In this week’s Northern Express — sister publication of The Ticker — Traverse City's International Affairs Forum previews their Nov. 12 event with historian and author Stephen Kinzer, who will discuss America's role in the Russia/Ukraine war.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022, the focus was on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s display of (as it was widely referred to) unprovoked aggression. Much of the world condemned the action at the time and still views it primarily as a war of Russian hostility.

Kinzer knows better. The former New York Times foreign correspondent has authored several books about American intervention in other countries, and he’ll tell you of a long and sometimes sordid history of American actions (and inactions) that ultimately “set the stage” for war in Ukraine.

“[The invasion] was illegal under international law, but unprovoked, it certainly was not,” Kinzer says. “If you look at what happened on February 22, 2022, [you assume] that the whole war is Russia’s fault. But that one day should actually be seen as just one frame in a very long movie. And if you haven’t seen what led up to it, you don’t understand it.”

Read more here.

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