My great mentor, former U.S. National Security Adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, once said that Russia faces a clear choice – it can be either an ally of the West, or a vassal of China. Vladimir Putin chose the latter. It remains to be seen if the society follows. 🧵⤵️ This “special military operation” planned to last a few days has dragged on for more than two and a half years; this is a major war.

By supporting Ukraine we are not only aiding a victim of an unprovoked aggression ⤵️🧵 We are defending the principles of the UN Charter we can all benefit from. 
Today, these principles are at a breaking point.

Even today there is no shortage of political influencersblinded by global authoritarian propaganda and the myths it peddles.
Let's dispel some of these illusions one by one. Follow the 🧵 from my speech at @AEI : Myth 1️⃣. “Russia is one of the last and most committeddefenders of Judeo-Christian values.”
Nothing can be further from the truth. The Russian Orthodox Church is a moral black hole. It incites hatred and greed. It is a corrupt department of the corrupt state.
The Russian society seems to have fallen into a state of anomy– a total breakdown of moral values, standards or guidance for individuals to follow. According to the Russian Interior Ministry, the number of violent crimes committed in 2024 may reach 152,000 – the highest figure in over 15 years. This data correlates with arapid increase in alcoholism. Life expectancy for men in this conservative paradise hardly exceeds 65 years.

Putin described Ukraine as a "very complicated state" made up of Polish, Czechoslovak, Romanian and especially Russian territory with a Russian minority, whose size he greatly exaggerated. He particularly took aim at Crimea. 1/5
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spiegel.de/panorama/ukrai…
Crimea became part of the then Ukrainian Soviet Republic through what was perceived as an arbitrary act of the Soviet Politburo, which is true, but this sounded worrying in that context. 2/5

I wonder if France and Germany realise how much credibility they are losing in Central Europe with their policy on Ukraine. 1st, they are acting in the ineffective Minsk format instead, as we pledged in the Lisbon Treaty, together as the EU and through Union institutions.