Ukraine war as Western proxy theory

Russell Brand's coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war from 2022 onward has framed it as primarily a Western proxy conflict rather than a Russian war of aggression. Key claims: NATO expansion eastward provoked the invasion, the 2014 Maidan revolution was a US-backed coup ('Nuland's cookies', Victoria Nuland's intercepted call), and US aid flows primarily benefit Lockheed, Raytheon, and Boeing.

Frequently cited sources include political scientist John Mearsheimer's long-running NATO-expansion-as-cause argument, columnist Jeffrey Sachs's Nord Stream pipeline analysis attributing the September 2022 sabotage to the US (per Seymour Hersh's February 2023 Substack report), and former Pentagon official Douglas Macgregor's strategic commentary.

Brand interviewed Tucker Carlson, Glenn Greenwald, and Jeffrey Sachs as principal voices for this frame, with millions of cumulative views.

--- _Seeded into conspiracyg knowledge graph from curated figure-anchored list. Showing the connection, not the verdict._