Given that it isn't the discussion I was initially involved in and attempted to stay out of it because I won't claim to have simplistic solutions to complex problems, yeah, I'd say I was
Lol. You mockingly branded the Russian response to your aggression as bad, but are unable to provide even an overview of a solution.
Rather obvious that you are trying to save fact after being exposed as just trying to justify committing atrocities.
There's the right thing to do
Which was what in this situation?
Unfortunately, telling everyone to leave each other the fuck alone and play nicely won't do anything meaningful
I.e. you won't be convinced to stop exploiting and invading the rest of the world. The only language that you understand is violence. You will only stop committing atrocities when you are forced to. And you still try to pretend that you have any sort of ground to tell the rest of the world how resistance against you is wrong.
and I don't pretend to be a foreign policy expert capable of discerning what all parties will begrudgingly agree to
That's literally what you've been doing when branding the Russian response as bad.
I just was able to recognize an armed invasion as an act of war when the discussion was on whether or not Russia was trying to avoid war
So, you think that giving NATO and Ukraine years to cease aggression was not an attempt to avoid war?
Nobody should be invading anyone
So, do you agree that what you keep doing is monstrous, and that you should be stopped?
You criticise me for assuming what you think. You have a great opportunity to prove me wrong. Why aren't you seizing this opportunity? Are you unable to prove me wrong and are trying to save face?
Yes, I am capable of understanding when when western countries do fucked up things. Yes, I think they should knock it off. Yes, that applies to Russia, too
Either Russia is justified in responding to your aggression the way that it did, or you can provide an alternative solution to your aggression.
So far, Russia has not been an unprovoked invader, unlike you.