Well, again as I stated previously - it is hypocritical and these companies and states should be held accountable. If someone feeds the soil for the next dictator to grow and then all of a sudden there is a political crisis involving said dictator aren't you directly responsible for such crisis?
> these companies and states should be held accountable.
Hold the companies accountable... okay sure. I'll write some letters to my elected officials and federal prosecutors about holding Apple and Google accountable. Just one thing... which laws were they breaking? Or do you propose consumer boycotts of both Google and Apple? If your plan is for everybody to give up their smartphones, your plan is DOA.
Hold the states accountable... What does it mean to hold a sovereign state accountable? Are you going to bend the US Government itself over your knee and spank it? I don't think so. What exactly do you mean by holding the state itself accountable?
The non-reaction to the invasion of Crimea and Donbas in 2014, the non-reaction to breaking numerous "red lines" in Syria or our (=German) continued support for Nord Stream is evidence enough.
there are ~ 190+ countries, each of which is guilty of this "non-reaction" you speak of
russia, of course, is more guilty than all these other countries, because not only are they guilty of the same "non-reaction", but they are guilty of the initial action, too!
> there are ~ 190+ countries, each of which is guilty of this "non-reaction" you speak of
While I agree with you, most of the blame lies on us Europeans here. We knew what a continuation of this war and the constant erosion of basic rules of war would cause (most importantly, a ton of refugees), and yet we did nothing despite us being in a position to help from a military perspective in contrast to most Global South countries. We just let Assad and Russia bomb their own people with chemical weapons and barrel bombs.
We stuck our heads into the desert sand and hoped the storm would pass, and then we had the audacity of letting tens of thousands of people drown in the Mediterranean or on the Turkey-Greece route.
everything you say is true of all 190+ countries: they all knew what a continuation of russia's genocide of Ukraine would cause, and yet each one did nothing despite being capable of sending at least minimal aid to Ukraine, or publicly voicing opposition to russia's genocide of Ukraine
so, again, each of those countries (russia alone more than any other) is equally guilty, be they China, USA, Iran, Canada, North Korea,
etc: none had any responsibility to intervene more or less than the others, and EU receives no special blame for russia's genocide of Ukraine
or, more to the point, they are all equally innocent, except for the aggressor, russia, who started the genocide of Ukraine in the first place
> Western states were aiding and abetting Putin's regime up until last years.
> until last years.
Very strange phrasing, that's not idiomatic English. How many years? That should say something like "until last year" or "until X years ago" or "until the last X years".
What is the value of X?
I might presume that you mean the last year, e.g. 2022, but there are some problems with that. You've claims that western states were assisting Russia, and cited the supposed actions of two American companies. But the American state itself is not those companies, and has been arming and training Ukraine to fight Russia since at least 2014.
I have no idea what US voters/leaders "want Russia to be".
I don't believe EU voters/leaders wanted Putin's international military aggression. I believe they were cowards. They thought cheap Russian gas was the solution to their political (and perhaps personal) problems, and they set aside the potential consequences.
German leaders, in particular, welcomed "trade" with Russia on the basis that if they could entangle Russia in enough mutually-beneficial trading relationships, Russia would never attack Europe with militay force. This is what's called Ostpolitik, and perhaps Realpolitik (i.e. "practical politics"). Nowadays it looks much more like "cynical politics"; make hay while the sun shines, and damn the consequences.
It is clear now that the objective of Ostpolitik was not achieved, but the simple alternative (don't trade) does not seem to be obviously better either (Russians would have had even less reasons not to invade more). If that Ostpolitik delayed the issues with Russia and gave Ukraine some more time, maybe it was the best of the bad options available.
They still do to some extent. Remember that gas heater you have has to have gas from somewhere. And that somewhere is Russia.
If you consider recent rulings in baltic states blocking vehicles, phones, laptops and et cetera from entering that is the highest displays of hypocrisy. Oil is fine but people with phones are not.
