[DRG]

A west leaning Ukraine is obviously and geographically seen as a threat to Russia by the Russians.

There are a number of ways to defuse conflict and threats that do not involve armed force. Putin choose to ignore those alternatives and go straight to war which puts this all on him and his advisors.

The "potential threat" does not justify the actions that have been taken which among other things is a total violation of the Budapest Memorandum to respect the sovereignty of Ukraine when Ukraine transferred its inherited Soviet nuclear weapons to Russia for decommissioning.

However, the threat that a potential NATO Ukraine would appear to be in Russia should not be ignored when pointing fingers. It is not an excuse for the war though it appears to be a factor that is being ignored as it seems to be at least one of the reasons we are in this mess