Belarus is such a complete joke of a nation.
Russia annexing the Baltic countries was a way bigger provocation than the Baltic countries on their own free will joining NATO. If they didn't join NATO, their fate would've been the same as we see in Ukraine now.
Only difference is they would stand no chance against the Russian juggernaut.
Even if I am European by way of Portugal via my wife more than my Lithuanian family heritage, I grew up in the biggest Lithuanian community outside of Vilnius (Chicago). So I knew how a lot of expats and people back in the homeland felt.
There are clear reasons Lithuania was the first republic to break away from the U.S.S.R. Why Svetlana Tikhanovskaya went into exile in Lithuania.
Their NATO alliance was just a reflection of the distrust and despising of Russia that was already there. Stalin and Hitler sold these countries out.
No, it's about punishing Ukrainians for leaving him, Putin doesn't care about empire, in his poor brain there is no Ukraine without Russia, he's an imbecile with nuclear weapons
The more I think about Ukraine and Russia, and China and Taiwan, the more they both sound like stalker ex-boyfriends telling them they are meant to be together forever while threatening violence on them or anybody else who gets in their obsessive possessive way.
It's been a shame to be a Russian for a long time, now it's even worse, Russia should be punished for everything, Russia should be kicked from everywhere, 0 tolerance, Europe will survive without russian gas, Russia won't survive without Europe
You represent one of the most important parts of the puzzle, however. Despite the mechanisms for death, torture, and abuse, how can we support the Russians who are suffering under this madness and need a way out of it?