the US and multiple third world countries in 'servitude' to the US.
German, Japan/Okinawa, Guam. U.S. placed a government in Iraq then Iraq welcomed the largest reinforced embassy in the world. Iraq doesn't count. Did Cuba invite/offer U.S. a base? It never counts after U.S. puts in their favorite gals & guys in government. Don't be foolish poster.
Any others? Once I get the full list of what you believe are Mafiaed-styled US bases abroad, we can discuss.
So far we have:
Ramstein
Kadena and others in Japan
Guam
US embassy in Iraq
Any others? Keep in mind you said I posted a “100% false statement” when I posted “American military bases and troops are stationed around the world at the invitation and with the permission of the host countries.”
All the major countries, including the United States, Russia and China have "tentacles" (i.e. commercial and political relationships) in other countries. You allege that the US has some European countries in "bondage" and countries elsewhere in "servitude", but those are just value judgments without facts offered to support them. Who is in bondage and who is trapped in servitude?
But unlike Russia, in modern history (1900 and thereafter) the United States has not intervened militarily in any country with the intent or result of gaining territory. Compare that to Russia in just the past few decades. The proof is in the attitude of many former Soviet bloc nations -- they would rather associate with Western Europe and rely on NATO's joint defense agreement that turn to Russia. What does that say about which side they think is more likely to steal their country?
Jeezus Christ this is so incoherent and upside down I don't even know where to start. Since 1900? Do you think Hawaii wanted to be taken over by the US??? Do you think a country has to intervene militarily for it to be a wrong? US destruction of a myriad of countries and killing millions is ok as long as they didn't take actual territory?? Um, as if no one knows parts of Ukraine were Russian?? If Russia takes eastern Ukraine it's taking it's territory back. Rightly so after the scumbag US left Ukrainian leadership broke the Minsk agreement and bombed, killed thousands of Russians in Donbas for 8 friggin years. Yeah, I think Russia has a right. Which Soviet block nations want to associate with the West? Belarus? Serbia? Kazakhstan? Uzbekistan? Ah, you mean the corrupted countries like Ukraine which the US led coup overthrew a legitimate govt and install their own puppet?? And you are wondering why that leadership is so close to the US? Do their every bidding? Gtfo
So by your logic it would be ok for Poland to take back the land they lost to Russia after WWII. Or maybe Germany should take back land that they lost to Poland and Russia after WWII. Maybe Austria should try to resurrect the empire they lost at the end of WWI.
Is that what you want? Nations fighting in perpetuity over ancient lost land? You can see why this is a bad idea, right?
Jeezus Christ this is so incoherent and upside down I don't even know where to start. Since 1900? Do you think Hawaii wanted to be taken over by the US??? Do you think a country has to intervene militarily for it to be a wrong? US destruction of a myriad of countries and killing millions is ok as long as they didn't take actual territory?? Um, as if no one knows parts of Ukraine were Russian?? If Russia takes eastern Ukraine it's taking it's territory back. Rightly so after the scumbag US left Ukrainian leadership broke the Minsk agreement and bombed, killed thousands of Russians in Donbas for 8 friggin years. Yeah, I think Russia has a right. Which Soviet block nations want to associate with the West? Belarus? Serbia? Kazakhstan? Uzbekistan? Ah, you mean the corrupted countries like Ukraine which the US led coup overthrew a legitimate govt and install their own puppet?? And you are wondering why that leadership is so close to the US? Do their every bidding? Gtfo
So by your logic it would be ok for Poland to take back the land they lost to Russia after WWII. Or maybe Germany should take back land that they lost to Poland and Russia after WWII. Maybe Austria should try to resurrect the empire they lost at the end of WWI.
Is that what you want? Nations fighting in perpetuity over ancient lost land? You can see why this is a bad idea, right?
Are there Polish separatists in Russia being genocided over the last 8 years in Russia...in former Polish land? Wtf. Think before you write
Jeezus Christ this is so incoherent and upside down I don't even know where to start. Since 1900? Do you think Hawaii wanted to be taken over by the US??? Do you think a country has to intervene militarily for it to be a wrong? US destruction of a myriad of countries and killing millions is ok as long as they didn't take actual territory?? Um, as if no one knows parts of Ukraine were Russian?? If Russia takes eastern Ukraine it's taking it's territory back. Rightly so after the scumbag US left Ukrainian leadership broke the Minsk agreement and bombed, killed thousands of Russians in Donbas for 8 friggin years. Yeah, I think Russia has a right. Which Soviet block nations want to associate with the West? Belarus? Serbia? Kazakhstan? Uzbekistan? Ah, you mean the corrupted countries like Ukraine which the US led coup overthrew a legitimate govt and install their own puppet?? And you are wondering why that leadership is so close to the US? Do their every bidding? Gtfo
there is so much wrong with your post that I don’t even have time to respond to all your counterfactual BS.
