I've written this before and I'll say it again: I wish Professor Snyder was the President's National Security Advisor or Secretary of State. I have become so frustrated by the waffling (at least that's what it appears to me) within the the Biden Administration in providing needed strategic and tactical support to Ukraine. Professor Snyder exposes the perniciousness of Russian propaganda and the dangers of pushing for a "negotiated settlement". Russia must lose this war or we all lose--we being, Ukraine, the US, the West, indeed the world. Again, I'm grateful to Dr. Snyder for his commitment to speaking and writing truth to power.
Professor Snyder sets an example for all of us, and he supports Ukraine in his current roles as historian, teacher, author and intellectual. I'm grateful that he provides practical ways and advice for us to assist Ukraine and its citizens. While I'm not that much of a 'science fiction' fan, I just wish we could clone him because our leaders would benefit from his wisdom. But that's just a wish, and there are more practical ways to help I think. For the past few years we've had a tradition in my family that my children and I don't exchange Christmas gifts; instead we make donations to each other's charity of choice. This year I'm breaking with tradition and choosing their charities as well as mine. the donations will go to aid organizations assisting Ukrainians. And Christmas is coming at Thanksgiving time this year.
We shouldn't be supporting Ukraine's oppressive far-right thug regime. Zelensky suppressed all the opposition parties after he capitulated to neo-Nazi war-mongers and reneged on his campaign promise to bring peace to the Donbass region.
Zelensky had initially moved toward fulfilling the Minsk Agreements that had "frozen" the civil war in the Donbass, but then he capitulated to the Neo-Nazis (who controlled Ukraine's Interior Ministry, in charge of the police stations) and eventually re-ignited the frozen war, precipitating the Russian invasion.
Recently, after U.S. Secretary of State Blinken announced more aid for Ukraine, Zelensky posted a video showing him with Ukraine's most prominent Neo-Nazi Andriy Biletsky:
See also (from 2019) "Neo-Nazis and the Far Right Are On the March in Ukraine":
"Five years ago, Ukraine’s Maidan uprising ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, to the cheers and support of the West. Politicians and analysts in the United States and Europe not only celebrated the uprising as a triumph of democracy, but denied reports of Maidan’s ultranationalism, smearing those who warned about the dark side of the uprising as Moscow puppets and useful idiots. Freedom was on the march in Ukraine.
"Today, increasing reports of far-right violence, ultranationalism, and erosion of basic freedoms are giving the lie to the West’s initial euphoria. There are neo-Nazi pogroms against the Roma, rampant attacks on feminists and LGBT groups, book bans, and state-sponsored glorification of Nazi collaborators.
"These stories of Ukraine’s dark nationalism aren’t coming out of Moscow; they’re being filed by Western media, including US-funded Radio Free Europe (RFE); Jewish organizations such as the World Jewish Congress and the Simon Wiesenthal Center; and watchdogs like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Freedom House, which issued a joint report warning that Kiev is losing the monopoly on the use of force in the country as far-right gangs operate with impunity."
The Russian Federation under Putin has already started the war, and as uncomfortable as it may be for some, it is in fact a world war. We are at war, simply because our vital national security interests are under attack by the Russian Federation. That constitutes a war whether we choose to recognize the fact or not. The idea that our forces engaging in combat with russian forces is fundamentally russian propaganda. We fought against russian forces in the Korean war (fighter pilots) and they had advisors in Vietnam. We crushed a Wagner force in Syria when they sought to attack our troops. The image of Wagner as some kind of independent rogue mercenary organization has been completely debunked, by no less than putin. They are (were?) nothing but an irregular force operating, as the russians often do, outside the norms of international law. The sooner we, and the rest of NATO, understand the true nature of this war the better. Ukraine is only obligated to defend itself, not us. We have to defend ourselves and by standing alongside the Ukrainians on the field of battle is presently the best and right way to do it. We didn’t attack russia, NATO didn’t attack russia, Ukraine didn’t attack russia, russia attacked Ukraine and us, Ukraine with a full scale invasion and us by other means. Putin took advantage of the opportunity we (the US and NATO) gave him, our collective weakness and timidity gave him an opening. While he and his nation of thugs are guilty of aggression, we’re guilty of being naive and failing to understand (not wanting to understand) what our lack of will and capacity would allow.
It's much more like a rape with intent to kill and destroy the body and any other evidence of previous life of the victim. One is fighting for its life, the lives of the people living there. The other is the aggressor, to put it mildly.
Ukraine has been enslaved by the International Monetary Fund (where the NATO countries have collective voting domination). The IMF demanded that Ukraine re-conquer the breakaway Donbass republics, and NATO gives Ukraine endless hand-me-down weapon systems as long as the zombified Ukrainians continue bleeding themselves to death -- interest payments on the unpayable debt.
It's much more sane and much more peaceful to compromise with Russia, for the sake of world peace and environmental concerns. Russia re-claimed-annexed the lands they want in the eastern and southern former Ukraine region, which Russia would not allow to go under the jurisdiction of The West by way of Ukraine.
Understand the history, the neighborhood, and world polarity politics.
Promote: Productive peace with regional-neighborhood integrity respected.
Russia will not bow to the will of The West within their historical lands (Russia, not the USSR).
Thanks, Dave! I am afraid of helping to train the robot. One such argues against its own position. Example: Everything bad under Biden. (For instance?) Abortion illegal. (Who’s Supreme Court appointees were responsible?) Trump! He got his agenda passed so easily!)
