March 5, 2022
Russian Invasion of Ukraine
UKRAINE – SUMMARY OF ISSUES
The series of bullet points in this article is a succinct summary of the causes and issues underlying the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Without excusing Russian aggression, it emphasizes the importance of ending the hostilities through a negotiated solution and points out why the crisis should spur Europe to take responsibility for its own defense.
https://www.defensepriorities.org/ukraine-russia
UKRAINE – WHAT A NEGOTIATED SOLUTION WOULD LOOK LIKE
As this article points out, the Ukraine War will end when both sides agree to expressly recognize the facts that existed before the war. Those include not only the demonstrated inability of Russia to conquer Ukraine, but also its neutralization and the loss of the Crimea and the Donbas, subject to confirming plebiscites in those regions.
UKRAINE – AVOIDING ACCIDENTAL ESCALATION
One comforting piece of news amongst the tragic wreckage of the #russianinvasion. The US and Russia have established a deconfliction hot line in Europe to avoid any accidental encounters between NATO and Russian militaries in the area of combat.
Bob,
Your analysis of the conflict based on the news we have been getting is accurate and you would think that there should be a sane and negotiable solution to stop the conflict. I believe that due to the selectivity of journalism and social media we are not getting the whole picture. One would think that why would a sane head of a world power want to cause a conflict that would provoke the ire of the majority of civilized nations. Russia was doing so well with trade, it had embraced a semi capitalistic society and it’s population as a whole had increased their standard of living. For a world power leader to put his peoples lives and livelihoods in jeopardy, either there is a reason that we don’t know about, or are being kept in the dark about, or we are not dealing with a sane leader whose ambitions have poisoned his mind. One can only hope that sanity will prevail and Putin can be persuaded to cease this senseless war and or we find out the whole truth on what has spurred his determination of war in Ukraine. Something is amiss here! Either way, thank God for the communication hot line between the USA and Russia. Lets keep negotiating and praying for an end to this madness!
Thanks for the thoughtful comment, Rich. As I mentioned in the article following this entitled “Ukraine – What if I’m wrong”, I point out that, while Putin grossly miscalculated the extent and scope of Ukrainian and Western reaction to the attack, he can still convert those weaknesses into strengths, but only by escalating the war. I believe an attack on the supply lines in Poland is the most likely course rather than using CBW weapons or nukes. If we react proportionately, the onus will be on him to escalate further. The hope is that someone in Russia would convince him to refrain from an escalation that could spark world war.