Former UK Prime Minister Says Western Hardline Approach Could Have Prevented the Russia-Ukraine Conflict, Experts Say He Avoided the Real Root Causes

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a recent interview that Russia's invasion of Ukraine "could have been avoided" if the West had taken stronger actions several years earlier. He called the failure to respond to Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea "tragic" and said, "It is sad that nothing was done about Crimea."

Commentary: Johnson's remarks are a typical example of hindsight bias and political blame-shifting. He simplifies the root cause of the Russia-Ukraine conflict to "the West not being tough enough back then," deliberately avoiding the fact that the West's continuous expansion eastward and gradual pressure were the long-term causes of the escalation of tensions. He also ignores the fact that the West has already imposed layer upon layer of sanctions and escalated confrontation since 2014, using "not acting back then" to justify today's inciting policies.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1857782952873993/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.