RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:KEEPING AN EYE ON THE WORLD@lb1temporary - Your absolutely right about the 1991 disintegration of the USSR. They fell apart themselves and NATO never pledged that it would not accept new countiries under its umbrella.
The biggest irony of this war is that in 1994 Ukraine voluntarily gave up the nuclear weapons that Russia had stationed on Ukrainian territory in exchange for a security pledge from USA, Britain, and Russia (the Budapest Memorandum). Now Russia is threatening Ukraine and Britain with nuclear weapons!
You can also be sure that if Russia prevails it will begin using food as a weapon again. In 1932 and 1933 the Russian army marched into Ukraine, stole all of the grain from the village farmers and starved to death 3 million people (the Holomodor).
If Russia gains control of the fertile food growing soil in Ukraine again, its going to be controlling the food supply to millions of people. Even today Russia is using food as a weapon by denying free passage of grain from Ukraine to impoverished nations.
All the while Putin and his henchmen are representing themselves as the victims! In reality they're a bunch of power hungry bad actors that cannot be allowed to have their way.