ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) from 2019 to 2021 in Vienna, Austria, I came to understand the geopolitical situation in Europe. Citizens have gathered in the streets of Belarus and Kazakhstan and in Russia itself.Īs U.S. Popular rebellions have created emerging democracies in Georgia and Ukraine. The citizens of the old Soviet empire are restive. He may feel that this is the “now or never” moment to meet his strategic goals. Every government official and every soldier and every citizen of Ukraine I spoke with made it clear that if attacked, they would fight.ĭespite Ukrainian resolve, Putin may attack anyway. My observation: Ukraine has not given up on itself. We went out onto the Donbass battlefield, where Russian snipers are shooting at Ukrainian soldiers. We joined with the Ukrainian Navy on the Sea of Azov. We met with almost every cabinet official. In May 2021, I visited Ukraine as part of a delegation with the American Foreign Policy Council. Putin has repeatedly stated Ukrainians and Russians are “ one people” and has reportedly cast doubt on whether Ukraine is a real state. Putin said in 2005 that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe” of the 20th century. The essential step to reverse history is the subjugation of Ukraine. An invasion would be the next decisive step in achieving Putin’s strategic goal: the reassembly of the old Soviet bloc. That is a bogus message intended for the Russian people and for Americans who will swallow it. The truth is that this crisis has nothing to do with the safety and security of Russia. In short, Putin effectively demands that NATO become a shadow alliance. He also demands that NATO withdraw its forces from the group’s sovereign members in Eastern Europe. He wants Biden to agree not to allow Ukraine to become a part of the Western alliance. Putin has alleged that NATO is getting too close to Russia. All of this followed Russia’s 2008 invasion of Georgia and occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and its staging of soldiers in the Transnistria region of Moldova against the wishes of that country’s government. It annexed Crimea, a recognized territory of Ukraine, which is now being used as a military staging area against its own country. Russia invaded Ukraine once before, in 2014, leaving behind proxy forces in eastern Ukraine. It’s not as though this crisis has come up suddenly. The limited threat of sanctions is practically an invitation for Putin to invade Ukraine, a country that wants nothing more than to be a friend of the United States and a part of the West. But it was too late. Putin heard the press conference. White House press secretary Jen Psaki quickly tried to cover up the revelation of Biden’s inner thinking of America’s stance in this time of crisis. Biden revealed his expectations: Answering a question on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s mindset, Biden said, “He has to do something,” thus conceding his acceptance of an attack and only economic sanctions as the U.S. policy had been to deter that invasion and stand by an emerging democracy under duress in Eastern Europe. President Joe Biden ran up the white flag on an impending Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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