To preface, it is important not to undermine Russia’s role in these invasions, and the Russian government should be condemned globally for their acts of inhumane violence and war crimes.
That said, it is important to acknowledge what role the expansionist efforts of the West play in these wars. The stage is set at the dissolution of the Soviet Union when Russia and NATO made an agreement for NATO expansion not to reign over the nations of eastern Europe that bordered Russia. This policy of neutrality for these eastern nations was broken however in 1996 under the Clinton administration when the United States led the charge of recruiting Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary into NATO. The involvement of these three countries were not enough to provoke a response from Russia however the tensions did rise with the recruitment of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Slovakia.
In his lecture at Yale University, Vladimir Pozner noted the Russian attitude towards the United States under Vladimir Putin in the early 2000s. There was never an antagonization of Americans during this period — in fact, there was a desire to develop a sort of partnership between Russia and the United States. This attitude radiated throughout the population of Russia and in the Russian government and was exemplified by Putin’s sympathy towards the United States after the 9/11 tragedy. Putin went as far as to aid the Bush administration in Afghanistan. His diplomacy with the West stretched as far as efforts to join NATO and the European Union during this period, however he was denied in numerous instances.
Vladimir Pozner – Yale University Lecture – 2018
NATO expansionist efforts foreshadowed a desire to involve Ukraine and Georgia, and eventually made the motion official in the 2008 Bucharest Summit when NATO announced that these two nations would eventually become a part of NATO. Putin noticed these efforts and in his speech in Munich in 2007, and questioned who this NATO expansion was against.
The decision to include Georgia and Ukraine is what Dr. John J. Mearsheimer refers to as the West’s efforts to forge a western bulwark out of these two nations in the Russian orbit. Dr. Mearsheimer, along with other scholars and journalists such as Mr. Pozner label NATO’s efforts as neo-liberal expansion into Eastern Europe. This expansion to Georgia and Ukraine proved to be an existential crisis to Russia, and as characterized by their efforts to invade both nations.
Professor John J. Mearsheimer – Chicago University Lecture – 2015
It was made unequivocally clear by Russia prior to their invasion of Georgia in 2008 that this expansion was an existential threat, and Mearsheimer characterizes the Russian response as preferring the destruction of the military and government of these nations as opposed to conceding them to NATO.
This is where the parallels between the two invasions align: the move for Russia to invade these nations was purely strategic in effort not to allow their recruitment into NATO. It is difficult to conclude that misconceptions such as the desire for Putin to create a “better Russia” are credible since there is not substantial evidence to support this.
The difference between both wars is that the West did not support Georgia as much as they are now with Ukraine, and in a way they abandoned Georgia. The West continues to supply Ukraine with weapons and intelligence in this war in order to stand against Russia however refuses to fight alongside them. This is where Dr. Mearsheimer says that it seems the West will supply Ukraine in this war until “the last Ukrainian.”
While it is true that Russia’s foreign policy behaves hegemonically, we must consider, is this war worth the countless lives lost by the Ukrainian population? There are those like Dr. Mearsheimer and Mr. Pozner that suggest that it is within Ukraine’s best interest to abandon the efforts of joining NATO, and maintain their policy of neutrality for the sake of their people. To put an American’s view into perspective, what would the United States say if Russia were to declare an alliance with Mexico? What type of reaction would that foster from the United States?
The only truth that remains definite is that these wars are unjust and have taken a criminal amount of lives. The acts of war crime and inhumanity demonstrated by Vladimir Putin’s Russia are to be condemned globally, and the West should hold itself accountable for its participation as well.