No, I've been following the Ukriane/Russia/USA situation since 2013/2014. I've gleaned through much information on the conflict, and the history of the region.
I've made my own conclusions, which I share.
You folks are sounding like the inadequately thinking robots, to give back your terminology.
Have you taken Prof. Snyder’s course on the history of Ukraine? It’s available on YouTube under Yale Open Courses. I took it when it was live in Fall Semester 2022 (delayed posting of each videotaped lecture). It was repeated for this sub stack in Spring 2023, and Snyder posted the readings he’d given the class with that spring offering. I had already read one of his books on the list, and read Serhii Plokhy’s book in my Libby app. Ditto the New Yorker article.
Your statement is false and faulty, and lacking understanding.
Understand the history of annexed regions, world polarity concerns by the RRE's for the Russian historical intimate neighborhood, USA meddling in the ousting of Yanukovich in 2013/14 (who was trying to make a balance in dealing with both the West and Russia),….
Of course, which is why NATO members do their best to help Ukraine. ☮️ If only China and India and other war profiteers would stop buying Russian fossil fuel.
We are already in world war three. This war is a world war. Ukraine and Russia are doing the fighting, Ukraine with help from the US & many allies. It’s over whether a nation can be secure in its borders, can have its sovereignty, whether there is international law that we maintain. Fear of nuclear war is one of Putin’s weapons. It works. We must not let it. Putin would be committing suicide for himself surely and for Russia. He knows this but the blackmail works. As well we do his blackmailing to ourselves fearing WW3. Better to accept we are in it. China and North Korea are in it too.
No. It does not follow that every armed conflict is WW3. But this one has to do with the entire world in its effect and affect if you think sbout it. WW 3 will not be a repeat of WW 2. Sounds like you either did not read and process Prof. Snyder above or disagree with what he wrote.
I’m perfectly capable of reading, Potter and again, all armed conflicts since WWII are usually backed up or created by super powers. Nothing new under the sun, same old power play.
Reading yes, not understanding though. Not understanding that this is different for the reasons plainly stated above and so much elsewhere Powers involved in conflicts for one reason or another, for reasons having to do with power and influence, or responding to terrorism and inhumanity are very different from Putin’s brutal genocidal aggression aiming to claim a whole country capturing it’s parts, destroying towns homes and infrastructure and cleansing, deporting people to resettle and reeducate in the process…..(with lies about history ignoring international law .in violation of the UN Charter it pledged to)
This upsets the world order maintained since WW2. We have certainly not seen this since. Get real.
Thank you. Bob. Not good news. I do listen almost faithfully to Mark Galeotti's podcasts : In Moscows Shadows and these articles corroborate what I get from him: long war planned. It's scary what the revisionists have planned for Russians. Of course plans are just plans. We really have to keep helping Ukraine and not be so slow, dickering about what they need. it's a real slog for them but I hear they are making some progress and will keep on keeping on.
As I stated above, this info takes a few hours to read and use to alter one's perspectives on foreign involvement commitments and, separately, on developing new resources to inform novel narratives to reduce involvements that perpetuate conflicts and misunderstandings.
In this instance, we see two horrific conflicts that involve policy perspective of a major actor and within the frameworks of that actor's self-interested understanding of its geopolitical roles and for securing or enhancing its power.
No fake news, no bs, no fantasy. Given the tide of bs that putin thought he could surf to glory, Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, NZ, Japan, Korea and like minded nations have come together and risen to the task.
The media and rusted on political narratives are searching for relevance and still fighting their favourite old wars, like Ireland's neutrality and Glasgow unionists in WWII.
Biden, for a rusted on doddering old politician arising from a sea of USA bs, is doing amazingly well.
Could not agree more, Mark. Russian aggression cannot -- and must not -- stand. We all have to fight against propaganda in all forms, wherever it rises its insidious head.
Stay safe, Professor. But it is good to hear your first-hand observations of the war and they are spot on in terms of what needs to be done for Ukraine to win and put an end to it. Ukraine has been like the canary in the mine, here resisting autocratic aggression in violation of international law. The western countries must throw everything they have to support Ukraine with arms, funds and humanitarian supplies - as you so pointedly say, Ukraine is doing the very fighting in defense of the west that NATO would be expected to do, and it is doing so on its own, in terms of its country’s expenditure of blood and treasure.
More should be done to isolate Putin’s Russia from the rest of the world. That is tough to do with China and North Korea cozying up to Putin, but further steps should be taken than even the sanctions now in place.
Further, measures should be taken by the UN to sanction Russia and suspend its membership in the Security Council. I understand proxy wars, but it is abhorrent that a member state can wage a genocidal war on another member state without UN consequences.
It's much more sane and much more peaceful to compromise with Russia, for the sake of world peace and environmental concerns. Russia re-claimed-annexed the lands they want in the eastern and southern former Ukraine region, which Russia would not allow to go under the jurisdiction of The West by way of Ukraine.
Understand the history, the neighborhood, and world polarity politics.
Promote: Productive peace with regional-neighborhood integrity respected.
Russia will not bow to the will of The West within their historical lands (Russia, not the USSR).
So Ukraine is expected to allow Russia to lop off significant parts of its territory, as it did with Crimea, just because Russia wants it? Doubt that. It’s all about one man’s grandiose scheme to re-build the former Russian Empire, and that is not possible given modern sensibilities and agreed-upon borders.
