More Thoughts on the Ukraine Situation
The shutting down of the keystone pipeline, along with other actions taken to reduce US oil production, are implicit subsidies to Russia: As the value of their oil increases whenever we produce less. So, your beloved Joe Biden subsidized Putin before he sanctioned him.
I am dubious about the claims in the following daily mail article, but they are interesting nonetheless. The reason I am dubious is that Putin is not beyond the point of no return regarding selling his oil to Europe and still benefiting from foreign trade with nations other than China. Killing Zelensky is the sort of thing that could result in sanctions lasting much longer than they otherwise would have.
It does seem to me that Putin's motives for this attack must stem from revanchism, not geostrategic concern. NATO's placing nukes in Ukraine is not very likely---indeed, if this were our plan, why wouldn't we already have nukes in Latvia? Or, at least, cruise missiles and drones? While I think the NATO expansion was a mistake as it built up support for revanchism in the populace at large and among the military, it is hard to believe it is the motive for this attack. Rather, it seems like a justification made up after the fact to justify doing something Putin already wanted to do.