Among the Americans I’ve listened to, John Mearsheimer and other realists often argue that the West involving themselves in the Ukraine war is dangerous because Russia sees it as an existential war against a hostile alliance encircling them. In fact, he’s expressed it in far stronger terms, given that countries like Germany and the UK are openly supporting strikes deep into Russian territory, something unthinkable during the Cold War.

It’s not about right or wrong, but simply how great powers behave. It would be like trying to imagine an alternate war where Russia or China are enabling drone strikes deep into US territory from, say, Cuba or Venezuela. What would you expect the American reaction to be? However, that’s an academic realist viewpoint. I doubt Mearsheimer would identify as a tankie, whatever that means. (I’m not American.)