UK: Even though all of his pre-war justifications have since been disproven, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair still maintains that the US-led invasion of Iraq was more justified than Russia's ongoing military operation in Ukraine.
Speaking to Germany's DPA and two other European news agencies, Blair claimed that Saddam Hussein's domestic and regional conflicts, as well as his use of chemical weapons against the Kurds, justified the invasion, in which 46,000 British troops took part.
Blair said, "At least you could say we were overthrowing a despot and attempting to impose democracy.
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According to the Iraq Body Count project, the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq resulted in the deaths of up to 210,000 civilians. After the US pulled out of Iraq in 2011, the nation descended into chaos, became a haven for jihadism, and a large portion of its northern regions came under the control of terrorists from the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS).
Hussein had no connection to the 9/11 attacks, and the US and UK's assertions that he was harbouring WMDs were false. Blair falsely claimed that Iraq had these weapons and was working to acquire nuclear weapons prior to the invasion.
In contrast to Iraq, Blair continued, Ukraine has a democratically elected president who, to my knowledge, has never instigated a regional conflict or engaged in any aggressive behaviour towards its neighbours.
Viktor Yanukovich, the previous leader of Ukraine, was deposed in a coup supported by the US in 2014. The military offensive against pro-Russian militias in Donbass was then started by his successor, Pyotr Poroshenko, and according to Russian investigators, it resulted in at least 5,500 civilian injuries and more than 2,600 civilian deaths.
This violence was one of the main drivers behind Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to send troops into Ukraine in February. "The threat was escalating daily. By February 2022, everything would be set up for another bloody punitive action in Donbass, according to the information we were receiving, he told Russia's parliament last month.
Along with the danger to the people of Donbass, Putin also cited the proliferation of neo-Nazi ideology in Ukraine, the Western bloc's insistence on arming Ukraine and turning it into a "anti-Russia" state, and the threat to the people of Donbass.
One of the main drivers behind the decision to send troops into Ukraine in February, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin, was this violence. "Day by day, the threat grew. No question could be raised about the readiness for another bloody punitive action in Donbass by February 2022 based on the information we were receiving, he told Russia's parliament last month.
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In addition to the danger to the people of Donbass, Putin cited other factors as justification for the operation, including NATO's insistence on arming Ukraine and turning it into a "anti-Russia" state, the Western bloc's refusal to discuss a security arrangement with Russia, and the spread of neo-Nazi ideology in the country.
