The comments are quite interesting

Probably worth putting some simple questions to her. If Ukraine is full of Nazis why has it elected a Jewish president? If it's just a special military operation why has the Russian government turned off all foreign media and domestic liberal media? Do McDonald's support Nazis? I know many Russians are unable to come to terms with what's going on but commonsense must surely suggest it's all a bit fishy.

:michael-laugh:

"The populations of Luhansk, Donetsk and Crimea are overwhelmingly Russian." They were probably quite favourably inclined towards Russia until the shelling started and Putin sent in the Chechins and Syrians.

The uncritical and unquestioning acceptance of autocratic leadership is as Russian as pelmeni. Russia is not a Western nation. Westerners share a host of clearly identifiable values amongst which are pluralism and freedom of thought and speech. Western is not the same as European. Russians are European in one sense but they are not Westerners. Japan and Australia are Western nations but not European. Autocracy, dictatorship, despotism and it has to be said extreme violence in pursuit of imperial aims have been a factor in Russian life for centuries. One should expect Russians to be this way and not assume that Russia is fertile territory for Western values, or for any kind of liberalism at all apart from capitalist liberalism which they enjoy the fruits of.