… yes, given the Russian history, adjacent location, Russian demography, and value to Russia, regarding the Donbas/Crimea region. Novorossiya existed in those lands prior to the USSR, beginning in the late 1700's. There's the matter of valuable land in regard to world-polarity concerns, 'neighborhood concerns', by Russia / The Russian Ruling elite.
A sane prudent person goes for diplomatic negotiation in accomodating the RRE's concerns with that region, rather than unwise devastation which the USA is majorly responsible for.
Ukraine's corrupt, oppressive far-right thug regime has been enslaved by the rapacious International Monetary Fund, where the NATO countries have voting domination. The IMF demanded that Ukraine re-conquer the breakaway Donbass republics, and NATO promised endless weapons as long as Ukraine delivered pounds of bloody flesh to service the IMF debt. There's no sanity or prudence to this; it's diabolical madness.
I completely disagree! If Russia wants peace, why did they invade? If they are respecting neighborhoods and boundaries why are they bombing Ukraine and using mercenaries to commit war crimes against their neighbors? Self defense is what the Ukrainians are doing. They have a right to conduct their affairs as they themselves determine and not be ruled by an unelected dictator from another country. If Canada had an authoritarian regime and they invaded the US you would just “make peace” with them?
Russia invaded because Ukraine had already started to invade the breakaway Donbass republics, finally burying the moribund Minsk Agreements. Just after Ukraine began its pre-invasion bombardment, Russia signed a mutual defense treaty with the Donbass republics and came to their aid.
So you show up to disagree, without saying anything except dipping into McCarthyist bigotry.
Back in February of this year, the Moon of Alabama website posted a day-by-day discussion of what happened exactly one year before as the war boiled over. Here's a quote (with link) to the first in the series:
"In early 2022 Ukraine had finished the preparations for an overwhelming attack on the renegade People Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk (DPR and LNR).
Half of the Ukrainian army, some 120,000 men recruited and trained during the last 7 years, were stationed near the ceasefire line and ready to go. On the opposing side only some 40,000 men were under arms...."
So Ukraine was going to attack two Ukrainian territories, is that what you are saying? I don’t see that it was any of Putin’s business. Russian-backed separatists, armed with Russian artillery, and Russian soldiers without insignia who had been killing Ukrainian citizens for 7 years and WTF? Russia does this shit everywhere it goes. And now who has been tossed into one of those great Russian prisons, Igor Girkin. The commander of the Russian PROXY forces. I can tell that Putin greatly appreciates Girkin's selling out of his own people. Loyalty is Putin’s middle name.
A massive and overwhelming attack. Even if that was true (it wasn’t) 2nd greatest army in the world isn’t and couldn’t. Now we know that they aren’t even the 2nd greatest in Ukraine. A ceasefire line or a ceasefire that Putin has never once honoured, anywhere ever, but cries like a girl if someone else makes a move—in their own country.
WTH is moonofalabama? LOL, yes, a reputable and highly thought-of bastion of original journalism no doubt.
I think you would understand the history and demographics better if you took Snyder’s Yale Open Courses “History of Ukraine” class. You can find it on YouTube. Also read some of his books, and those of Serhii Plokhy (the Ukraine expert at Harvard).
No. You understand what the Kremlin wants you to understand. Or perhaps Mearsheimer and his outdated “realist school”. Snyder and Plokhy are the current experts on Ukraine. Anne Applebaum and Fiona Hill are two of the current experts on Russia under Putin. Along with Stephen Kotkin at Stanford. If you’re not listening to them, then you’re misinformed.
The Ukraine-Russia conflict is reasonably negotiable, in regard to world-polarity respects, which the USA violated per the opinion of Russian Ruling Elite, and others, in regard to historical Russian lands, - the Donbas region and Crimea.
The USA has made for the prolonged war. Without the USA, there wouldn't be the prolonged devastation and strife. Btw, I'm in communication with natives of both Ukraine and Russia, as close as the Dnieper and Rostov on Don, both sides of the conflict. Things are fair enough, life goes on.
What you refer to as land is actually people. What peace will they find if we did as you suggest? And, what lesson would Russia take from letting them invade land/people as a way of getting back what they thought rightfully theirs? That did not work so well in 1939.
Scott the bot is pushing 19th cent. historical rights nationalism, “Rusky mir”. The problem is that the Ukrainians were already there before the Russians. It took centuries for the mass of this rural population to emerge and organize their independence movement.
You don't know what you're talking about. Ukrainians and Russians were originally the same people. In the 17th century little Ukraine became part of the Russian Empire.
In the 18th century, Russia conquered the depopulated Novorossiya (including all the land that Putin grabbed in 2022) from the Crimean Tatar slave raiders, and started settling all sorts of people in this Russian-speaking territory. Much later, in 1921, the new Communist regime stapled little Ukraine together with Novorossiya to make big Ukraine. Crimea got added even later, in the 1950s.
Yes, and today they are two separate and different countries. The borders including that stapled on bit of Crimea were established in 1994 and accepted by Russia and the international community. Russia has made it abundantly clear that it is the country of corruption and thugs. Not to be trusted with anything. A leader whose word is worth nothing, not to other countries, not to its own people. Promises were made and then broken. Now they threaten Ukraine and the rest of the world with nukes that Ukraine gave them. Russia was so worried about having a nuclear power next door. Grifters and scammers.
