this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2025
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No, Russia stated that NATO membership for Ukraine was a red line, so their goal is to either prevent membership or demillitarize Ukraine entirely, and they have the means and will to continue until those objectives are met. That's really all it boils down to.
Why do you think that what Russia says is true?
Russia said they didn't poison Alexei Navalny in 2020, but they did. They said they didn't kill Alexander Litvinenko, and they said they didn't poison Sergei Skripal, but they did both of those things.
I trust Occam's Razor, this is consistent with what has happened in the past regarding Russia/NATO relations since NATO's formation as an anticommunist millitary alliance against the USSR, a history continued into the modern Russian Federation even after the adoption of Capitalism.
Occam's razor would dictate that Russia is probably lying if they say they're not interested in Ukrainian minerals, given that the Kremlin has lied about pretty much everything for a long time.
Putin is even saying he wants to sell minerals from Russian-occupied Ukraine to the US. Clearly he wants to profit from minerals in Ukraine.
You do realize that you just contradicted yourself, right? Why do you believe Putin when he says he wants to profit from minerals in Ukraine? Wouldn't your belief in Russia as only lying mean that he actually doesn't want to sell Ukrainian minerals to the US?
Russia can and does lie. It also tells the truth. Analyzing historical trends and motivations is important for figuring out what is actually going on, rather than just assuming the opposite of whatever Russia says. That's not Occam's Razor, that's analytical nihilism.
I didn't say Russian only lies. I said Russia "has lied about pretty much everything for a long time". That is not the same thing.
I'm not just assuming the opposite of Russia's statements. I'm drawing a best guess conclusion based on two premises:
I think it's likely that mineral wealth would have been part of the Kremlin's motivation to invade. Along with general megalomania and irredentism.
Certainly you can see how the statement that "Russia has lied about pretty much everything" can be seen as "Russia always lies," right?
Either way, I still don't see why NATO expansionism would not be the primary factor, given that that has been a huge part of Russian geopolitics since back when they were still Socialist. Mineral access could be a secondary factor, but that doesn't explain minerals being absent from the peace deal proposed by Russia near the beginning of the war, which instead focused on NATO.
It seems more likely that as Ukraine and the US rejected the Russian-proposed peace deals, Russia has seen that as an additional opportunity to recoup some of the cost of the war through going for minerals as a secondary objective.
Occam's razor doesn't mean "the view that contradicts my prejudices the least". What you consider more or less likely has jack shit to do with it, learn what terms mean.
The Kremlin says whatever suits its needs at any given moment. Of course, they've called NATO membership for Ukraine a "red line"—just as they've claimed Ukraine is full of Nazis, that the U.S. started the war, and that up is down and red is blue.
Putin lies with every word he speaks. His statements are meaningless; his actions tell the real story. He is an imperialist obsessed with his own legacy, determined to be remembered as one of Russia’s greatest leaders. His ambitions are monstrous, and he will stop at nothing—no matter the cost in human lives—to achieve them.
Russia/NATO relations predate the Russian Federation's existence.
Of course, Russia/NATO relations predate the Russian Federation—just as imperialist ambitions in Russia predate Putin. But history isn't an excuse for present-day aggression. Whatever the past, the reality now is that Putin's actions are not about NATO; they are about control, power, and his own legacy. He isn't reacting to a genuine security threat—he is manufacturing one to justify his war.
NATO expansion didn’t force Russia to invade Ukraine. Ukraine wasn’t on the verge of joining NATO when the full-scale invasion began. Putin made that decision because he saw Ukraine slipping out of his influence, not because of any immediate NATO threat. His goal isn't just to stop NATO expansion; it's to erase Ukrainian sovereignty entirely.
Do you have anything to back that up, or is it just vibes? You can dislike or hate Putin while also believing that Occam's Razor applies, and having a hostile Millitary Alliance on Russia's doorstep could be seen as aggression by NATO towards Russia from the Russian POV.
I get what you're saying about perspectives, and I’ll take your question in good faith. Let’s establish some key points:
NATO is a defensive alliance. NATO’s founding principle is collective defense—Article 5 states that an attack on one member is an attack on all. However, NATO has never preemptively attacked Russia or any other non-member state. The only time Article 5 has ever been invoked was after 9/11.
If NATO were aggressive, we’d have seen it by now. NATO expanded eastward because former Soviet-controlled states wanted to join. If NATO were truly a threat to Russia’s existence, why hasn’t it attacked Russia in the 30+ years since the USSR collapsed? There have been countless opportunities if that were NATO’s intent. But that’s not what has happened—because NATO isn’t an offensive force.
