Apologies for the late reply. Please rest assured that I thought about what you wrote quite intensely. You went through a great number of different topics.

There are some aspects where I agree with you, so perhaps let's begin there.

• The grave crime of colonialism is not yet addressed in an adequate way by what were historically colonial powers. I think there has been some improvement particularly in recent years when people in North America and EU have become more aware of the historical guilt of their nations. But obviously, much more has to be done (e.g. paying reparations).

• Wealth inequality is a huge problem that must be addressed better by wealthy nations. It is also in their own interest.

• If anybody states that "India is a shit hole", that's very ignorant and quite frankly disgusting. I doubt that such person could be considered a "distinguished scholar". Of course, there are some stupid and hateful people in EU and US. But I hope (and am confident) that an overwhelming majority of people would strongly disagree here.

• Western nations also have a history of supporting dictatorships.

• In some cases, this continues until today: Saudi Arabia is a brutal dictatorship.

• The invasion of Iraq was neither intelligent nor legitimate. Human rights violations there are well documented. Responsible figures should face a war crimes tribunal.

• We are currently stearing into climate catastrophe. This is perhaps the greatest problem of our time. We are onto a path to disaster that will cripple humanity. Historically, western nations are responsible for an overwhelming part of greenhouse emissions, and these countries bear a great responsibility.

Some minor inaccuracies:

• To stop climate change, we all have to work together, and we all have to do more. Already today (2020), the emissions of China per capita (7.41 t) are similar to those of e.g. Germany (7.69 t), and are projected to grow further (250% growth since 1990), while emissions in Germany are projected to continue sinking significantly (42% reduction since 1990) (See here). Sure, by adding together the historical data, German emissions have been significantly higher per capita. But if China insists on spending the same historically accumulated emission budget, then mathematically, our world is doomed, no matter what other countries do. And that's also not necessary to gain wealth, because by now, better technology is available. E.g. because Germany has been funding the development of such technology through significantly higher energy prices since 2000, leading to highly efficient solar panels. So I agree that western nations have to do more, but I think most other nations also have to do more.

• NATO "created" the war in Afghanistan following the terrible 9/11 attacks.

• Few people in "the west" would consider Turkey to be a democracy or part of "the west". "West" is a very loose term, but if it means democracy, then India is a much more western country than Turkey. And I think people are also largely aware of military actions by Turkey, which is why e.g. EU entry has been stopped and there are some sanctions.

• Russia never had a liberal democracy. In the 90s, people were given some more personal freedoms and political influence, but they never were in control of the government. I think this becomes obvious by the fact that a secret service agent was installed as dictator for life within a decade. The system remained deeply intransparent and corrupt throughout that time. Moreover (and this is a big historical inaccuracy!) economic hardship and insecurity in the 90s did not come through such reforms, they were there beforehand. Why did you think the Soviet Union disbanded and such reforms were allowed in the first place? Exactly because of these severe issues, which became too overwhelming. You're only right insofar as limited and often superficial liberalizations did not immediately turn around the economic and societal situation.

• Before this year, Russian athletes were banned from some sports events because of state-mandated doping. We have very trustworthy reporting on this aspect in Germany, so I can guarantee you confidently that there has been severe state-sponsored doping among Russian athletes.

• Russia has the world's largest arsenal of nuclear weapons. The only way in which Russia has been threatened is insofar as Russian leadership perceives any democratic and free society as a threat to their rule.

• It is also not true that Russian aggression started this February. Crimea has been invaded and annexed in 2014 and Russian military and proxy forces have been fighting in eastern Ukraine since then. Also in the vicinity, Georgia has been invaded in 2008 in a bloody war, and for similar reasons.

Some points are simply ridiculous:

Bin Laden and the Taliban were all your assets

Come on, this does not even deserve a response.

In my opinion, Ukraine is not 100% innocent.

