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What’s Happened Between Ukraine and Russia with Matthew Mežinskis

Peter McCormack

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What’s Happened Between Ukraine and Russia with Matthew Mežinskis - WBD544 Peter McCormack

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Matthew Mežinskis is the creator of the Crypto Voices podcast and Porkopolis Economics website. In this interview, we discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the refutation of justifications for the war on the basis of Russia’s security needs and threats from Ukrainian Nazis.

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On the 24th February, Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to invade its neighbour Ukraine. It is the first major conflict in Europe since World War 2, this time pitting East Slav against East Slav. The ramifications of the war will be felt for decades to come. Yet, at the moment, analysts and commentators are still struggling to make sense of the rapidly shifting present.

Despite the uncertainty regarding how the conflict will play out, it seemed as though the ideological battlegrounds were clear: Putin, a ruthless autocratic leader in charge of a mafia state, has aggressively and unilaterally invaded a sovereign nation defying international law, destabilising the wider region, and causing significant issues in global energy and food markets.

However, some of those who have cast a rightfully critical eye over post-World War 2 American foreign policy, particularly its proclivity for armed combat, looked at Russia’s actions through a different lens. To them, Russia had credible security concerns.

Does a nation that has been invaded twice in recent centuries by European powers have legitimate concerns over NATO expansions toward its borders? Furthermore, are the alarming claims of powerful ultra right-wing within Ukraine’s armed forces fighting along Russia’s borders reliable?

To those for whom the conflict resonates personally, where TV images show familiar locations and victims with a shared history, these are incredibly emotive subjects. It becomes more than an intellectual disagreement, and there is little room for nuance. But, even for those of us without an intimate connection, Putin’s historical record and the evidence that Russia is engaging in brutal atrocities against unarmed civilians of all ages, should bring clarity to our perspective.

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00:01:21: Introductions
00:03:24: Matthew's disclaimers on the subject
00:08:38: Historical context of USSR and Eastern Europe
00:16:15: The deceit of calling Ukrainians Nazis
00:22:17: Polarisation of support for the conflict
00:29:20: The Baltic Nations' relationship
00:31:02: The Pale of Settlement
00:40:13: The fallacy of justifying the war on Russia's security needs
00:50:16: Vladimir Putin, the oligarchs, and Putin's Palace
01:01:26: Russian sporting bans, and Russian expats
01:13:33: The Maidan Uprising
01:24:24: Russia's motivation for Ukraine's invasion, and the Crimea takeover
01:31:31: The latest on the war
01:35:02: Support for the Uyghurs and Taiwan
01:40:35: The NATO argument
01:43:55: Final comments

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