The Ukraine war is often misrepresented as a straightforward act of aggression by Russia, but its origins are far more complex and deeply rooted in history. This conflict traces back to February 9, 1990, when U.S. Secretary of State James Baker assured Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO would not expand “one inch eastward” in exchange for Soviet agreement to German reunification, effectively ending World War II’s unresolved tensions. Gorbachev valued this promise, yet the U.S. reneged on it by 1994, initiating plans under President Clinton to expand NATO eastward, eventually encompassing nations like Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic in 1999. While Russia initially tolerated this expansion, viewing it as a non-immediate threat, the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999 strained relations, signaling a shift in the alliance’s purpose.

The post-Cold War years saw further provocations. In 2002, the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, deploying missile systems in Eastern Europe that Russia deemed existential threats. This was compounded by the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and a soft regime-change operation during Ukraine’s 2004 Orange Revolution. Although tensions temporarily eased under President Viktor Yanukovych’s neutrality-focused leadership in Ukraine, the situation escalated again in 2014 when the U.S. supported a coup that ousted Yanukovych. This intervention, including documented discussions by U.S. officials about installing a new Ukrainian government, profoundly alarmed Russia, further fueling mistrust.

The NATO expansion continued unabated, with seven more countries joining in 2004, and missile systems stationed near Russia’s borders. These actions, paired with the U.S.’s withdrawal from key arms treaties, reflected a pattern of what Russia perceived as encirclement and hostility. In late 2021, President Putin proposed a U.S.-Russia security agreement aimed at halting NATO’s expansion, yet the U.S. dismissed negotiations, adhering to its “open-door policy” for NATO membership. Weeks later, Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine, followed by initial peace overtures mediated by Turkey. However, the United States and Britain reportedly pressured Ukraine to reject these agreements, opting for continued conflict.

This war has resulted in catastrophic losses, with hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian lives lost and a nation devastated. It reflects not just regional disputes but also the recklessness of U.S. foreign policy, driven by narratives that misrepresent the conflict as a battle against an aggressive dictator threatening Europe. Such oversimplifications ignore the broader historical and geopolitical context, silencing dissenting perspectives and perpetuating cycles of violence and mistrust.