Thank you Dr Snyder, from far away New Zealand, where we have lost two soldiers and a brave civilian. standing with Ukraine. I wholeheartedly support you and Ukraine. My parents both fought Hitler, at sea, and on comms ashore, and Japan. They risked their lives, their families lived through terror bombing, V-1 and V-2 bombardment in London. The world must act against this fascist terror unleashed by Putin’s regime in Russia. We all know how well appeasing dictators works - September 1st has just gone. 1939-2023, what have we learned?
Thanks for the update. I do not see any signs that the Russian leader would ever uphold any "promises" that are made in a negotiation. I am not sure what drives him in this direction, but he seems to have made a terrible mistake. Unfortunately the Ukrainian people are bearing the brunt of this mistake. I also don't understand that those US politicians who appear to be pro-Russia in this are not able to see the dangers in their stance. The Ukrainians deserve all the help they can get from freedom-loving countries.
Putin is already using drones from Iran and is cozying up to Kim Jong Un for North Korean weaponry. (Not to mention engaging in war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide for the past year and a half.) How anyone could think he and his minions could negotiate anything in good faith is beyond me.
It is impossible to win a defensive war. It is necessary to give Ukraine the means to cut the Russian supply lines and the means to move around the defensive positions and cut them off. The other strategic necessity is to cut the supply lines ie bridges to the Crimea with the means to cripple the military ships using the Crimea naval base.
Good to see you are back in Kyiv Professor Snyder. Interested in your views as to why the US and Germany (amongst others) are declining to send the arms that Ukraine have asked for - namely ACTACMS from the US and Taurus from Germany?
Also why does Joe Biden not articulate that we will support Ukraine until their victory rather than the meaningless drivel “we will support Ukraine for as long as it takes”.
It's much more sane and much more peaceful to compromise with Russia, for the sake of world peace and environmental concerns. Russia re-claimed-annexed the lands they want in the eastern and southern former Ukraine region, which Russia would not allow to go under the jurisdiction of The West by way of Ukraine.
Understand the history, the neighborhood, and world polarity politics.
Promote: Productive peace with regional-neighborhood integrity respected.
Russia will not bow to the will of The West within their historical lands (Russia, not the USSR).
What would've happened in negotiating with Hitler? I won't venture on that here, now.
But, I know the Ukraine-Russia conflict is reasonably negotiable, in regard to world-polarity respects, which the USA violated per the opinion of Russian Ruling Elite, and others, in regard to historical Russian lands, - the Donbas region and Crimea.
I understand.
The USA has made for the prolonged war. Without the USA, there wouldn't be the prolonged devastation and strife. Btw, I'm in communication with natives of both Ukraine and Russia, as close as the Dnieper and Rostov on Don, both sides of the conflict. Things are fair enough, life goes on.
I'm not just cutting and pasting. I do some cutting and pasting with different threads covering the same topic. I'm also doing fresh non-copied writing also,… as I've written you. sigh
One cannot compromise with a nation bent on aggressive and genocidal war. To do so is to follow Mr Chamberlain in his misguided policy to appease Hitler.
Putin and Hitler have more in common than you seem to realise. Both follow the same philosophers such as Karl Schmidt and Ivan Ilyin. Both believed that they could get what they want by main force and paid no heed to sovereignty.
As the second President of Ukraine stated “Ukraine is not Russia!”
So the charges against Putin and his sidekick the absurdly named Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova are just made up then Scott?
An arrest warrant had been issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Mar. 17 for her and the Russian President for the unlawful deportation and transfer of children during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
There is evidence that Russian authorities have detained and forcibly deported almost 20,000 Ukrainian children from their homes in Ukraine to Russia. Levova-Belova is considered, by Ukraine, to be the prime mover for the policy.
Thank you. Just watching this horrible war,( but all wars are horrible, there are no 'nice' wars) is very hard. Though not as hard as fighting it, to be sure. I take comfort from the fact that Britain has been steadfast in support of Ukraine and unlike the US, France, Italy, Germany, does not contain any significant numbers of Putin sympathisers or deluded pacifists. No doubt because our racial memory of June 1940 is still so strong in us. Been there, done that.
To be precise: seeing the British fight in WWII as their finest hour in no way suggests Joeff has forgotten about Brexit. The only people who regard Brexit as Britain's finest hour are the tiny extreme right minority.
I was thinking of today, where a majority of Brits now regret Brexit. This applies to both Labour and Tory voters, although the majority of Tories suffering from Bregret is smaller than the majority of Labour voters bregrettimg it all.
This Guardian article by Simon Jenkins gives a good flavour of where things are at today:
It is basically only the extreme right of the Tory party members that still believes in those sunlit uplands, plus a minority of voters centred in the traditional shires of the southeast.
As for the original referendum vote, I think most are now agreed that the public was misled by an underhand campaign which, like that in the US which elected Trump, suffered from no small degree of interference from Russia.
The alarming difference between today's UK and US, however, seems to be that whereas the scales are falling from British voters' eyes and opinions and voter loyalties are changing, in the US the Trumpists seem to be beyond reach of any rational thought or decent human feeling, so the nation is much more polarised. This presents a real threat to all of us everywhere.
That could well be true. My sense is that even now, many liberal westerners fail to see the true depths of the evil Putin represents, in particular the special cruelty of his sustained long-term planning.
You seem to be one of the few people who clearly sees the need for the Ukrainian success of its self-defense. Thank you for making this need understandable and very understandably, humanly essential to all of us.
