You didn't understand properly what I write or maybe it's my English. Whatever. Learn a bit of history. Ok. Your choice. I'm not an aggressor. Most of the Russian people don't support any kind of war and conflict including this one. We had enough in the past. Thats it.

And I don't watch TV fyi at all or read papers. Was just on the phone in the morning with my Ukranian relatives and friends from Kyiv. I just state what I know from real people. You still won't believe me hence I don't think this conversation will be constructive. 

I know I'll open a can of worms but just a thought (I'm not defending my governments decisions).. how I need to call US and NATO for their past? Maybe for decisions in Belgrade bypassing UN or a few other countries? But I'm not calling people aggressors, their governments are wrong of course including ours. Thats not the way to solve things. I know a lot of good people from US and Europe so it's sad when someone is saying russians are bad, evil etc. We're not. 

Think what you like. Someone posted this is an art forum. This will impact markets including art. I thought id address that it also fits on art forum. Ukraine comes first concern and then what happens after that. Art is the least of most peoples worries apart from the well off moving out of stocks amd into safe havens.

Wtf? You want to blame this on France and Germany for being allied with Ukraine?

Do we need to go into the playground bully analogies to walk this one through?

Ukraine became independent in 1991.. before it was part of USSR. After 1991 Russia in the current form was born. We all had USSR passports so it was one country before. I was born here and remember everything. We have relatives in both countries. Ukranian people live now in Russia and Russian people also live in Ukraine now. I'm not sure what are you trying to prove me. Do I need to tell my Dad (Ukranian) that he wasn't part of the USSR and didn't meet my mother in Moscow ex USSR as well, now Russia?

"were 'gifted' to Ukraine by former USSR leaders".. part of Ukraine were gifted by ex USSR leaders yes but it was when Ukraine was PART of USSR! Also check Ukraine independent act from 24th aug of 1991.

Maybe it's a language misunderstanding but I'm not believing anyone including Putin. And this conflict need to be ended quick

I’m a Russian. Ex soviet and you’re trying to explain me our history. Thats great. I give up.

Please don’t. I find this exchange very interesting. For example the things you focus on. Why does it matter whether Ukraine did or did not belong to Russia/USSR? They overwhelmingly voted to become independent.
I recommend to listen to the statement of Kenya in the UN Security Council about the randomness of the drawing of borders of many states but how that doesn’t mean one can’t live in peace or have good relations or has the right to attack a neighbour.

Please stop.. Putin didn't put anything in my head.

I hear you but I don’t think most people mean Russians when they say “Russia did xyz”. It almost always means the goverment. Just the same as when you read the “US” or any other country.

What I would be interested in is what you think exactly the UA government did in Donetsk and Luhansk? Would you say that life for the inhabitants of the so called “republics” now is better than before?

I remember Odessa being an utter tragedy! There was immense brutality and I read about a commission of experts, journalists and activists that came to the conclusion that it was a chain of events that led to it that started with provocations from pro-Russian activists.
In the end, everybody is a victim also in the inner-Ukranian conflict but let’s not be blind to the agitation that was and is caused by Russia here too. We also have a right-wing party in my country that sporadically wants to hand out passports to a “part of our nation” that now are citizens of another country. It is not right to do that. We have international law to prevent such things from happening, otherwise the whole world would be at war because most of the countries in the world have arbitrarily drawn borders. If minorities are discriminated against then that is of course not justified and needs to be remedied. I believe it started around restrictions on the Russian language in Ukraine. But it is not ok to plunge a country or part of it into war over it. My country also has a long history of issues with minority languages and it took a while to put up signs in both languages where appropriate, it was a painful process until it finally happened and I am ashamed it took so long but no killings would have ever been justified.

Be that as it may, of course nothing justifies the Russian invasion.
I agree, the people in Donetsk and Luhansk have it worse than people in Ukraine or in Russia. But I don’t see Russia doing anything against the totalitarian rule there.

Putin’s a dangerous bayard. He thought he was holding all the cards and could hold Ukraine (and indeed the West) hostage, but he wasn’t, he’s actually operating from a position of severe weakness, the worst of which being invasion was his last resort.

Ukraine used to be a soviet republic, and for most of its independence its leaders operated in close association with Russia, but in 2013 the Ukrainian people realised that a political and economic dependence on Russia was a road to nowhere and they rose up and demanded closer ties with the EU. Putin panicked at this and gunned down protestors.

That backfired big time and Putin’s allies were run out of the country and the nation elected ardent pro-Europe and pro-US leadership. In response, Putin invaded Crimea and eastern Ukraine, which only served to harden anti-Russian sentiments.

As we saw earlier this month, Putin remained determined to control Ukraine, so he moved 150,000 troops to the border and threatened a full-on invasion, hoping this threat would collapse Ukraine’s government, and/or create fissures within NATO to weaken the alliance, resulting in the West folding and agreeing to his demands.

But none of that has happened, in fact quite the opposite. The Zelensky government hasn’t fallen, the West have rallied to support Ukraine’s government, NATO and Europe have come together to support Ukraine’s sovereignty, and Putin’s list of demands have gone nowhere. Nobody gave in.

Now, faced with this reality, Putin has only two ways out: back down or continue with his expensive and potentially disastrous invasion of the largest country in Europe. Should he choose to continue, it will likely be long and deadly, the Ukrainian people are not going to submit. And the sanctions from the rest of the world will be equally devastating, nothing at all like the relatively mild sanctions Russia has previously endured.

The combination of the cost of the war and the cost of the sanctions are going to seriously threaten Putin’s grip on power, and all for what? To force Ukraine back into Russia’s orbit against Ukraine’s wishes? A nation that used to rely on Russia willingly? All of this just to achieve pre-2013 status quo but with thousands dead and a Russian economy in ruins?

He’s already lost the war.

Lest we forget...

In 2019 Trump withheld a $400 million congressionally mandated military aid package to Ukraine, demanding President Zelensky dig up shit on former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter to assist Trump's re-election.

Donald Trump was impeached for the attempted extortion.

So how’s all this going to end?