I had the pleasure of debating the NATO–Russia proxy war that is destroying Ukraine. My main argument is that there is overwhelming evidence that Western leaders knew NATO expansion would trigger a security competition with Russia and revive Cold War logic, with Ukraine being the ultimate red line. Once NATO triggered the conflict by toppling Yanukovych and taking control of the new government it installed, war became largely unavoidable. The decision by NATO countries in 2022 to then suspend diplomacy and send weapons in a proxy war that Russia considers an existential threat meant that a brutal war of attrition became the only logical consequence. If this war continues much longer, the risk is the complete destruction of Ukraine and a possible nuclear war between NATO and Russia. Anyone who does not “support” Ukraine by endorsing these suicidal policies is accused of “repeating Kremlin talking points”, thus course correction becomes impossible.
