The fighting in Ukraine is only the tip of the iceberg of Russia’s aggressive policies, the end goal of which is to return Ukraine to the Russian sphere of influence as Russia rebuilds its empire, yearning to redraw the world order. Attempts to exempt Russia from responsibility for its aggression that are currently being promoted under the guise of “understanding and engagement” are naive. The most recent ones remarkably reek of victimblaming: it is Ukraine that provoked Russia by tiptoeing away from the Russian sphere of influence, so of course Russia felt threatened, and we should try to understand Russia’s feelings.
OP-ED
Alya Shandra: The toxic myth of ‘understanding and engaging’ Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron meet for talks at the Palace of Versailles on May 29, 2017.
