re: #82 Petero1818

Well as I understand it, Russia did so and gave security and territorial integrity guarantees to Ukraine, in exchange for Ukraine handing over its nuclear aresenal to Russia. From where the Russians sat, giving such guarantees was a small price to pay to avoid a potentially hostile nuclear neighbor. Since the Russians now have welched on that agreement it seems they gave up nothing.

Putin has massively fucked over Russia’s future ability to negotiate in good faith. He can make all the excuses and distinctions he wants, most governments are likely to look at this as a willful and egregious treaty violation. The really shocking thing is how unnecessary and seemingly capricious this action is.