Poor Russia has a “sense of isolation and alienation” says French President Emmanuel Marcon. Poor Russia’s president. His people are deprived of basic human needs because he’s financing a mad war, operating global cyber warfare, and ensuring his chaos continues. He’s made himself president for life of his mafia state and, most likely, the world’s richest criminal don.
Poor President Vladimir Putin successfully stomping over global institutions and worming his way into other countries’ politics. Now he’s planning ahead. Last month, unable to win his nasty war in Ukraine, he offered it a deal: join Russia to vanquish the the “corrupt” West; Europe and America.
Alas, the West is helping him to do that while Ukraine fights.
On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II and a promise to “never again,” the West is still battling Hitler, “the world’s greatest tyrant” –from a safe historic place — rather than address today’s. It pussyfoots around Putin, the most dangerous fascist dictator in the world. It fails to hit back. Instead, it tiptoes around his bloody murders—at home and abroad—and tolerates the criminal in the G20, World Trade Organization, and the United Nations Security Council.
As a thank you he trashes the global democratic landscape with military and cyber warfare, upends elections, invades neighbours, and freezes NATO—the only institution he fears– into inaction. The West humours him and he revs up the chaos.
Macron is not alone. Russia has allies doing his bidding everywhere. Europe welcomed it back into PACE; even Holland, despite having lost nearly 200 citizens to his terror. Former Soviet satellites—that like Hungary should know better — cannot resist Russia’s monetary seductions. Nor can London or Vienna. Most worrisome is America’s current failure see Russia as an arch-enemy; the Lucifer to its Archangel Michael.
Confusion reigns. Meanwile, Putin is using the time well by supplanting U.S. leadership in the free world and sowing chaos. He wants America cobbled–revenge for having won the Cold War—and with that an open season on Europe.
To win globally, he operates locally. For this reason, he’s moved with a new, seductive peace offering to Ukraine: let’s take Europe together.
The forerunner to this strategy was in evidence at the recent Munich Security Conference where Russia — determined to reclaim Ukraine with a fake 12-point peace plan– was very much in evidence.
The plan was forcefully criticized by Ukraine and democrats worldwide; even pulled off the conference website. Its return underscores Russia’s penetration of democratic institutions while the list of eminent signatories indicates how far it has succeeded in corrupting Western hearts and minds.
It is time to take aim at Russia propaganda and recognize it as the mental coronavirus spreading rapidly to infect and destroy democracies. While learning how to “isolate and eliminate” the disease we must strengthen the only currently active defence against Russia, Ukraine.
There is much talk about that. Both NATO and the EU are holding gatherings designed to assist Ukraine in meeting standards of these entities. It’s an ongoing dance with demands on Ukraine to accelerate reforms in economics, civil society, governance, military and promises to bring it into the fold. There is insufficient pushback on Russia to get out of Ukraine and allow it to go forward more quickly.
This suits both NATO and the European Union: Give Ukraine hope as it fights Russia without giving it membership. This lure has been in play since 2013 when Russia got dangerously close to endangering Europe by seducing Ukraine into the CIS. The West blinked and Russia annexed Crimea and invaded Donbas.
But enough! Ukraine has seen some 14,000 murdered, 1.5 million displaced, an economic collapse in Crimea and Donbas while Russia throws its weight around globally. It’s time to switch directions: democracies must go forward to serve themselves, EU, NATO and Ukraine. The upcoming meetings are a good place to start.
To begin member states need to
- Commit to the international rule of law and order by being tough-minded with President Putin’s criminality and generous with support for Ukraine;
- Name Russia as an aggressor state in Ukraine, the exporter of international terrorism via military, cyber warfare and other soft measures;
- Recognize the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk National Republics as Russia-front terrorist organizations inciting violence rather than a civil war over language rights;
- Recognize the Minsk agreement, Normandy format, Steinmeier approach, and the Munich 12 points as unacceptable approaches to end Russia’s war as each favours the aggressor;
- Remove Russia from any oversight of its war in Ukraine including the OSCE mission and replace it with representatives of neutral countries or a UN mission;
- Push Russia to withdraw from Donbas thereby allowing Ukraine to re-establish control of its border by implementing sterner sanctions including placing Russia’s president on the list, expelling it from SWIFT, and removing it from the UN Security Council;
- Immediately fast-forward Ukraine’s membership into NATO and the EU.
Previous measures have been too lame. Wasted time allowed Putin to take advantage of wobbling democracies. He will advance further if not stopped. Remember: he is now seducing Ukraine with promises to end the war if it joins Russia in overtaking Europe and beyond. The EU and NATO will have helped to nurture a stronger enemy via all its efforts to democratize Ukraine if that happens.
Ukraine must remain in the democratic camp for global peace and security to prevail. To show that they mean business EU and NATO states need to shun the new Hitler’s– Putin– May Day “never again” sham.
Oksana Bashuk Hepburn, former senior policy adviser to the government of Canada and president of U*CAN Canada Ukraine consulting firm, is a founding member of the Canadian Group for Democracy in Ukraine. She comments on international affairs.