Russia stole a lot of Finnish land recently. When Finland joins NATO, it’s probably time to de-Nazify and de-Russisafy those Finnish areas. And now that we know the Russian military is full of chickensh!t retards, it’s probably not a huge effort for NATO. You fire a few shots at Russians and the ones not dumb enough to stand in the way, all seem to go running away.
Jeezus Christ this is so incoherent and upside down I don't even know where to start. Since 1900? Do you think Hawaii wanted to be taken over by the US??? Do you think a country has to intervene militarily for it to be a wrong? US destruction of a myriad of countries and killing millions is ok as long as they didn't take actual territory?? Um, as if no one knows parts of Ukraine were Russian?? If Russia takes eastern Ukraine it's taking it's territory back. Rightly so after the scumbag US left Ukrainian leadership broke the Minsk agreement and bombed, killed thousands of Russians in Donbas for 8 friggin years. Yeah, I think Russia has a right. Which Soviet block nations want to associate with the West? Belarus? Serbia? Kazakhstan? Uzbekistan? Ah, you mean the corrupted countries like Ukraine which the US led coup overthrew a legitimate govt and install their own puppet?? And you are wondering why that leadership is so close to the US? Do their every bidding? Gtfo
You may not like or agree with the analysis, but it isn't incoherent. It seems you feign outrage at the fact that I excluded military exercised before 1900 that were for the purpose of grabbing territory and resources so you can avoid dealing with the points I raised. By limiting the time span to 1900 and thereafter. I also excluded such actions by Russia. The world was indeed different then, and most countries that had the power to do so grabbed strategic territory. I don't justify such actions by the US or anyone else. But in the modern world, after two world wars, most countries have stopped stealing land. And then there is Russia ...
No, eastern Ukraine isn't Russian. Many people there speak Russian but that doesn't make it Russia just as Canada, New Zealand, Australia and many others speak English but aren't a member of the United Kingdom.
I didn't say that no Soviet bloc countries were willing to affiliate with Russia, so your response just dodged the question. The question is why so many of the other Soviet bloc countries want to be part of NATO rather than align with Russia? Why do they fear Russia and prefer to trust far away America? Could it be that they have seen Russia's actions up close over the past few decades and know exactly what Russia is?
And you still haven't backed up your statement about multiple European countries being in 'bondage' to the US and multiple third world countries in 'servitude' to the US.
You're telling me I avoided dealing with some points you raised while at the same time you avoid explaining Hawaii which completely discredits your point that the US has not aggressively taken over a nation since the 1900s. Precious.
I don't know if you realize but new Zealand, Australia, Canada are not Russia and not the Russian part of Ukraine. These are completely different structures. Russians and Ukrainians that prefer to have close ties to Russia in Eastern Ukraine are extremely closely intertwined with Russia. They want to be as close a part to Russia as possible. They are ethnically identical and want to keep the Russian identity. New Zealanders and Canadians, who have very little ethnic English couldn't care less of the UK. Complete opposite of the residents of Eastern Ukraine.
This is just silly. Guess you insist on purposely being obtuse. Why do some post USSR countries want to become part of NATO? They don't want to become part of NATO, they are coaxed into becoming part of NATO. Are you in middle school? What bondage? What Servitude? Please read at least a little about the IMF, BIS, and such parasitic orgs before asking something so childish.
So by your logic it would be ok for Poland to take back the land they lost to Russia after WWII. Or maybe Germany should take back land that they lost to Poland and Russia after WWII. Maybe Austria should try to resurrect the empire they lost at the end of WWI.
Is that what you want? Nations fighting in perpetuity over ancient lost land? You can see why this is a bad idea, right?
Are there Polish separatists in Russia being genocided over the last 8 years in Russia...in former Polish land? Wtf. Think before you write
Why can’t this America-hating, aptly named “Idiot Brainz” identify what country he lives in? I think he’s scared. All fearful like.
You may not like or agree with the analysis, but it isn't incoherent. It seems you feign outrage at the fact that I excluded military exercised before 1900 that were for the purpose of grabbing territory and resources so you can avoid dealing with the points I raised. By limiting the time span to 1900 and thereafter. I also excluded such actions by Russia. The world was indeed different then, and most countries that had the power to do so grabbed strategic territory. I don't justify such actions by the US or anyone else. But in the modern world, after two world wars, most countries have stopped stealing land. And then there is Russia ...
No, eastern Ukraine isn't Russian. Many people there speak Russian but that doesn't make it Russia just as Canada, New Zealand, Australia and many others speak English but aren't a member of the United Kingdom.