Putin’s “perspective” is selective and self-serving. Russia itself has attacked multiple neighboring countries—Chechnya, Georgia, Ukraine (multiple times), and intervened in Syria. Meanwhile, NATO has not attacked Russian territory, nor has it forced any nation to join. So when Putin claims NATO is the aggressor, he is projecting—using the idea of a NATO "threat" as an excuse to justify his own expansionist wars.
Putin doesn’t recognize Ukraine as a real country. He has said outright that Ukrainians and Russians are "one people" and that Ukraine exists only because of Soviet mistakes. That isn’t about NATO—it’s about his imperial ambitions. If NATO weren’t the excuse, he’d find another one.
So yes, Russia might perceive NATO as aggressive, but that doesn’t make it true. A defensive alliance accepting new members isn’t aggression. An authoritarian leader launching wars to reclaim "lost" lands is.
NATO is a millitary alliance of Imperialist states formed directly to exert pressure on the USSR, and now retains that hostile history with the current Russian Federation. It was led by Nazis including Adolf Heusinger and has performed hostile, anticommunist terrorist operations such as Operation Gladio in order to combat Communism and exert power to maintain Imperialism.
Your analysis of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is purely a character analysis of Putin, and not the legitimate material interests of all countries involved. This form of "Great Man Theory" is genuinely a myopic form of geopolitical analysis that rarely gets at the truth behind why events happen, and instead decides to look at history as though it's the whims of a few individuals and not the billions of regular people.
I see where you’re coming from, and I’ll acknowledge that NATO’s history isn’t without controversy. The Cold War era was full of power struggles, covert operations, and actions taken under the banner of anti-communism that are fair to criticize. But historical context doesn’t automatically determine present reality. The NATO of today is not the NATO of 1950, and treating it as if it is ignores how global politics have evolved.
Yes, NATO was formed as a counter to the USSR, but alliances don’t exist in a vacuum—they evolve based on the actions of those they were meant to counter. Russia is not the Soviet Union, but Putin’s government has actively revived expansionist policies that threaten its neighbors. That isn’t just Western propaganda—ask the people of Ukraine, Georgia, or Chechnya.
More importantly, focusing on NATO as the reason for Russia’s invasion ignores a fundamental fact: Ukraine wanted to join NATO precisely because of Russia’s aggression. Ukraine’s sovereignty isn’t just a chess piece in some imperialist struggle—it’s a real country making real choices based on real threats. If this were purely a matter of NATO’s existence, why did Russia invade Ukraine in 2014, long before any serious NATO membership talks?
As for “Great Man Theory,” I agree that geopolitics isn’t just about individual leaders. But ignoring Putin’s role entirely is just as simplistic. Leaders shape policy, especially in authoritarian states like Russia, where power is heavily centralized. Putin isn’t acting alone, but his worldview—his obsession with restoring Russia’s sphere of influence, his belief that Ukraine isn’t a real country, his willingness to use force to achieve his goals—does matter. Dismissing that as just “character analysis” misses the material reality that his decisions are shaping the lives of millions.
So while I respect the historical perspective, I think the argument that NATO is the primary driver of this war is flawed. Ukraine wasn’t forced into conflict by some Western plot—it was attacked by a neighboring country that refuses to accept its independence. That’s not imperialist propaganda. That’s just reality.
You're conveniently ignoring Euromaidan, the fallout of it, and the entire nearly 4 decades of incredibly complicated fallout from the dissolution of the USSR.
Putin has input, sure. However, his actions have popular support among Russians because the invasion has material reasons for happening, not just the whims of a leader.
I’m not ignoring Euromaidan or the broader post-Soviet fallout—I just don’t think they justify Russia’s actions. If anything, they reinforce my argument.
Euromaidan wasn’t some Western-orchestrated coup; it was a mass uprising driven by Ukrainians rejecting a corrupt, Russia-aligned government that tried to back out of closer ties with the EU. The response? Russia annexed Crimea and fueled a separatist war in Donbas. That wasn’t some inevitable “material consequence” of Soviet dissolution—it was a calculated move to punish Ukraine for stepping out of Russia’s shadow.
Yes, many Russians support the war—but why? Because Putin controls the media, suppresses opposition, and jails or kills dissenters. When you control the narrative, you control public opinion. That doesn’t make the war justified—it just means propaganda works. The idea that Russia had to invade due to “material reasons” falls apart when you consider that no actual threat existed. NATO wasn’t invading. Ukraine wasn’t attacking Russia. The only “threat” was Ukraine choosing its own path, and Putin couldn’t tolerate that.
