I would never try to justify Putin’s invasion, which surely created an irremediable rift within Ukrainian society and will inevitably lead to the fracturing of the nation. I sympathize with Roger Scruton’s notion of conservatism, without adhering to the various conclusions he may draw from it. It is precisely for that reason that, as a US citizen I deplore the damage my native country has done to other cultures in the world, including France, my current home and second nationality. In some very real and direct sense, Putin is a creation of the US. I would even maintain that he has been crafted by the US to play a role that serves a very real purpose. But at the same time this highlights a deeper problem that is currently undermining the integrity of US society itself.
The real moral of the story is a very Christian (and deeply conservative) one: those who live by the military-industrial complex die by the military-industrial complex. Especially cultures. I personally find it appalling that Europe, in its desperation following the realization that all of its cultures are compromised, has now converted to that same philosophy.

Thank you for your comment.

I fully agree with your thesis that the Poroshenko government, on its part, also began to ban the Russian language and destroy traditions.

However, the trends against the Russian language and the first major wave of nationalism began with Viktor Yushchenko and the “Orange Revolution”. At that time, USAID and the Western intervention you mention played a significant role. Yet Yushchenko, with all these efforts, did not remain in power for more than one presidential term. Even Poroshenko lost the election to Zelensky, who gave interviews in Russian and pursued a conciliatory rhetoric.

Western-funded anti-Russian, nationalist movements never had overwhelming power or broad support among the Ukrainian people, neither on their own nor with U.S backing.

However, Russia’s military invasion is already more than U.S humanitarian involvement in Ukraine. When the Russian army shells houses and people die, it naturally provokes Ukrainian hostility toward Russia.

It was, however, precisely Putin’s military invasion that played a key role in making it possible to justify the course of “banning the Russian language and persecuting the Church”, which has been disastrous for Ukraine.

Respectfully,
Ganpantsura

My understanding of the events is that it was the Poroschenko government that banned Russian and fomented a spirit of civil war between the shared traditions. If anyone sought to annihilate that shared heritage — and succeeded in doing so — it was Victoria Nuland and Joe Biden. As an American having lived through the Vietnam war, Yougoslavia, Iraq and Libya (to mention only those), I find that propensity for cultural annihilation of other nations to be a kind of historical constant.

As for the events of 2008, there’s some serious context worth recalling: Bush’s declaration on NATO expansion at the Bucharest conference and the Great Recession Bush conveniently delivered to help destablize the nations of the world’s economies. US presidents tend to be bulldozers, intent not on conservation but on crushing the cultures and economies they meddle in.