Russia and Ukraine

[Belacqua]

A proxy war is where two powers support opposite sides in a conflict because they want ultimate control of the territory.

OK, half proxy war. The US does want to control what Ukraine does -- as was demonstrated by them choosing the government in the 2014 coup.

Russia isn't supporting one side -- it is the side, and they are the only ones wanting to control the territory.

The US does want to control what happens in Ukraine. It wants to control what it does with its military, and what its government does. 

The goal here is not to leave Ukraine independent. The goal is to make Ukraine do what the US thinks the US needs. 

Also the huge number of loans to Ukraine will mean that after the war its economy will largely be controlled by the institutions who loaned the money, which is one of the ways the US controls many foreign governments. 

Yes, Ukraine is fighting a war that Europe can't afford to lose.  Giving that much territory, with its resources, to an enemy aggressor which is expanding onto their borders, is their war too.  Honestly, they shouldn't just be supporting Ukraine -- they should be sending troops (perhaps not as NATO, but just as European allies).

There already are US military people in Ukraine. If it gets to the point where they are blatantly involved in combat, with video of troops doing the fighting, that's WWIII. Happy WWIII to everyone. 

In other news, the US and other countries have lifted sanctions on Russian exports of fertilizer. And sales of Russian energy to non-combatant countries continues to grow.