You're calling something a "lie" when in fact it is a normal and understandable effort to "build" the relationship. This is how pro-authoritarian propaganda like your articles work: You cast legitimate actions in the most unflattering light possible in order to distract from the very real crimes against humanity those whom you're protecting (you, "Dr" Ralston, protecting Putin the Dictator) are committing. It's a normal part of even inter-personal relationships to speak of them in more positive terms than they are at the moment in order to move the relationship in that positive direction. Ukraine's doing nothing wrong. Putin supported Yanukovych murdering his own people in 2014 and then Putin invaded and continued the killing soon thereafter. Putin is evil. I don't want nuclear war either, but humanity's not going to get rid of nuclear weapons as an an effective tool for coercion until and unless we push back as much as we can against Putin using nuclear weapons for this purpose right now. It's always now or never. So let's just make it now. If nuclear war starts, it's Putin's fault for continuing Russia's efforts to colonize its neighbors such as the Cossacks of Ukraine.