I didn't say that no Soviet bloc countries were willing to affiliate with Russia, so your response just dodged the question. The question is why so many of the other Soviet bloc countries want to be part of NATO rather than align with Russia? Why do they fear Russia and prefer to trust far away America? Could it be that they have seen Russia's actions up close over the past few decades and know exactly what Russia is?
And you still haven't backed up your statement about multiple European countries being in 'bondage' to the US and multiple third world countries in 'servitude' to the US.
You're telling me I avoided dealing with some points you raised while at the same time you avoid explaining Hawaii which completely discredits your point that the US has not aggressively taken over a nation since the 1900s. Precious.
I don't know if you realize but new Zealand, Australia, Canada are not Russia and not the Russian part of Ukraine. These are completely different structures. Russians and Ukrainians that prefer to have close ties to Russia in Eastern Ukraine are extremely closely intertwined with Russia. They want to be as close a part to Russia as possible. They are ethnically identical and want to keep the Russian identity. New Zealanders and Canadians, who have very little ethnic English couldn't care less of the UK. Complete opposite of the residents of Eastern Ukraine.
This is just silly. Guess you insist on purposely being obtuse. Why do some post USSR countries want to become part of NATO? They don't want to become part of NATO, they are coaxed into becoming part of NATO. Are you in middle school? What bondage? What Servitude? Please read at least a little about the IMF, BIS, and such parasitic orgs before asking something so childish.
Hawaii was annexed before 1900, they just didn't become a state until after 1900. Many parts of the US were territories for quite a while before becoming states. So that doesn't negate my point, at all.
You may not realize that a large percentage of Canadians and New Zealanders trace their roots back to the UK. They follow many UK customs, have many cultural similarities and pay a lot of attention to the 'old country' (the number of hours CBC in Canada devotes to reruns of Coronation Street is astounding). If you page through the names in some phone books in NZ you might think you are in Scotland.
It is nonsense to say that countries who are in NATO don't want to be but are coaxed. The IMF and BIS don't coax anyone into NATO (I have no opinion regarding whether such organizations encourage membership in the European Union, but the EU and NATO are distinctly different organizations and membership in the EU does not mean membership in NATO). If a country doesn't want to be in NATO, they need not apply. That has worked quite satisfactorily for Finland and Sweden for decades and they weren't punished for joining and weren't coaxed into joining. That they want to join now is due to Russian aggression -- most recently in Ukraine -- and they have explicitly stated that. The Swiss and the Irish remain outside NATO, and neither the IMF nor BIS is punishing them.
Still waiting for real examples of bondage or servitude.
This guy Cold War Warrior4 ghosted on me. That's weird. He was all fired up, then he bailed like a Russian soldier fleeing Kyiv.
And then this guy "Idiot Brainz" who has posted under at least 4 different names now, he won't even admit what country he lives in. How hard is that to do?
What’s the average IQ and education level of the people in Russia? Serious question. Why do they always end up being ruled by dictators and act like ignorant, servile sheep?
This guy Cold War Warrior4 ghosted on me. That's weird. He was all fired up, then he bailed like a Russian soldier fleeing Kyiv.
And then this guy "Idiot Brainz" who has posted under at least 4 different names now, he won't even admit what country he lives in. How hard is that to do?
Weird behavior.
Should he have instead executed you like Russian court is about to execute Azov soldiers?
It is pointless arguing here. Most people see no fault in the doings of their own government, but demonize Russia for doing EXACTLY the same thing.
As for you, my friend, nobody owes you anything here. Some people live in places better than the US, the others in places that are worse, so what? IQ is not tied to a country or nationality, get over it.
Um, as if no one knows parts of Ukraine were Russian??
The entirety of modern Ukraine was part of Lithuania for many years, and a distinct Ukrainian identity can be traced back more than 1000 years to the Kievan Rus', which predates the founding of Moscow. More recently, the Soviets "gave" Crimea to Ukraine in the 1950s (after waging genocide against the native Crimean Taters following WWII), and Ukraine became a sovereign country in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union. So, please explain to me why Russia has any claims to Ukrainian territory, when Ukraine being part of Russia was a minor blip in a much longer timeline.
If Russia takes eastern Ukraine it's taking it's territory back.
As pointed out above, no. Unless you're suggesting Finland has a right to take back eastern Finnish Karelia and other territories ceded to the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War. What date would you like to use for your global geopolitcal borders and why?
Rightly so after the scumbag US left Ukrainian leadership broke the Minsk agreement and bombed, killed thousands of Russians in Donbas for 8 friggin years.
