Are those things only illegal if you snort coke?

I’m almost positive that widespread interest in Ukraine joining NATO spiked in popularity AFTER the invasion started and wasn’t even taken seriously until then. So… Russia really created their own problem in that regard.

The path toward peace is not “let the blatant aggressor get everything they want without concessions.” Usually, if you want peace, you tell the instigator to knock it off or MAKE them knock it off. Otherwise, all that’s learned is they can do it again, consequence-free.