Comments by "Arty" (@arty5876) on "Russia's war in Ukraine: How far will Putin go? | DW News" video.

To be fair, there were no Western values in the 18th century. Europe was ruled by such monarchs, as in Russia. There was a parliament in Russia under Peter the Great. And the Russian Empire, unlike the British and French, did not pursue a colonial policy in the occupied territories at all. So whose values were better in those days is still a moot point. Even if we talk about the economy and the standard of living, we will see that Russia lagged behind the West only at the end of the 19th and in the 20th century. Because Western countries became colonial empires and plundered the whole world for the sake of their enrichment, and in the 20th century communism was being built in Russia. So whose values are better is a huge question.
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To be fair, there were no Western values in the 18th century. Europe was ruled by such monarchs, as in Russia. There was a parliament in Russia under Peter the Great. And the Russian Empire, unlike the British and French, did not pursue a colonial policy in the occupied territories at all. So whose values were better in those days is still a moot point. Even if we talk about the economy and the standard of living, we will see that Russia lagged behind the West only at the end of the 19th and in the 20th century. Because Western countries became colonial empires and plundered the whole world for the sake of their enrichment, and in the 20th century communism was being built in Russia. So whose values are better is a huge question.
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If Putin dreams of expansion and restoration of the old borders, then why didn't he seize Georgia in 2008? Why did the Russian army in August 2008 limit itself to only two small regions of Georgia, and not capture the whole country? The war lasted five days, the Russian army was not defeated - moreover, the Georgians retreated and lost territory. If Putin needs expansion so badly, then why didn't he attack Ukraine in 2014 or 2015? Why was he limited only to Crimea and support for separatists in the East of the country? Putin gave Ukraine 8 years to prepare for war, although in 2014 Ukraine simply did not have an army. This means that Putin's goal is not expansion, and the expansion of Russia's borders worries him second of all
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Russia was forced to invade Ukraine, Putin had no choice. Ukraine wanted to join NATO and the EU, which poses an existential threat to Russia. Putin understands perfectly well that an isolated economy is worse than a free one. He speaks about it directly. But he has no choice
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No, they cannot demand it back - at the beginning of the 18th century, Peter the Great liberated the Russian territories that Sweden had taken from Russia in the 17th century. Putin says that "our share also fell to return and strengthen." Putin, on the contrary, claims that he is a kind of liberator, like Peter
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@guyvert49 if you would look to the experience of Russian and Soviet Empires - this is impossible. Only if you would commit complete genocide of core nation and replace it by your nation
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@guyvert49 no, he isn't commiting genocide. This is a common war
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