Putin’s actions tell the real story. He has repeatedly stated that Ukraine is not a real country and that its independence was a mistake. That isn’t about NATO. That isn’t about self-defense. That’s about control. If NATO weren’t the excuse, something else would be.
You’re right that history is complicated—but some things are simple. Invading a sovereign nation because you don’t like its direction isn’t a “material necessity.” It’s imperialism.
That's certainly the western viewpoint of Euromaidan, but it wipes away the real materialist analysis of the events to conform to a western-friendly narrative. The truth is that the West was dramatically and intimately involved, and the sepperatists in Donetsk and Luhansk existed before Russian aid.
Your goal overall seems to be divorcing Russia from any coherent and materially explainable goals, and as simply subject to the rule of a mad king's whims. This isn't the case, and is, frankly, an awful and idealist framing of history that suggests ideas drive history, and not material reality. It also whitewashes NATO imperialism and absolves them from any involvement, when NATO has been very clear about its interests and hasn't strayed from its origins as a millitary pact of the worlds most powerful Imperialists.
I appreciate the depth of this discussion, and I think we might be closer in our views than it initially appears. I agree that material conditions matter—history, economics, and geopolitical realities all create the environment in which decisions are made. NATO expansion did change the security landscape in Eastern Europe, and the fallout from the Soviet collapse created complex dynamics we're still witnessing today.
Where I think we differ is in how we understand the decision to invade. Material conditions create contexts, but they don't predetermine military aggression. Putin's choice to invade has resulted in catastrophic humanitarian consequences—tens of thousands dead, millions displaced, cities reduced to rubble, and countless lives shattered. These aren't abstract policy outcomes but profound human tragedies that demand accountability.
The material analysis also cuts both ways. If we're talking about material interests, what about Ukraine's? Their desire for security guarantees after watching Russia's actions in Georgia and Crimea represents a material reality too. Their concerns about Russian aggression weren't imaginary—they were based on observed patterns.
I still maintain that Russia's actions reflect more than just defensive security concerns. The rhetoric about "one people," the denial of Ukrainian identity, the installation of Russian educational systems in occupied territories— they are words and actions that point to imperial ambitions beyond simply keeping NATO at bay.
Perhaps the most productive approach is to recognize both material conditions and leadership decisions as essential parts of the analysis, while never losing sight of the real human beings whose lives have been devastated by this war.
Ultimately, what is moral matters very little in geopolitics. While decisions are often in the hands of leaders, the conditions that put leaders in their spots and put decisions in their laps are a monstrously large chain of cause and effect, material processes of matter working itself out. I think that's more practical for analyzing why the war happened in the first place, so we can figure out how to end it in the best way possible.
I get where you're coming from, and I think you're right that geopolitics isn't driven by morality. But saying that morality ‘matters very little’ is different from saying it doesn’t matter at all. Leaders don’t operate in a vacuum, but they also aren’t just passive reflections of material conditions. They make choices—sometimes bad ones, sometimes catastrophic ones—and those choices have consequences beyond the abstract forces of history.
The chain of cause and effect you’re talking about is real, but it doesn’t eliminate agency. If it did, there’d be no point in trying to influence anything, because everything would already be preordained by material processes. That’s not how history actually plays out. Leaders make decisions within constraints, but they still make them. The idea that Russia had no other choice but to invade Ukraine ignores the fact that plenty of other post-Soviet states also experienced economic and political instability, yet Russia didn’t invade them all. Why? Because it wasn’t just about abstract ‘material processes’—it was about specific decisions made by people with power.
You’re also implying that NATO’s role in this is straightforwardly imperialist, which oversimplifies the situation. NATO is a military alliance, and yes, it serves Western interests. But Ukraine wasn't ‘forced’ into NATO’s orbit—it actively sought security guarantees after watching what happened in Georgia, Crimea, and Donbas. If we’re doing a materialist analysis, Ukraine’s desire to align with NATO is as much a material reality as Russia’s desire to stop it. So why treat one as natural and the other as Western manipulation?
I don’t think we disagree that material conditions shape conflicts. But I do think dismissing leadership choices as secondary, or treating NATO as the sole driver of the conflict, is just as much of a simplification as ignoring material conditions entirely. The best analysis—whether practical or historical—accounts for both.
