JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum A word about my absence...

Sue, you have it almost completely backwards. The government in Ukraine was not pro-western. It was led by pro-Russian stooge Viktor Yanukovych. Most of the country was pro-western, but he took the Russian money and declined to sign a trade agreement with the European Union. It wasn't just the carrot of the money but also the stick of the crippling financial retaliation that Putin threatened if the deal was signed, as well as Yanukovych's pro-Russian sentiments. The outrage among the population at this move is what led to Yanukovych's overthrow and the subsequent Russian actions against Ukraine and its new pro-western government, including the invasion of Crimea and the eastern parts of the country. Obama's involvement consisted of imposing sanctions on the Russians in response. It's a bit of a stretch to call that starting a civil war. As for the stuff about mineral rights and hoped-for profits for the "coup-masters," that comes straight out of the Russian troll factory handbook. A lot of what is spread online originates in places that many who consume it don't realize.