The flippancy is perhaps a reaction to the prevailing opinion on this thread, which is, generally speaking, that the "West" and the Ukrainians can do no wrong and the Russians can do no right.
I don't think that's fair. It's not that the Ukrainians and the West can do no wrong - clearly the West has done bad things in the past and will probably continue to do so. But on this particular issue, it is very obviously Russia that is threatening Ukraine, and not the other way round.
I believe that it is at least a useful intellectual exercise to try and see things from both sides, although with the state of the "leadership in the "West" I admit that I sometimes have difficulty doing that myself! As for the "Democracy" versus "Authoritarianism" thing I have reached a stage where I regard "Western Democracy" as largely illusory, in any case the internal arrangements in Russia are a matter for the Russian people, if they want to change them enough they will do so - they've never been shy in the past!
I would say that's naive and wrong. Western Democracy is, on the whole, very functional. Western nations regularly get rid of their various Governments through the ballot box, and we have a free media that isn't perfect but is by and large able to tell us what is going on in the World. Saying of the Russian Government, "If they want to change them enough they will do so" is particularly wrong. Under Putin, Russian elections have become completely rigged, so the Russian people have no chance of getting rid of Putin, no matter how much they might want to. And as an extra safeguard opposition leaders who might become popular enough to challenge Putin routinely find themselves jailed too. It is in Russia where democracy is illusory, not the West.
I totally understand and agree that it's good to try to see things from both sides. But you shouldn't let that become a justification for defending stuff that is clearly wrong.
Let us hope the Macron brokered meeting pulls everybody back from the brink - I suppose the biggest difference I have with most on here is that I believe that that is what the Russian leadership would prefer also. Mind you they will not be pushed about as before and appear to be in a position to assert themselves more than previously.
How on Earth do you think Russia and Putin were being pushed about? Do you think that maybe Russia poisoning people on UK soil was an example of Russia being 'pushed about'? Or maybe Russia annexing Crimea? Was that an example of Russia being 'pushed about'? Or how about the regularity with which Russia regularly flies military aircraft up to UK airspace? Or the way Russia supported/incited insurrections in Eastern Ukraine? Or all the Russian lead efforts to secretly interfere in the 2016 US election? Or the way Russia has clearly sought to weaponize its gas supplies to Europe? Or the regular cyber-attacks on Western countries that appear to originate from Russia?
As far as I can see, Russia really isn't being pushed about in any significant way. If anything, it's the other way round.