What the hell? Victim-shaming? Even if people in Ukraine solidly believed that they were direct descendents of Darth Vader, what does that even have to do with anything?

lay on the sofa, drink Coca Cola and watch TV every single day

This is a terrible stereotype. I think I know where it is coming from, but please let me assure you that people e.g. in the EU are actually not that ignorant or lazy. In Germany, we have 40-hour weeks for both men and women equally and a retirement age of 67. Also, I own neither a sofa, nor a TV, and have not touched Coca Cola or anything similar in years. I think working conditions in EU are pretty decent, many people actually like their work, and if, in contrast, people in India have to work day and night that's of course terrible. So you might be addressing the real issue of wealth inequality, but these stereotypes are really not helpful.

But now here comes the aspect where I really disagree with you:

You are suggesting that "westerners created" popular uprisings in Syria and Libya. And that the west is to blame for the Ukrainian resistance against Russia. That there apparently is some grand plot by western countries to conquer territory or stuff like that. And instead, your preferred solution is that Ukraine should just balance between EU and Russia. Because that's what the larger powers need to maintain their relations.

Doesn't that go against everything else that you said here? How can you say that the will of the Ukrainian people, expressed by their sovereign democracy, does not matter? How can you say that the people in Syria and Libya advocating for reforms are simply agents of the west? Do you honestly ask that Ukraine should become some kind of no man's land, some devolved territory with the only purpose to serve as a buffer zone between greater powers? Should we even draw some line-shaped borders through Ukraine to make that official? Don't you see the obvious parallels to the colonialism you rightly decried, where stronger nations decide on the fate of their subjugated territories?

Since you're so convinced of this grand western plot, let me put it like this: before this invasion, EU entry of Ukraine was nothing that was seriously considered. NATO entry in the coming years was basically ruled out e.g. by the German chancellor. And if you asked EU politicians, their clear preference would have been to focus on internal reforms before considering any new members. Because we are aware of some of the issues you've pointed out. We know that we are struggling to meet for example the challenges posed by the climate catastrophe. And there are some more issues that have to do with the structural foundations of EU. Democracy is a path where no system is ever perfect, and you have to improve it constantly. People and politicians in EU are keenly aware that major reforms are very much needed. So from EU perspective, there really is not a big interest to have any new members join the block, which would make reforms significantly more complicated.

However, the Ukrainian people have made it very clear that they would overwhelmingly like to join EU for many reasons such as to benefit from economic prosperity, protections of personal freedom or anticorruption laws. But one of the main motives for Ukraine here is the protection that EU membership can (hopefully) provide against Russia. From the perspective of Ukraine, this is (and has been for a long time) nothing less than the struggle for their full independence from an imperial power, the fight for their own country and freedom. EU now supports their struggle, but we are really not the driving force here. Given that you are from India, I'm really stunned how you are failing to see this. Consider those fighting for Indian independence from the British Empire in the first half of the past century. And now imagine somebody falsely labeling them as "agents of the Soviet Union" or something like that.

In the end, I'd like to finish this on a more conciliatory note.

You know this better than I do, but India will soon be the most populous nation on earth (if it isn't already). Few countries have ever seen such high and continuous economic growth like India, ranging from five to ten percent annually over many decades. And young people in India are certainly bright and well-educated. So there is no doubt that the actions of the Indian people will shape life on earth significantly, for all of us. It is for the Indian people to decide on their destiny. All I can ask for after you've rightly pointed out many of the mistakes of western countries: please don't repeat them. Please continue pointing out injustice when you see it and please be mindful of the information you consume. It is the consequence of our failures and mistakes in western countries that we deem democracy and respect for human life so incredibly precious and continue to strive to achieve them. This is also not an entirely western idea: for example Gandhi heroically fought for these achievements in India and placed the country on a good path for its future. You have the power to build a brighter future, where all people can lead a decent life irrespective of their ethnicity, religion or birthplace. I wish you good luck with all my heart.