I don't think anyone suggested you personally had to do anything of the sorts. But that you don't walk away as a group/nation, which IS very capable of making a difference.
Bradskii’s post appeared to do that, which is why I responded to them that way. But also, at this point, I’m also honestly not sure what the United States can do. If Russia’s better interest is to take over Ukraine, then Russia’s better interest is to take over Ukraine. They obviously have some national security interests and economic ones down there which they are spending hundreds of thousands of lives trying to get by brute force, and enduring the wrath of the rest of the entire world in order to get what they want. It’s clearly worth it to them.
Of course, you can argue that this is Putin pursuing his own interest at the expense of his country, in which case it’s time to get out the assassins. But I tend to think that people eventually find out when they are being taken advantage of. If Putin is not truly advancing his people’s interests, his days are numbered. But if we suspend that thought, not sure what to do if an entire huge country is coming after you to destroy you and you are outgunned and outnumbered. You can ask other countries for help, but eventually intentions fall downhill. If I have something you want and I can’t defend it, you’re going to get it. If I can defend it, you won’t get it. It’s just that simple.
Now I can stand here in this walled garden (referring to Christian Forums) and say “subduing a bunch of people who do not want to be governed by you is expensive and a bad idea”. I mean, that didn’t work too good for the United States in Afghanistan. There will be insurgents and rebels in the Ukrainian areas for a long time after Russia successfully conquers the place. I can also say that it would be better to try to deal with the people who actually live in Ukraine (and want to be their own nation) rather than destroying them and their infrastructure and having to rebuild everything all over again. But I presume Russia has had plenty of time to consider those sentences over the decades of Ukrainian independence. Should Russia have considered that more? Absolutely. But they will get their consequences for their actions.
Sure, as a nation, I can escalate. I can point my nukes at Moscow and fire. But then I’m bringing down Russia’s nuclear retaliation on the United States. I can send more weapons and more forces to the war front. I can ask “what does Russia want in Ukraine?” to my advisers and see if I can negotiate a peace treaty that’s amenable to both sides. But I’m inclined to presume that Putin wants to take over the country; it was part of the former USSR and Putin wants that territory back. He’s not willing to accept the losses imposed by the Soviet Union’s collapse; not much I can do about that.
Heck, showing support and/or condemning things in public can even be helpful because it shows support for a cause from the public and pushes politicians to act in certain ways.
Why should Donald Trump listen to me? I’m 1 vote in a state that consistently votes against him. I have no standing or influence.
They've already been recorded as committing war crimes several times over.
Tell that to the ICC and get an arrest warrant for Vlademir. It’s their business, which they should send the UN to enforce.
We have religious freedom so you can do civil service work. You do not have to fight in a war if you do not want to.
Tell that to the legions of Christian men who have served in the the United States Army, either voluntarily or drafted in. Some of the voluntary ones needed a job and a college education and it was the best option for them to get it.
Russia wants the money, they want the resources.
They also want the Ukrainian territory as a historical status symbol and Ukraine’s ports on the Black Sea. Part of the USSR’s power and might was their subdued mass of territory in Eastern Europe. They were trophies to protect the motherland from invasion. Putin wants those back under the control of the Russian government.