The Tucker Carlson Vladimir Putin Interview

[diamenz]

why did russia invade ukraine when it did?

there's no short answer to this. for the sake of not sounding like a broken record, i'll skip past everything i've already covered in the ukraine thread, as well as this thread and the 'joe biden is a terrible president' thread in the ofc forum and start off on the timeline at 2014.

*this ended up being a mess of a post and wasn't structured or articulated very well but whatever... everything is there including referenced links.*

so you would think that after the events of 2014, the us and it's allies would have either drew down, began to de-escalate or even consider taking nato enlargement completely off of the table... especially in regard to ukraine, right? wrong - they instead doubled-down.

first, nato began training the ukrainian military in 2014, totaling approximately 10k troops trained over the course of the next eight years. in 2017, the trump admin provided kiev with "defensive weapons" with other nato countries following suit. the military of ukraine then also started participating in joint military exercises with nato. in 2021, kiev and the us hosted "operation sea breeze" as well as "operation trident 21", the former of which was a naval exercise aimed directly towards russia.

in addition to nato's efforts to turn the ukrainian military into a more formidable fighting force, there were political moves made as well - both on the side of the biden as well as the zelensky administrations. despite the fact that zelensky was elected in 2019 on a platform that was supposed to push towards solving the ongoing crisis, he out-of-the blue reversed course in 2021 and not only welcomed nato expansion, but turned to a hard-line approach against moscow. must have been talking to someone in washington or the uk, huh? now joe biden, who started his term in 2021, had already been committed in the long-term to bringing ukraine into nato and with his typical 'dc-brain' was uber-hawkish towards russia.

on june 14, 2021, nato issued the following statement:

We reiterate the decision made at the 2008 Bucharest Summit that Ukraine will become a member of the Alliance with the Membership Action Plan (MAP) as an integral part of the process; we reaffirm all elements of that decision, as well as subsequent decisions, including that each partner will be judged on its own merits. We stand firm in our support for Ukraine’s right to decide its own future and foreign policy course free from outside interference.

to top it all off and what really got the party started, in september of 2021, our brave hero zelensky visted the wh where biden made it very clear that the us was "firmly committed" to ukraine's nato aspirations. then, in november of 2021, sec state blinken and his ukrainian counterpart joined together in signing the "us - ukraine charter in strategic partnership", the aim of which was to "underscore a commitment to Ukraine’s implementation of the deep and comprehensive reforms necessary for full integration into European and Euro-Atlantic institutions". i don't think that could make the imminent intentions of ukraine's integration into nato any clearer.

in dec of 2021, putin sent a letter to biden & nato that more or less demanded a written guarantee that not only would ukraine not join nato but no offensive weapons nor troops would be stationed near russia's borders and any existing ones in eastern euroepe would be moved back west. putin also made a number of public statements around this time implying that he viewed nato expansion as an existential threat. in december, he said:

what they are doing, or trying or planning to do in Ukraine, is not happening thousands of kilometres away from our national border. It is on the doorstep of our house. They must understand that we simply have nowhere further to retreat to. Do they really think we do not see these threats? Or do they think that we will just stand idly watching threats to Russia emerge?

two months later, just a few days before the invasion of ukraine, putin said:

“We are categorically opposed to Ukraine joining NATO because this poses a threat to us, and we have arguments to support this. The United States and its allies continue to pump the current Kiev authorities full of modern types of weapons. If this is not stopped, Moscow “would be left with an ‘anti-Russia’ armed to the teeth. This is totally unacceptable.”

sounds a bit similar to what our monroe doctrine stipulates, huh?

blinken responded to putin in jan of 2022 in a nutshell saying "“There is no change. There will be no change.”

and before you knew it, the russians were coming.

[Axe]

None of that is true but I suppose the truth doesn't matter to a stupid asshole.

[SATAN]

*Cherry picks time frame and continues to defend Russia and her murderous leader*

[diamenz]

i shouldn't even entertain you because you offer nothing, but blade specifically asked for it.

[SATAN]

Just keep rooting for USA to lose power on the global stage while defending competition when they try to overthrow allied countries. Solid plan, terrorist.

[bladefd]

there's no short answer to this. for the sake of not sounding like a broken record, i'll skip past everything i've already covered in the ukraine thread, as well as this thread and the 'joe biden is a terrible president' thread in the ofc forum and start off on the timeline at 2014.

*this ended up being a mess of a post and wasn't structured or articulated very well but whatever... everything is there including referenced links.*

so you would think that after the events of 2014, the us and it's allies would have either drew down, began to de-escalate or even consider taking nato enlargement completely off of the table... especially in regard to ukraine, right? wrong - they instead doubled-down.

first, nato began training the ukrainian military in 2014, totaling approximately 10k troops trained over the course of the next eight years. in 2017, the trump admin provided kiev with "defensive weapons" with other nato countries following suit. the military of ukraine then also started participating in joint military exercises with nato. in 2021, kiev and the us hosted "operation sea breeze" as well as "operation trident 21", the former of which was a naval exercise aimed directly towards russia.

