Russian Aggression Against Ukraine

The Russian Federation invasion of Ukraine, which started in 2014, has now been extended to all of Ukraine. Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, an ex-Soviet intelligence officer, has lamented the breakup of the Soviet Union. He is a serial aggressor, has interfered in foreign elections through misinformation, commits cyber crimes, and kills exiles abroad using chemical weapons, among other machinations. I have been warning of the threat from Russia, a state with thousands of nuclear missiles that never purged the Communists and has become increasingly authoritarian, since I started this blog. Putin has particularly attempted to reconstitute the Soviet Union through exercising control over former Soviet Republics, including through aggression. Russia maintains troops in the separatist part of Moldova inhabited by ethnic Russians without Moldovan permission. It has paid no price for this violation of Moldovan sovereignty. Russia invaded Georgia in 2008 to back breakaway parts it then recognized as independent and set up puppet states in. It since broke the peace agreement it signed to withdraw and made further incursions into Georgian territory. It paid little price and only briefly. Russia then invaded Ukraine in 2014 and seized the Crimean Peninsula, despite its treaty recognizing Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, including Crimea. It since invaded eastern Ukraine to back ethnic Russian separatists. Russia did finally face some serious economic sanctions and the United States did provide aid, including military aid to Ukraine, but it was not enough to deter further Russian aggression. Meanwhile, Russia backs the tyrant of Belarus, a former Soviet Republic that is joining forces with the Russian Federation. Russian troops invaded Ukraine from Belarus, with the latter’s permission. Russia also keeps troops in former Soviet Republics in Central Asia. Putin’s invalid excuse for invading Ukraine is the latter’s long-term goal of joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, of which there is no near-term prospect. But NATO is a defensive military pact that is of no threat to Russia. Putin simply wants no resistance to his goal of reconstituting the Soviet Empire. He was especially upset when Ukrainians forced out of power their corrupt pro-Russian leader so they could reach a trade deal with the European Union instead of with Russia. Ukraine has the right to join NATO once it completes the necessary reforms. Putin objects to the previous expansion of NATO. The organization will not send troops to defend Ukraine, but supports Ukrainian sovereignty. Members have been providing various types of support. There have been protests in dozens of Russian cities against Putin’s aggression. There have already been over 1,400 arrests, as the tyrant does not permit the freedom of peaceful assembly. There have also been protests in front of Russian embassies and consulates across Western Europe and in Israel. There has been strong condemnation from around the world. There has not been this much negative reaction against Russia since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Comparable only was the outrage against the Soviets for shooting down a South Korean civilian airliner in 1982. Harsh sanctions are being imposed by the U.S., the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and Australia. The United States has had a policy of opposing military aggression since the Second World War, whereby one state tries to conquer another. It thus defends Israel against Muslim Arab States, Taiwan against Communist China, and South Korea against Communist North Korea, just as it defended Kuwait against Baathist Iraq. By defending the principles of independence, sovereignty and self-determination, as well as the peaceful resolution of disputes, the U.S. defends its own independence, sovereignty and self-determination.