From the outset of the conflict, Russia has stated that advancement of NATO into Ukraine was a primary driver of the fighting. As such, Russia views discussions toover deploydeploying troops from NATO countries in Ukraine as part of security guarantees negativelyis asjust thismore wouldinflammatory. onlyAny exacerbatepeace theresolution problem,must rather than deal with the root causes of this conflict.

For months, Russia has brought up "root causes" as a go-to talking point. But this is a red herring that ignores Russia's aggression and is simply a cover for its desire to turn Ukraine into a subservient vassal state with a puppet government that does its bidding, disregarding Ukraine's sovereignty.