Both sides broke the Minsk agreements multiple times. If you're unable to acknowledge that, then it's further proof that you're an entirely clueless moron. Now, please clarify what you mean by "Russians in Donbas". Are you referring to Russian soldiers who were fighting on behalf of the pro-Separatist terrorists? Or, Russian-speaking Ukrainians. How many people did the pro-Separatist terrorists kill? Don't forget to include the civilians on MH17 they shot down with Russian supplied weapons.
Yeah, I think Russia has a right.
Yeah, bro! Russia was right to what? Invade Ukraine? Murder and rape civilians? Be a humiliating disaster?
Which Soviet block nations want to associate with the West? Belarus? Serbia? Kazakhstan? Uzbekistan?
Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and of course Ukraine are all former Soviet states that are now members of NATO. Slovenia and Croatia were part of Yugoslavia, which was allied with the Soviet Union, and are now NATO members.
Ah, you mean the corrupted countries like Ukraine which the US led coup overthrew a legitimate govt and install their own puppet??
Just because you keep repeating this claim, which has been thoroughly debunked, does not make it true. Try and keep up, rather than simply parroting Putin's talking points.
And you are wondering why that leadership is so close to the US?
Or, because given the choice between allying with the US and Europe or Russia, the Ukrainian populace was smart enough to realize that Russia was a failed sh*thole that was like an anchor dragging them down.
Gtfo
Please do. And say "Hi" to Tsar Putin the Pathetic when you get a chance.
Should he have instead executed you like Russian court is about to execute Azov soldiers?
So now you're advocating for Russia to commit war crimes by executing POWs? Do you have that little confidence in the Russian judicial system? Or, do you just think all Russians are bloodthirsty murderers looking to execute anyone they can to cover up their own failures as a nation?
It is pointless arguing here. Most people see no fault in the doings of their own government, but demonize Russia for doing EXACTLY the same thing.
Land illegally annexed by Russia in the last 10 years exceeds all other countries combined.
As for you, my friend, nobody owes you anything here. Some people live in places better than the US, the others in places that are worse, so what?
Yes, and the people of Ukraine decided they wanted to live in a place better than Russia. Hence they chose to align with Europe. I get that this was damaging to Russia's ego, but Putin's silly tantrum is just that - a childish tantrum that's putting Russia's failure to develop over the last 30 years on full display for the world to see. This only reinforces that Ukraine was right to cast off their Russian anchor.
Recent photographic evidence suggests that Russia has started to pull T-62 tanks out of storage for service in Ukraine. Let me explain why this is significant:
At the start of the war, Russia was estimated to have around 2,900 T-72s, T-80s, and T-90s* in active service and another 10,000 in storage. In addition, Russia is believed to have around 2,000 T-64s, 2,500 T-60s, and 2,800 T-55s in storage.
The T-60 is an old tank, with production ending in 1975 (though some were upgraded in 1983). It's unclear exactly which variant of the T-60 Russia is deploying.
For Russia to be deploying such an antiquated tank suggests they are running out of operable reserves of T-64s, T-72s, T-80s, and T-90s.
Current estimates suggest that Ukraine has destroyed between 700 and 1300 Russian tanks in the last 90 days.
Rampant corruption in Russia means that tanks in storage are poorly maintained, with an estimated 85-90% of tanks in storage being inoperable.
Let's take the high-end estimate of 1300 destroyed Russian tanks (this is actually this most favorable scenario for Russia). If replacing 1,300 tanks has exhausted Russia's reserves of operable T-72s, T-80s, and T-90s, then 87% of tanks in storage are inoperable.
If we add in the T-64s, then less than 1,300 out of 12,000 tanks are operable (more than 89% are inoperable).
If only 10% of tanks in storage are operable, then Russia has around 250 operable T-60s and 280 operable T-55s.
In total, Russia then has between 3000 and 3500 tanks that they could deploy. They've lost between one-fifth and one-third that many in 90 days. If this war is still going on in a year, Russian soldiers will be using bows and arrows against NATO.
* Russia is years behind on putting their more modern T-14 tank into service, mostly because they couldn't afford it before the war and now they can't afford it or get the necessary parts to produce it due to sanctions.
This is your daily reminder that Russia is a corrupt sh*thole and the people that support Russia are "Stone Cold Losers" (tm, Donald J. Trump).
Note well: a country that loses millions of people at war…doesn’t make them good at anything but getting its people killed. USSR having such horrendous death tolls in ww2 tells you more about its low nationing ability than anything else. It’s not a good thing that should be celebrated.
I assume you would have preferred they don't even bother to fight and perhaps even joined the Nazis? Right, their fight and victory should not be celebrated.
Wait, wait! Isn't that EXACTLY what you advocated for Ukraine to do - not even bother to fight and even join the Russian invaders?