Putin's North Korean Soldiers

[sahgwa]

I don't buy Russia had to invade Ukraine because of NATO expansion. It has always been, and always will be $.

I didn't say they HAD to, I said they took advantage of the situation, which the US had begun.  They could also from it as defence of Russians in Ukraine, or has everyone forgotten about Kiev shelling it's own citizens in 2014, as well as the very textbook US support of Neonazis in Ukraine for its Color Revolution?
I have no horse in the race but looking at Ukraine as a defenceless nation when in fact it was it's corrupt leadership put in power at the helm, and put there by the US which lead Russia to start a 'Military Operation' in the first place.
If they had let the Ukrainian election of Yanukovych stand, none of this would have happened.
It's meddling and it's a proxy war.
Both sides are at fault.   I am not some random UK/NZ/Australian bystander; I had ex military family working in Kiev, and Romania, and I am also ex military, so I have personal experience of exactly how the USA was meddling which led to this.