- Russia obviously does not want to take over Ukraine. How do you get this idea?
- In the quote Putin does talk about partnership...
This is why your interpretation seems to me to be very biased.
I am not a fan of any ruler (there are bad ones and terrible ones), but I am also not a fan of any XXX-phobic narration or interpretation.
I would suggest you (re-)watch Putin's speech at the Munich security conference.
I am not phobic against any nation. Yes, I am phobic against a ruler like Putin who is, in many ways, a dictatorial imperialist.
See the references. The doctrine used to justify the invasion of Ukraine was effectively based on the concept of Ukraine not existing as a nation and a culture. That I think was stated quite clearly.
much like the ones ruling over the US, Canada, Germany, Austria, France, Australia, New Zealand, China, Ukraine, UK, Southafrica. Ok, he seems a bit more competent than those.
edit: I think you should watch Putin at the Munich conference, if you haven't already. It seems everybody is talking about this 'evil dude', but very few make the effort to listen to a first-hand-source, himself.
Shouldn't you know people you (almost) call your enemies?
Yes, imperial ambitions exist everywhere. But the accepted method at the moment is soft power, not military conquest. What makes you think of Putin's competence?
I would not agree that the countries I mentioned use soft power ;)
Putin is competent as a politician (esp. in comparison); e.g. if asked a question, he takes time to answer. Less of the questions or answers are scripted. If he says something, chances are that it is still valid on the next day/month/year. He has an interest in the quality of life of 'his' people. All this should be a normal qualifications for politixens, but is not.
If you want to see his competence, I recommended the video already. Oliver Stone's interviews are also a good insight.
btw. Russia is one of the few countries which developed a 'vaccine' (that also did not function), that had by far less severe side effects (it's not mRNA based). Some think that Russia was aware that this would be a way to protect citizens from bad things that were let loose in most other countries.
When blaming Russia for the war, the activities of Kiev concerning eastern Ukraine during the Minsk agreement should be considered.