This defense effort is a difficult and costly self-defense; doing it well for the long term security of the Ukraine and other European nations (along with others) means demonstrating that genuine defense of the international, rules-based system that secures each nation's political self-determination is a common, international defense commitment that will not be tolerated, will be carried forward until all the conditions for durable postwar cooperation and security are firmly and credibly re-established.
Speak and act truth to power.
Interesting is your observation: "When the war does not quickly end, we jump to the idea that it is a “stalemate,” which is a situation that lasts forever. This is false, and serves as a kind of excuse not to figure out what is going on. This is a war that can be won, but only if we are patient enough to see the outlines and the opportunities." I suggest it may only be well-understood in the context of another of your observations: "This war has brought an entirely new theory of what a defensive war means: fighting only on one’s own territory. This does not correspond to international law and has never made any sense." This is a legal self-defense against an explicitly illegal and vicious aggression, combined with illegal occupation and crimes against humanity.
In conducting this legal and necessary self-defence, the Ukrainians demonstrate a peculiar humanity, resolve and global humanitarian concern and commitment by defending, with clear and exhaustively communicated strategic understanding, the international legal order that Putin is actively endangering and working to end.
I do and will continue to support the Ukrainians, and will again act on your advice to support all their needs, both defense support and humanitarian supports. Again, sincere thanks.
Finally, and with sincere concern, it is important to note the immense challenges the Ukrainians will all confront -- immediately and without respite -- once they succeed in the defense and enter the moment of internal political, economic and social reconstruction, while maintaining an always active (proactive), humanitarian, foreign relations involvements. We should not be content to see anything but the Ukrainians taking the lead in facet and every decision of these efforts. Now is the time for any of us to speak clearly to our elected representatives about this. Each of us can also comment to international agencies and institutions to affirm this support for the Ukrainians.
Very grateful for this substack environment for candid dialogue and for informing our respectful, critical, factual mutual understanding.
It's much more sane and much more peaceful to compromise with Russia, for the sake of world peace and environmental concerns. Russia re-claimed-annexed the lands they want in the eastern and southern former Ukraine region, which Russia would not allow to go under the jurisdiction of The West by way of Ukraine.
Understand the history, the neighborhood, and world polarity politics.
Promote: Productive peace with regional-neighborhood integrity respected.
Russia will not bow to the will of The West within their historical lands (Russia, not the USSR).
Yes, sane and peaceful are what we all wish for but rather we are watching Russia illegally take Ukrainian lands, kidnap Ukrainian children, force Ukrainians through filtration camps, and bomb Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure while insisting they are aiming at military positions, their aim is that bad. Yesterday they hit a kindergarten. War crimes, crimes against humanity, lies big and small. How does one negotiate with such criminals?
This has nothing to do with the will of the West. This is all on Putin and his revisionist history tales, his anti-sematism against President Zelenskyy, his lies to the Russian people themselves, and his murderous schemes against those who don’t toe the party line. If you want to talk about historical lands Ukraine has a much more compelling right towards great swatches of today’s Russia than the Kremlin has of Kyiv.
When every Russian has left every inch of Ukrainian territory, then maybe, can negotiations begin.
Understand the Ukraine-Russia conflict is reasonably negotiable, in regard to world-polarity respects, which the USA violated per the opinion of Russian Ruling Elite, and others, in regard to historical Russian lands, - the Donbas region and Crimea.
This is the will of the West which is violating world polarity-respects in regard to Russian historical lands and neighborhood,… with the Donbas region being of critical concern for Russia, given the Russian-history, adjacent locality, and long existing substantial Russian demography in that region.
The USA has made for the prolonged war. Without the USA, there wouldn't be the prolonged devastation and strife. Btw, I'm in communication with natives of both Ukraine and Russia, as close as the Dnieper and Rostov on Don, both sides of the conflict. Things are fair enough, life goes on.
I cannot understand that the Ukraine-Russia conflict is reasonably negotiable or even unreasonable. There is nothing to negotiate. First, it is not a reasonable conflict and there is little that Russia wants to negotiate, the grain deal for example. It must all be Russia’s way or no way, and they’ll lob a few more missiles at Odesa for effect.
So far as a world polarity with the USA I fear that’s just another non-starter for the Russians. Violating an opinion of the Russian ruling elites (Putin) is certainly not grounds to invade and occupy a sovereign country that may or may not have “violated the opinion” along with the US. Why did Putin not take it up with the US when the UN was in session? Russia was the chair of the Security Council. Did they do anything to save the lives of young Russians and Ukrainians? No, they didn’t. They do ignore rulings of the UN, showing a lack of respect and honour that the UN must have from all participants, especially from permanent members.
Why is the argument always the US? What about Canada, Australia, Japan, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Estonia, the UK, Italy, Georgia, even Kazakhstan is not impressed. And it’s not all NATO countries, most of them say no to Russia.
