Armchair Critic,

Your post echoes familiar Kremlin narratives. Putin didn’t save Russia - he built a cage and called it a fortress.

//Russia didn't want this war, it saw it as being unavoidable and an existential threat…//

Russia chose to invade Ukraine. No one forced them to annex Crimea in 2014 or launch a full-scale invasion in 2022. Ukraine posed no military threat - only a democratic one that undermined Putin’s influence over former Soviet states. NATO is a defensive alliance. Countries apply to join - often to protect themselves from Russia, not threaten it.

//...sanctions, overthrows, the march of NATO... Europeans openly talking about trying to break up the country.//

Ukraine’s 2014 revolution wasn’t a Western coup - it was a public rejection of corruption. The claim that Europe is trying to “break up” Russia is pure propaganda. The West’s actions have been reactive, not expansionist.

//Putin has done a pretty great job of bring[ing] Russia back from the brink...//

He didn’t fix corruption - he consolidated it. Russia under Putin has become a repressive autocracy. Opposition is jailed or killed, media is state-controlled, and elections are a farce. Economic stability built on authoritarianism isn’t a revival - it’s stagnation under tight control.

//Russia is becoming more self sufficient, relying less upon the West.//

That’s not a strength - it’s isolation. Producing your own turbines and jets means little if they're outdated or unsellable. Much of this “self-sufficiency” is emergency adaptation, not prosperity.

//Western companies have started to openly express a desire to return to Russia…//

Yes, because businesses want profit - but that doesn't mean the Russian economy is thriving. They’ve lost innovation, partnerships, and global integration.

//Russia can dangle a carrot with its rare earth minerals…//

And the West is responding - diversifying supply and accelerating renewables. The leverage is fading.

//I’d be thankful for Putin... despite the conflicts...//

Gratitude for an autocrat who wages imperial wars and crushes dissent is misplaced. Russia deserved reform and democracy - not repression and aggression.

"The first objective that has been primarily achieved, was the de-militarization of Ukraine. "

In fact Ukraine military is now among the most formidable in Europe and its weapons manufacturing industry is now quite capable of competing with the likes of Czechia and Poland in terms of modern armaments.

If Putin is concerned about Nazis then he might look to his own nation first which has more than enough fascists to keep him busy for years to come. The claims about Ukrainian Nazis was just an excuse to partially (and unsuccessfully) justify his land-grab.

Got this sent today;

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1425838125065795&rdid=GSP4Fy7Fjvw5v1cp