Is this a conspiracy theory or is there something in it?

Of course that's not what I am suggesting.

Have a look at the previous posts and what Sachs has said in the very first video linked to by the OP and others.

😂

If you actually read the posts, you will see that I posted the video to show that the Americans did make the agreement about not one inch Eastwards and said so publicly, as discussed by the American diplomats in said video. This is what Sachs has referred to more recently. The other poster is just making things up to suit her narrative.

There is no assurance or justification being given in my post. I think you are completely muddled!

What do you mean by "This war need not have started but for US and UK interference"?

Are you suggesting that Ukraine should have let Putin do whatever he wants?

The comments excusing Putin have become just childish nonsense now.

Or do you think the other poster is Kissinger, perhaps?

Do you think you are speaking directly with Putin at present, @Rummly, as you post here on Mumsnet?

You need to think a bit harder.

You posted the video. It was you who said an assurance was given. It was your justification.

It’s your post that’s feeble, video and all.

Whether or not the war started was entirely in the hands of Putin.

I have no idea what you are talking about. They aren't trying to justify Putin's invasion nearly 30 years after this conversation took place. Did you even bother to watch the video?
The actions of all sides here have been terrible. The Ukrainians have been suffering greatly. This war need not have started but for US and UK interference.

You haven't watched the video have you? How ironic that you think I am frothing with anger when your posts are littered with remarks like 'Kremlin mouthpiece' and "FFS". Some people have no insight, I guess. You have a ridiculously one sided view of this. I don't consider it very intelligent, hence the patronising remark.

By the way, if Sachs is 'widely acknowledged as a Kremlin mouthpiece (utter rubbish clearly), why was he speaking and advising in the European Parliament a couple of weeks ago? Oh dear, perhaps you are just plain wrong after all.

While your comments about X & TikTok are true, thinking that you anywhere close to the truth from the BBC, the Guardian or Sky news is pure fantasy.

All of these have been proved time and time again to push their own agendas, fail to report events that show their narrative is wrong, and at times, outright lie.

Fair.

Kissinger was never feeble 😂

It’s not a reason or explanation either.

It's not a justification

That is the most feeble justification for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine I’ve ever seen. It wasn’t even what Putin said when he went in.

Isn't it. So many dullards accusing anyone who doesn't agree with them of being "Kremlin mouthpieces" and "Russian assets". It's pure paranoia - McCarthy all over again.

Sadly you are right. So many lost to propaganda, and utterly wed to it, it’s quite terrifying how programmed they are, spicy with it too! 😬

If she believes it you will never convince her otherwise so don't bother trying. Just turn the conversation every time it comes up. 'That's interesting, now I must show you our holiday snaps, we had a fabulous time....'

Wow such frothing anger. Actually, I was referring to Sachs as the Kremlin mouthpiece, you know, the video you patronisingly sent to “educate me” (who is widely acknowledged to be a Kremlin mouthpiece.

NATO threatens Russia like a lock threatens a thief.
Anyone saying that NATO expansion provoked the Russian invasion of Ukraine is parroting Kremlin lies. NATO is a defensive alliance that individual countries voluntarily apply to join… to protect themselves from being invaded. Countries join NATO by choice, not by occupation. Ukraine was unarmed and wanted security, especially after the invasion of Georgia in 2008, where russia terrorised and massacred Georgians. NATO’s only "hostile" if you’re the one attacking a member state, since Article 5 (the collective defense clause) has only been invoked once, after 9/11.
Each nation has the sovereign right to choose its alliances, and they’re not the ones massing troops or annexing neighbors.
Russia didn’t attack because of NATO, 6 NATO countries border Russia, did they invade them? Russia invaded because Ukraine was vulnerable without NATO protection and because it views Ukraine autonomy as worthless and has always viewed Ukraine as belonging to it. Here’s a picture to show you the countries that Russia have invaded over the years. Hope this helps!

Relieved to see far more intelligent comments from @HauntedBungalow and @OnlyDespairRemains

@Rummly have a look at the American video I just posted if you think that you can wipe the slate of history clear by saying 'it's all a pack of lies'.
The US knew exactly what they were doing. They want access to Ukraine's natural resources. They clearly totally underestimated Russia. The sanctions, etc have just served to impoverish Europeans (supposedly US allies) even further. Whether you or anyone else likes it, Trump has decided to do things differently. He obviously has his own motives, no doubt not particularly pleasant ones, but the fact is that he is the leader of the most powerful nation in the world. Europe needs to wise up and quickly!

This is hilarious. It's always seems to be the case that people who don't know what they are talking turn to ad hominem remarks instead of debating intelligently. I'm not a Kremlin mouth piece and it says more about you than me that you choose this phrase and just debases what you say.

Funny that you suggest that there was no agreement over the 'not one inch eastwards'. Here's another video you may find helpful. American ambassador Jack Matlock and Kissinger discussing this situation in 1994. Matlock states clearly that there was an agreement. Please note, this is an American saying this, not a Russian: .
Stop making things up to fit your view that this is 100% Russia's fault when the reality is that this is far more complicated.

I'm not on the Russian side nor on the American side but do find a lot of Western media comments, including on here, to be both ignorant and naive.

Anyone who can't see this isn't black and white also is ignoring human nature in general. People do not act in a vacuum. World leaders, in particular, do not act in a vacuum, or on a mad whim. They do not start wars, endangering their country, their personal wealth and security, for no reason.

I know it's satisfying to say oh Putin, he's crazy, he's a madman, and he just does this stuff. And if you don't care much about why the war is happening, you can tell yourself this, and not have to think further. But then why are you talking about it?

Anyone who can’t see that this isn’t black and white has no real understanding of history, both Russian/Soviet and in general.

Did the USA encourage the Eastern expansion of NATO knowing full well that it might at some point provoke a Russian response? A lot of people would have had to have been very stupid otherwise. They would also have had to have learnt nothing from the Cuban missile crisis or any other time when one powerful nation state had got too close to another throughout history. They also don’t seem to have read much about the last 300 years of Russian history either.

Did the Eastern expansion of NATO contribute to Russia’s decision to annexe Crimea and interfere in the Donbas, before their full scale invasion? Again yes but, and this the only real arguable point - was it the major factor or just a minor one?

Does any of that justify Russia in their invasion of Ukraine? Of course not. But it does go some way to explaining it.