Historical lands is always an interesting topic. Russia currently has no claim to either the Donbas or Crimea. In fact, they are actively showing that they deserve no claim as they blithely roll on committing war crimes, terrorist acts, and meat grinders. If the Donbas was of such critical concern to Putin why did he attack Kyiv, why the NAZI/Banderite boogyman stories, why lie to hundreds of thousands of conscripts and mobilized that they would be guarding the borders because Ukraine was planning to invade Belarus and Russia? At the same time! But of course, it was a lie and they were tossed into the front lines with barely any preparations. 200 and 300 is all they are now. Except the ones mouldering in fields and farms next to land minds and dragons' teeth. The RF leaves no one behind. Right? Donbas has some serious mineral wealth. It is not there for Putin’s taking. The adjacent locality is exactly what it is, which is not Russian. I suppose some mining rights could have been suggested, but no one ever did, did they? Putin just wants to take. You have heard of Russian tourists? Also little green men? It no longer matters. Since Feb 2022, people have fled for safety. Some into Russia proper, many deeper into Ukraine or further outside of the country entirely. I wonder what the population of Bahkmut is today.
Russia has made for the prolonged war. Without Russia's stubbornness, there wouldn’t be prolonged devastation and strife. I have no doubt that your communication with the natives gives you a complete and satisfactory idea of how awful the USA is treating Russia and Ukraine.
You may not have noticed that many countries are not impressed with Russia's intransigence. Putin’s plans for reinvigorating his country into some sort of simulacrum of “the great patriotic war” are not working out. He cannot beat the Russian people into much more submission than they have already allowed. He can continue to jail “extremists” until the jails are overflowing but word still gets out. He’s got NK, Iran and a couple of African countries hoping to cash in but no one believes him and his mission. Belarus isn’t a partner but a temporarily occupied territory.
There will be another “partial” mobilization coming up very soon. You should ask your natives what they think of that plan.
Yes, life goes on. One cannot live in terror indefinitely. But Putin insists on trying. Was it the 205 battalion that blew up the dam causing amazing damage—eco-terrorism? A new word for a new century. The word is that this same group of soldiers were in Bucha for four weeks. If it wasn’t them it was a similar group.
Thank you for this very comprehensive, detailed, factual response to “Scott” and his idea of negotiation.
“The RRE's attacked Kyiv for the purpose of a shock and awe subdual intent of engagement for dominating over Ukraine , though realizing Russia would not likely takeover the western region of Ukraine, including Kyiv.” Says “Scott” below your post. He says YOU are being nonsensical and that another poster should work on her dietary practices. “Scott” attempts to sound sophisticated while lobbing childish insults, a la “No I am not, you are!”
Thanks, Carol, That’s very kind. Really it is a hat tip to Prof. Snyder. I was following along, sort of, 18 months ago. I started listening to Prof Snyder and reading his books and reading Marci Shore’s Ukrainian Nights. Needless to say, I’m hooked. I’m on the left, wet coast of Canada. A bit north of our friend Yuri/Scott here. While I went on a bit of a tear, which felt really good, Scott didn’t understand one word in six. “Shock and awe subdual Intent”, is such an awkward thought and my spell check hates it.
I did respond to his next instalment even though he changed the topics entirely. As he states, some people are understanding, some people aren’t. Sorry, Scott, you are not understanding.
I am reminded of what Putin said toward the beginning og the escalation of this nine-year-old war: "The decisions are not made in Kyiv. They are made in Brussels and Washington."
Some people are understanding, some people aren't.
Russia has declared its terms of negotiation / compromise.
You 'fear'. Sounds like you come from an emotional perspective. I come from the perspective of ''lets make a solution with respects for the concerns of both Ukraine and Russia, not just one of them.''
The USA is by far the biggest militaristic contributor of the conflict besides Russia.
Russia currenty has claim to both the Donbas region and Crimea. You're being nonsensical.
The RRE's attacked Kyiv for the purpose of a shock and awe subdual intent of engagement for dominating over Ukraine , though realizing Russia would not likely takeover the western region of Ukraine, including Kyiv.
There was Russian propaganda in the early 20th century claiming that the Donbas was a heart of Russia. And btw, Russia has had a military base in Crimea since the late 1700's,
“There was Russian propaganda in the early 20th century claiming that the Donbas was a heart of Russia.”
The only accurate thing you’ve said in all your many posts. Russia’s “claim” to the Donbas is indeed nothing more than propaganda. It’s not true, and it’s not valid. It’s just a false narrative designed to justify an illegal invasion and subjugation of a foreign state.
What you fail to grasp again is that nothing that Russia declares carries any weight. Nothing they negotiate or compromise has any validity. No law supports them. The invasion of Ukraine in 2014 where Russia “annexed” Crimea, and took over the regions of the Donbas with Russian-backed military (similar to ploys done elsewhere) are illegal acts. The Un has told them to cease. De Hague is waiting. The world is watching. Putin will not come through this looking good.
You are either very young or you are very ignorant. The use of the words, I fear, has nothing at all to do with being afraid or emotional. That you are unaware of the phrase and try to claim some higher purpose is sadly informative. You do not have the maturity of thought necessary to understand what is happening around you and how the grownups will deal with it. Your perspective is faulty. You are also being nonsensical.
Yes I remember an earlier articulation of Shock and Awe. Do you know how that played out? Do you understand why it was called Shock and Awe? A subduel intent? What an odd little word. Why not call it what it is...an invasion of a sovereign country, an illegal invasion and occupation.
Russian propaganda has been pumping out a lot of stuff over the years. Making false claims is a favourite way to keep the Russian citizens in fear and in line. With regards to a military base since 1700 in Crimea, I would say that Russia really owes Ukraine a hell of a lot of back rent. The Russians were permitted to use the Port of Sevastopol by the Ukrainians. Obviously, the Russians have abused this favour just as they abused all the promises, treaties, signings, whatevers, Russia is not honourable, not to be trusted, and not given an inch.