in addition to nato's efforts to turn the ukrainian military into a more formidable fighting force, there were political moves made as well - both on the side of the biden as well as the zelensky administrations. despite the fact that zelensky was elected in 2019 on a platform that was supposed to push towards solving the ongoing crisis, he out-of-the blue reversed course in 2021 and not only welcomed nato expansion, but turned to a hard-line approach against moscow. must have been talking to someone in washington or the uk, huh? now joe biden, who started his term in 2021, had already been committed in the long-term to bringing ukraine into nato and with his typical 'dc-brain' was uber-hawkish towards russia.

on june 14, 2021, nato issued the following statement:



to top it all off and what really got the party started, in september of 2021, our brave hero zelensky visted the wh where biden made it very clear that the us was "firmly committed" to ukraine's nato aspirations. then, in november of 2021, sec state blinken and his ukrainian counterpart joined together in signing the "us - ukraine charter in strategic partnership", the aim of which was to "underscore a commitment to Ukraine’s implementation of the deep and comprehensive reforms necessary for full integration into European and Euro-Atlantic institutions". i don't think that could make the imminent intentions of ukraine's integration into nato any clearer.

in dec of 2021, putin sent a letter to biden & nato that more or less demanded a written guarantee that not only would ukraine not join nato but no offensive weapons nor troops would be stationed near russia's borders and any existing ones in eastern euroepe would be moved back west. putin also made a number of public statements around this time implying that he viewed nato expansion as an existential threat. in december, he said:



two months later, just a few days before the invasion of ukraine, putin said:



sounds a bit similar to what our monroe doctrine stipulates, huh?

blinken responded to putin in jan of 2022 in a nutshell saying "“There is no change. There will be no change.”

and before you knew it, the russians were coming.

Okay, let's say I accept your argument that it was provoked. It's detailed and has sources.

Russia now controls the pro-russia territories in Eastern Ukraine like donbas. What's next if Putin has no intention of capturing all of Ukraine? Will they stop the offensive or will they not stop until the Ukrainian government in Kiev is toppled?

[jstern]

Just keep rooting for USA to lose power on the global stage while defending competition when they try to overthrow allied countries. Solid plan, terrorist.

Ah man. This is a Bladefd level simplistic comment. Who thinks all this death and destruction, money laundering is for the benefit of the US citizens. Do you think the US politician who push for war over the slightest things (ex. Lindsey Graham) are doing it because it helps the United States? Do you think politicians who push for open borders, wasting hundreds of millions of dollar, billions to take care of the illegal immigrants (help with rent, food, prepaid debit cards, $500 a night hotel rooms) are doing it because they care about the United States and its citizens?

These people would have you and everyone in the United States killed in 50 years, if it means a little bit of power for them during their lifetime.

I can understand Blade, he has a Pfizer tattoo, but not Satan.

[Lakers Legend#32]

Did Tucker get a word in edgewise?

This was not an interview. This was just one monologue by Putin.

Loved it when Putin told Tucker he was not a serious journalist, but rather an entertainer.

Tucker did a forced fake laugh to act like he wasn't being used.

[BurningHammer]

Loved it when Putin told Tucker he was not a serious journalist, but rather an entertainer.

A broken clock is right twice a day.

[Wardell Curry]

I'm not particularly educated. But here's my take. I doubt it's as simple as "Putin = bad" and I also doubt it's as simple as "nato is on our doorstep and we've warned you for years" also.

Two reasons.

1) Nato is already on Russia's borders.
2) If Russia takes all of Ukraine and Ukraine ceases to exist and is just Russia now and everyone leaves it at that. Guess what? NATO is still on Russia's border. In fact, even more than it already is.

So what's really going on here? I can tell you one thing, I very much doubt it's going to be found in this thread as people spout off nonsensical talking points from their favorite political commentators.

[tpols]

It's so weird to see all of these people on the right that have become fans of a tyrant dictator.

It's even wierder that so many sheep like you exist and believe every piece of propaganda thrown their way without questioning anything for even a millisecond.

[bladefd]

I'm not particularly educated. But here's my take. I doubt it's as simple as "Putin = bad" and I also doubt it's as simple as "nato is on our doorstep and we've warned you for years" also.

Two reasons.

1) Nato is already on Russia's borders.
2) If Russia takes all of Ukraine and Ukraine ceases to exist and is just Russia now and everyone leaves it at that. Guess what? NATO is still on Russia's border. In fact, even more than it already is.

So what's really going on here? I can tell you one thing, I very much doubt it's going to be found in this thread as people spout off nonsensical talking points from their favorite political commentators.

Didn't Finland join nato too after Russia invaded Ukraine? Sweden is also on the verge of joining last I checked. Nato is actually getting larger so putin didn't help his case.

This is why putin needs trump to win the election so Trump can return to trying to take apart nato and trashing it every chance he gets. Without that, nato will continue to get stronger and add more countries.

[Real Men Wear Green]

It's even wierder that so many sheep like you exist and believe every piece of propaganda thrown their way without questioning anything for even a millisecond.

So being a fan of the guy that eliminated free elections in Russia and currently is causing hundreds of thousands of deaths plus the kidnapping of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children just for fun... liking this guy makes you a deep thinker?

It's like you miss being called a stupid asshole.

[BurningHammer]

It's even wierder that so many sheep like you exist and believe every piece of propaganda thrown their way without questioning anything for even a millisecond.

I mean, you folks also fall for the right's propaganda as well.

[tpols]

I mean, you folks also fall for the right's propaganda as well.

I like to hear both sides and come to an individual conclusion.