University of Chicago Professor John Mearsheimer gave the best advice to solve the Russia-Ukraine Conflict in 2015 but nobody listened, here’s what he said

Early this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping present in Beijing, China ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony. In a rare in-person meeting, the two leaders issued a statement opposing a “further enlargement of NATO.”

The two leaders called on the U.S. and the US-led NATO military alliance to stop further expansion in eastern Europe. China and Russia “oppose the further expansion” of the U.S-led alliance, calling on the organization to “abandon the ideological approaches of the Cold War era,” a statement released by Kremlin reads. Since World War 2, NATO has been expanding into eastern Europe.

So far, at least 14 former Soviet Republics have joined NATO. Belarus and Ukraine remain the only former USSR countries that have yet to join NATO. Ukraine has expressed interest in joining NATO, which is one of the many reasons why Russia is waging war with Ukraine.

Fast forward a few weeks later, Ukrainians woke up to the sound of explosions as Russia bombed the capital city of Kyiv early Thursday morning. As the fight intensifies between Russia and Ukraine, Russian troops captured the Antonov international airport just outside of Kyiv.

In the last 48 hours, support has been pouring in from around the world with millions of dollars donated to help Ukrainian soldiers to buy body armor, medical kits, and helmets. Come Back Alive, a Ukrainian nongovernmental organization providing support to the Ukrainian armed forces, has received over $4 million in bitcoin donations since Russia launched its invasion on Thursday, according to the updated data blockchain analysis firm Elliptic.

Just a few hours before the explosions began in cities across Ukraine, Russian state television unexpectedly broadcast an address by Russian President Vladimir Putin. “I have made the decision of a military operation,” Putin said shortly before 6:00 am (0300 GMT) in Moscow. He added:

“Whoever tries to interfere with us, and even more so, to create threats for our country, for our people, should know that Russia’s response will be immediate and will lead you to such consequences that you have never experienced in your history. We are ready for any development of events. All necessary decisions in this regard have been made.”

The question everyone has been asking is, what does Putin want and how did we get here? To answer this question, we turn to Professor John Mearsheimer, the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor in Political Science and Co-director of the Program on International Security Policy at the University of Chicago.

He is also a political scientist and international relations scholar. He has been described as the most influential realist of his generation. In June 2015, Prof. Mearsheimer assessed the causes of the present Ukraine crisis, the best way to end it, and its consequences for all of the main actors.

Prof. Mearsheimer explained why Ukraine is the West’s Fault. In a speech titled “UnCommon Core: The Causes and Consequences of the Ukraine Crisis,” he gave the best advice to solve the ongoing Russia-Ukraine Conflict in 2015 but nobody listened to him. His key assumption is that in order to come up with the optimum plan for ending the crisis, it is essential to know what caused the crisis.

Prof. Mearsheimer asserted, “The West is leading Ukraine down the primrose path and the end result is that Ukraine is going to get wrecked.”

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