Bottom line Scott, or is it Yuri? Ukraine is free to design its own future. Russia will have the honour of paying reparations for a great deal of what is needed. Russia picked the wrong people to kick around this time. Vlad Vlad Putin with his Tsarist fantasies of being baptized in Kyiv or some such equally silly idea and having what is left of the population waving golden flags at him just like in the best paintings will never happen.
All VVP has for Russia is increasing debt, sketchy hookups with people you don’t want to meet after dark, rising inflation, mothers, sisters, wives and children who will never see their sons, brothers, husbands and fathers because Putin sent them to the meat grinder and he’s getting ready to do it again. He starts far out east so the people in Moscow and St Pete’s are lulled into a mistaken sense of safety. The commanders lie to their new recruits, though not very well, but it doesn’t matter as they will probably die within the week. And should the weather change as it always does and it gets wet and cold and muddy you will see too many young and older (up to 60) men dead and frozen in the mud where they will remain because it’s not true; Russia does leave it’s own behind.
None of this is propaganda. None of this is good. Russia must pay for the months of despair they have caused. Russia must leave every last inch of Ukraine. They should de-mine the place as they go but that would too much to ask of orcs.
It is the 21st century. Russia had better get with the program.
Life goes on fair enough in most of Ukraine, not ideal but it wasn't great before either. I've been in communications with some Ukrainians who are in Ukraine. USA didn't respect the neighborhood world-polarity concerns by the RRE's, and so were seeing what happens.
Russia is doing a land re-claim, specifically the claimed annexed portions, and Russia will continue the barage as long as the resistance continues.
One key argument the Prof is making, and an important one to realize, is that too many in the West have internalized Russian propaganda about the threats, reasons and prospects of this war despite all the evidence to the contrary. People like Elon Musk and part of the Republican party are especially guilty of that, because of their inordinate influence on global affairs.
In parts of Europe where I spent some of my time it is also fashionable to point to the past of Ukraine as barely above the Russian example when it comes to Oligarchic corruption, authoritarianism and lack of democracy. What these folks - maybe conveniently ignore - is that the Maidan and what happened since are precisely efforts to overcome this past, which of course is the real reason Putin is afraid of modern Ukraine and desperately wants it under his thumb.
"… the Maidan and what happened since are precisely efforts to overcome this past, which of course is the real reason Putin is afraid of modern Ukraine and desperately wants it under his thumb."
You have put your finger on it… I wonder, does any official survey exist rating different countries according to the degree of their oligarchic corruption? I would be most interested to see where countries like Greece and the UK might fall… !🙀
In 1776, in the pamphlet "American Crisis," Thomas Paine called on colonists not to give up on our fight to establish a democracy in the U.S.. Like Ukraine's war with Russia, ours was fought against a much larger, better equipped, and richer enemy. Like Ukraine, It had many setbacks, causing many colonists to despair and some to give up. Today we consider the outcome of that war inevitable, but what if colonists, uncertain about the future, had given up and gone home? Barely a year and a half into its own battle for independence and democracy, Ukraine's fight is just beginning.
Yesterday the George W. Bush Institute organized thirteen presidential foundations and centers to issue a statement that implicitly supports Ukraine and criticizes the U.S.: "Americans have a strong interest in supporting democracies around the world because free societies elsewhere contribute to our security and prosperity at home. But that interest is undermined when others see our own house in disarray."
Ukraine is not the only place fighting for democracy and against autocracy. We have our own war here at home. Thomas Paine understood, and I suspect Snyder might too, that we the people must win that war. Ukraine is today's city on the hill to which we citizens can look for inspiration, and Timothy Snyder is today's Thomas Paine to whom we can look for guidance and grit.
Very grateful for this synopsis of the war, Prof. Snyder, and for the opportunity to support "COME BACK ALIVE." It is an excellent feeling to contribute in Uah's .
Does anyone know why we have not supplied Ukraine with the A-10 Thunderbolt ground attack fighter. It was designed specifically to support ground attacks. It is much simpler to fly the the F16.
While I don’t pretend to know anything about A-10s, MIGS, F-16s etc, and the training on them, I would not be at all surprised to see the Ukrainian flyers aloft much sooner than the projected timelines (there have been several) reported—somewhere between March 24 and Sept 24. I’m aware that the training includes not just the pilots but also ground crews, mechanics, English lessons, and more. It’s a team effort but they are motivated.
But why not the A-10? They, the Americans, are happy with the new Warthog according to to reports. The original came off the line in 1972! It does sound like a hell of a plane. Even if it’s not pretty.
Thank you. It is hard for those of us who do not have access to direct sources to make sense of what is printed for the public. I appreciate your clearing my cobwebs. I hate war and feel extremely chagrinned that Ukrainians die and we shackle them with our slow-footed and ultimately inadequate supplies of materiel. Does real-politic admit of a conscience? Tragic.
I've written this before and I'll say it again: I wish Professor Snyder was the President's National Security Advisor or Secretary of State. I have become so frustrated by the waffling (at least that's what it appears to me) within the the Biden Administration in providing needed strategic and tactical support to Ukraine. Professor Snyder exposes the perniciousness of Russian propaganda and the dangers of pushing for a "negotiated settlement". Russia must lose this war or we all lose--we being, Ukraine, the US, the West, indeed the world. Again, I'm grateful to Dr. Snyder for his commitment to speaking and writing truth to power.