I think you're reading out of my stances what you want to read out. I never said Ukraine had no material reasons to seek out NATO, or that the West didn't directly influence Ukraine through Euromaidan. There's no such thing as a "pure" movement with 2 actors or more, but there are primary causes and contradictions, and cascading secondary causes and contradictions.
As a Marxist-Leninist, I look at conflicts through Dialectical Materialism, which inherently acknowledges the opposing forces at play in contradictions, and their linked nature. My point is mostly that putting the blame on the whims of Putin, and not on the material and complicated web of events and material interests of all countries involved, does nothing to explain how this could have been avoided, nor how it will end, nor what is realistically feasible.
This all starts when it becomes clear Ukraine has mineral rights that threaten Russia's ability to lean on Western Europe to the extent it does/did.
The NATO claims are just cover. Even if they were true Russia has zero right to determine Ukraine's future.
It's weird to see "leftists" endorse imperialism while attempting to claim any kind of morality.
No, it started a lot longer ago than that. Russia has maintained for decades now that NATO encirclement is a red line, and that included Ukraine. I'm not "endorsing" anything here, but explaining the cause of the war. Russia is interested in having a buffer zone against NATO, the US is interested in profiteering in the form of loans and mineral rights, and the ruling class of Ukraine is interested in gettting rich off of sending young people to die in a preventable war.
This isn't a war of "righteousness" or anything, it isn't good vs evil, but 3 countries with different interests and the Ukrainian people ending up with by far the shortest end of the stick.
To be clear Im talking about many of the other leftists that are celebrating Putin's invasions/actions not just you specifically
Russia has no right to demand a buffer zone and they have had plans to retake Ukraine for years as you always had that cadre of nutjobs going back to Zhirinovsky that would comment on the need to rebuild the empire. I believe they just found the right circumstances to take advantage of the situation.
No war is about morality and the only side with anything resembling a moral claim at all are those invaded.
I don't see what discussing the morality of the invasion will practically solve, nor the insistence on Russia not actually caring about NATO and instead wanting minerals. The reason it's important to accurately identify the cause of war is so that we can find a way to end it with the least harm possible, as it stands right now Ukraine is getting the rug pulled from under them and will be subject to US loans and Russian victory, the worst outcome for them, period.
Im not saying Russia doesn’t care about NATO. I have stated that it does not matter what Russia’s position is as they have no right to determine what Ukraine does despite the intense entitlement throughout Russia
You said it was a cover in order to grab minerals in Ukraine. I disagree, and that fundamentally changes how we analyze how to end the war.
You can listen to Putin himself and he goes back pretty far in history.
I could, but I think it's more important to look at what's actually truly relevant. NATO/Russian relations don't go nearly that far back.
Putin is the Czar. What's on his matters most. Everything else is secondary or incidental.
Regardless of what Putin personally wants, Russia acts in the interests of its material conditions. Putin is a Nationalist, so his interests in maintaining a buffer from NATO generally align with the Russian public.
It's a foundational mistake of Marxists to reduce everything to material conditions. You will never understand the world, if that's your only frame of reference.
I don't reduce everything to material conditions, but I also don't believe in "Great Man Theory" either.
It's hilarious that you accuse the US and Ukraine of wanting to get rich from mineral rights, but you won't accuse Russia of the same thing. In reality there will be rich people in each of those countries wanting to profit from minerals.
Sure, there are likely people in Russia that want access to Ukrainian minerals, but that certainly doesn't seem to be the primary cause of the invasion to begin with.
Maybe the primary cause was Putin's megalomania, or indeed megalomania among quite a few Russian elites.
I don't believe in "Great Man Theory" as a useful method of analysis of historical trends. Material conditions and political economic factors play a far greater role in historical events than the individual whims of leaders.
I don't think it's just Putin which is why I mentioned the megalomania of other Russian elites. But Putin surely made the final decision to invade.
Believing history to be driven by the egos of a few individuals and divorcing it entirely from materialist analysis is Great Man Theory, though. Ego may have played a small factor, but certainly not the driving force.
Leftist: "Damn, this war is killing so many people and wasting so many natural resources. Everything in the region is getting worse the longer it drags on. It needs to stop."
Radical Centrist: "You only want to stop the war because you love Hitler."
Leftist: "Also, Israel needs to stop bombing Gaza."
Radical Centrist: "More antisemitism! You're only proving my point."
Leftist: "War is Bad."
Radical Centrist: "Just what a Fascist would say."
Your reply is a straw man.