Short answer: Orientalism. That's a polite term for what Germans called Central and Eastern Europeans during WW 2.

Read this. We were not allowed agency in Europe by Germany either. Only Russia could dictate.

https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/bonn-moscow-ties-newly-released-documents-shed-fresh-light-on-nato-s-eastward-expansion-a-5a362292-dfe6-4355-b90f-10d635d7d664
RT @Ukraine_DAO: ❓ Why do Ukrainians keep asking to…

🐦🔗: https://nitter.eu/IlvesToomas/status/1593691898111295489