Yeah, whenever the aggressor was guilty? The victim has to blame itself, who else? Teasing Russia like this, stupid!
Regarding the threat to Russia, I have a personal story to share. When I was young and spent my time within the USSR (lucky me, ah?), I was a member of The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol. Among other many things we did there, we had the privilege to pay every month 2 kopeks to support peace (read USSR war machine) mostly through building peaceful and well-minded atomic ballistic missiles (this was how it was explained to us) in order to avoid the bloody US attacking us. Everybody was absolutely convinced that after showing any signs of weakness, we will be nuked into the stone age and we all had to give our share to avoid this.
Then this sad occasion happened and USSR fall into pieces. Weird enough, the US did not attack former USSR member states or Russia for some peculiar reason. Not one American soldier crossed the Russian borders with guns in order to steal their property and become the owner of their vast resources. Instead, they helped Russia to avoid the loss of their nuclear weaponry- undoubtedly for selfish reasons, but still. Thinking of this, I feel somehow disappointed or deceived...
Nobody wants to conquer this stinkhole these days, except China perhaps. A lot of inhabited lands and missing infrastructure added to brainwashed population filled with weird understanding about their world-saving mission justifying whatever crimes they are doing. Find a meaning to the word "mankurt" and you will understand what I mean.
Point is, that this insecurity feeling in Russia is purely and utterly made up to show Russians as victims in this and many other cases. My guess is, that a small victorious war is an effective way to attract attention from other problems like the shitty life quality of ordinary people or from stealing behind them. This club of kleptocrats ruling Russia has to justify somehow why they failed to build a normal country. Foreign enemy myth combined with paranoia works well.
Joke: two worms, father and son, crawl out from the pile of shit to admire the sunny world outside. "Would it be nice to live inside an apple?" wonders son-worm. "Yes, it would!" agrees his father-worm. "Why we are not living inside an apple then?" asks son-worm. "Son, one cannot choose its motherland!" says father-worm strictly and they crawl back to the pile of shit.
Depends as to who the aggressor is - was the USA termed to be an aggressive nation, upon attacking Iraq for a 2nd time? or Granada? or Serbia? or Syria? or...
One always needs to understand both sides - just condemning one side for it's actions doesn't solve anything or future disputes.
My personal story:
Upon joining the Bundeswehr 1979 - we were told that the Soviet-Union want's to take away our belongings, freedom and transform us into communists. The most dangerous and vile communists were the East-Germans respectively the NVA. Upon traveling to the US in 1982 for training we found dozens of information stands at the airports - displaying SDI and asking people to donate money. I asked them don't you pay taxes of which your defense budget is based? You are a soldier she said, it is your duty to donate money. Okay I said and continued my way, and she yelled after me - are you a communist?
During one of these many political workshops in the Bundeswehr - and again forwarding the topic of the Russian and East-German beasts trained in bayonet warfare to slaughter our babies, I replied maybe those Russian soldiers are simply obeying orders just as we need to do - but actually they would prefer to have fun with their girlfriends, make holiday and buy a car? Needless to say that I was severely reprimanded for this.
About 6 years later (everyone was talking about Gorbachev) during another officers workshop the topic of NATO flexible response came up. Most of the people knew me and I said: NATO flexible response should be to build our entire car and consumer goods industry along a 30km wide border belt and upon the Russians attacking, our transport-planes should drop, ball-pens, Playboy magazines, walk-mans, German-currency notes, chocolate and sweets. This will cause an absolute disruption of any Soviet attack - they will throw off their tanks from trains and transporters to fill them with western goods and will take weeks to loot through our industrial defense belt.
Everyone was applauding and laughing their heads off - except the presiding Lt-General. Needless to say - reprimanded and told that I am about to severely endanger my career in the Bundeswehr. The following week a big political workshop regarding the evil Soviets and especially those East-Germans and their fanatical ruthless NVA took place. This time other officers forwarded - why don't we take our chances with a person like Gorbachev - provide financial support in order to pacify the Russians via aiding them to raise their miserable living standards. (logic-good life who the hell want's to go to war).
One officer was later suspended from service - two other's never made it above Major in the following 10 years. And the main-culprit that time a Lt. Colonel (paratrooper) barely made Maj.General upon retirement after 40 years of unblemished service.
Statement by the Lt.General, Defense minister and Foreign minister: Anyone who underestimates the ruthlessness of the Soviets and especially the NVA and those East-Germans needs to rethink his personal views in regards to his service in the Bundeswehr.
Three month later upon switching on my TV at home - our Chancellor appeared addressing the nation: Reunification is in progress with our
dear SISTERS and
BROTHERS in East-Germany, they need our support and assistance............. - okay no more fanatics and baby murderers within 3 month ... not bad.
Why I am stating these occurrences? maybe someday people will get to understand that politics is not about honesty or a clear strategy in favor of the citizens- but simply politicians and economic institutions taking advantage of any given circumstance to reap own profits and to further own agendas. - no matter if the citizens (voters) get a benefit out of it or not. Politicians, economic institutions and the citizens in democracies work for their own pocket and interests, nothing else.
The only different countries that I know off are: Switzerland (due to it's total democratic electoral and law enacting process) Singapore (autocratic) China (autocratic)
The rest are just governments taking people for stupid - via democracy/freedom blah blah, or controlling people (for their own personal interest) via some ruthless dictatorial system.
Okay back to Ukraine:
The only government that actively and financially supported Gorbatchev with huge sums was Germany. Finally the time had come to help build and turn the Soviet-Union into a future prosperous country. Any other government came in to participate effectively in the Soviet-Unions economic build up? NO
Instead - foremost the USA, the UK and naturally (absolutley understandable) those previously occupied Eastern countries were happy and content as hell that the Soviet-Union was running into absolute turmoil and chaos, resulting in economic disaster and the dissolution of the Soviet-union. Therefore Jelzin's attempted together with Ukraine and Belarus to create CIS. (Alma Ata Deceleration) A commonwealth of former Soviet republics dedicated towards economic and military cooperation and
neutrality towards each other - in order to
avoid future military conflicts amongst each other. It was even agreed and signed that the military joint-forces command was headed by a Russian general. In 2006 Ukraine decided to abandon the Alma-Alta-Decleration and seek NATO membership - guess who encouraged this in the first place?
More or less everyone in the German government and the Bundeswehr was aware that if NATO continues East-ward - it will cause the next issue with Russia - as soon as they would get economically and politically back up on their feet, especially after Putin's speech at the German parliament in 2001. It was
absolutely clear that this guy was not going to accept further expansion of NATO and also will do something about those countries encouraged by the USA to join NATO from 1988 onward.
Did the USA government help Russia to set up a thriving economy? absolutely not, but encouraged US companies to take over vital fields in Russia's economy, now possible thanks to democracy - so that now Biden can declare that Russia's oil and gas industry (in regards to sanctions) depends on US technical input!!! - great.
NATO had two choices from 1988 onward - keep the former Warsaw pact states neutral - aka let them form their own pact - but forward realistic and honest assurances that NATO will come in militarily if Russia decides to attack that neutral bloc.
Or as Clinton aka the USA decided - get all these countries into NATO. plus former Soviet republics - Russia is too broke and incapable to do anything about it.
Thus finally - hopefully- achieving their ultimate goal - unobstructed control of the world.
We all know the decision that was taken - and now the West/NATO and especially Ukraine is paying the price for that - simple as that, and a waste of time IMO to discuss about evil Putin being the single culprit in this whole issue, because he attacked a souveraign country.