“I don’t regard Putin as a bad guy,” he said.

Then you have lost your moral compass, and you out yourself as aligned with the axis of evil.

It doesn’t have to be meat. You can eat eggs, cheese, and maybe fish? Salmon is my go-to. Milk products such as cream and yoghurt. Nuts! Maybe seafood, such as mussels, clams, crab, prawns?

“a conflict as bitter and complex as this”

Huh? How is it complex? It is very simple. Putin wants Russia to expand to regain its “former glory”. Zelensky is not rolling over but defends his country. The West supports Ukraine to honour the Budapest Memorandum but also to have access to its resources. They are hesitant to send boots on the ground to prevent escalation.

“I don’t want to drag NATO into that” is not exactly a smackdown. It’s a polite refusal to support the idea.