FANTASTIC WRITING! This is the most cogent argument on the subject I have read yet!

As a progressive leftist myself, I am mind-boggled at the effective closing of the circle where the rightwing and (some) leftwing meet in order to literally be the useful idiots of Putin! It reminds me of my progressive allies who, when Bernie didn't win in the 2016 primary elections, abandoned Clinton for Putin-friend Jill Stein all because "HRC was going to start a war with Russia."

I work as a supplier quality engineer. In my previous job last year, I had one supplier in the Czech Republic notify us they would be late shipping product as they had lost a significant number of their workforce. These employees were Ukrainians- they left the Czech Rep to go BACK HOME and fight the Russian invasion. Were they mere dupes for American hegemony? The left and the right would like you to think so.