Putin shouldn't be defended though. Maybe he has a legitimate reason to engage in war, but it should be reserved for soldiers, not shopping malls. If he uses a nuke, then how will the world defend this?
I understand his position, I try to be objective, but war should always be the 11th hour decision. Zelensky and Europe were also arrogant in NOT listening to the U.S and UK that Russia would strike.
The issue about climate change and green energy sources is legitimate and yes, Putin is no fool, he knows where his leverage lies. The same fools in MSM were promoting Putin and U.S enemies propaganda, they LOVED seeing the West destroy their economies.
Now some at CNN seem to understand that they were hoodwinked and sold out many lives due to their blind obedience. I argued all along that all industries could co-exist, but stop destroying existing, reliable resources to artificially force one that isn't perfected nor a viable option at this point.
Funny, I haven't heard Merkels name once by MSM since she unceremoniously finally put her country out of their misery and stepped down. She was an absolute disaster for Germany, Europe and ultimately all of the West.