Russia's War Against Ukraine
OP-ED
Ben Judah: Arm Ukraine or surrender
Ukrainian loyalists demonstrate by the last chekpoint controlled by Ukraine's army on the eastern side of Mariupol on August 30, 2014. Pro-Russian separatists were preparing a fresh offensive on a key coastal location in eastern Ukraine on Sunday, as EU leaders gave Moscow one week to curb its support for the rebels or face new sanctions. A ragtag mix of volunteer battalions and local residents were bracing for a desperate defence of Mariupol, a strategic port city and the last big town in the region still under Ukrainian control. AFP PHOTO/ FRANCISCO LEONG
MOSCOW — Russia and Ukraine are now at war. At least 2,200 people have died in the conflict; thousands more may die yet. The Western powers — America, Europe, NATO — now have no good options, but they cannot do nothing. President Vladimir V. Putin has left us with two dire choices, both fraught with risk: Either we arm Ukraine, or we force Kiev to surrender and let Mr. Putin carve whatever territories he wants into a Russian-occupied zone of “frozen conflict.”