Totally agree. He knows history. He understand tyranny. He should be in gov't for the sake of the free world.
Professor Snyder sets an example for all of us, and he supports Ukraine in his current roles as historian, teacher, author and intellectual. I'm grateful that he provides practical ways and advice for us to assist Ukraine and its citizens. While I'm not that much of a 'science fiction' fan, I just wish we could clone him because our leaders would benefit from his wisdom. But that's just a wish, and there are more practical ways to help I think. For the past few years we've had a tradition in my family that my children and I don't exchange Christmas gifts; instead we make donations to each other's charity of choice. This year I'm breaking with tradition and choosing their charities as well as mine. the donations will go to aid organizations assisting Ukrainians. And Christmas is coming at Thanksgiving time this year.
We shouldn't be supporting Ukraine's oppressive far-right thug regime. Zelensky suppressed all the opposition parties after he capitulated to neo-Nazi war-mongers and reneged on his campaign promise to bring peace to the Donbass region.
Zelensky had initially moved toward fulfilling the Minsk Agreements that had "frozen" the civil war in the Donbass, but then he capitulated to the Neo-Nazis (who controlled Ukraine's Interior Ministry, in charge of the police stations) and eventually re-ignited the frozen war, precipitating the Russian invasion.
Recently, after U.S. Secretary of State Blinken announced more aid for Ukraine, Zelensky posted a video showing him with Ukraine's most prominent Neo-Nazi Andriy Biletsky:
https://mronline.org/2023/08/21/zelensky-holds-court-with-ukraines-most-notorious-neo-nazi/
See also "Ukraine is Brutally Repressing the Left, Criminalizing Socialist Parties, Imprisoning Activists"
https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/03/21/ukraine-repressing-left-criminalizing-socialist-parties/
See also "How Zelensky Made Peace with Neo-Nazis"
https://consortiumnews.com/2022/03/04/how-zelensky-made-peace-with-neo-nazis/
See also "How One Ukrainian Billionaire Funded Hunter Biden, President Volodymyr Zelensky, And Neo-Nazi Azov Battalion"
https://greatgameindia.com/hunter-biden-zelensky-neo-nazi/
See also (from 2019) "Neo-Nazis and the Far Right Are On the March in Ukraine":
"Five years ago, Ukraine’s Maidan uprising ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, to the cheers and support of the West. Politicians and analysts in the United States and Europe not only celebrated the uprising as a triumph of democracy, but denied reports of Maidan’s ultranationalism, smearing those who warned about the dark side of the uprising as Moscow puppets and useful idiots. Freedom was on the march in Ukraine.
"Today, increasing reports of far-right violence, ultranationalism, and erosion of basic freedoms are giving the lie to the West’s initial euphoria. There are neo-Nazi pogroms against the Roma, rampant attacks on feminists and LGBT groups, book bans, and state-sponsored glorification of Nazi collaborators.
"These stories of Ukraine’s dark nationalism aren’t coming out of Moscow; they’re being filed by Western media, including US-funded Radio Free Europe (RFE); Jewish organizations such as the World Jewish Congress and the Simon Wiesenthal Center; and watchdogs like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Freedom House, which issued a joint report warning that Kiev is losing the monopoly on the use of force in the country as far-right gangs operate with impunity."
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/neo-nazis-far-right-ukraine/
We don’t want to start WWIII.
The Russian Federation under Putin has already started the war, and as uncomfortable as it may be for some, it is in fact a world war. We are at war, simply because our vital national security interests are under attack by the Russian Federation. That constitutes a war whether we choose to recognize the fact or not. The idea that our forces engaging in combat with russian forces is fundamentally russian propaganda. We fought against russian forces in the Korean war (fighter pilots) and they had advisors in Vietnam. We crushed a Wagner force in Syria when they sought to attack our troops. The image of Wagner as some kind of independent rogue mercenary organization has been completely debunked, by no less than putin. They are (were?) nothing but an irregular force operating, as the russians often do, outside the norms of international law. The sooner we, and the rest of NATO, understand the true nature of this war the better. Ukraine is only obligated to defend itself, not us. We have to defend ourselves and by standing alongside the Ukrainians on the field of battle is presently the best and right way to do it. We didn’t attack russia, NATO didn’t attack russia, Ukraine didn’t attack russia, russia attacked Ukraine and us, Ukraine with a full scale invasion and us by other means. Putin took advantage of the opportunity we (the US and NATO) gave him, our collective weakness and timidity gave him an opening. While he and his nation of thugs are guilty of aggression, we’re guilty of being naive and failing to understand (not wanting to understand) what our lack of will and capacity would allow.
Well said Eric. Thank you.
This is a war between Ukraine and Russia, funded partly by NATO. United we stand to #ProtectDemocracy 🌻
Geographically yes, fundamental no.
It's much more like a rape with intent to kill and destroy the body and any other evidence of previous life of the victim. One is fighting for its life, the lives of the people living there. The other is the aggressor, to put it mildly.
Ukraine has been enslaved by the International Monetary Fund (where the NATO countries have collective voting domination). The IMF demanded that Ukraine re-conquer the breakaway Donbass republics, and NATO gives Ukraine endless hand-me-down weapon systems as long as the zombified Ukrainians continue bleeding themselves to death -- interest payments on the unpayable debt.
Does Putin equal #ProtectDemocracy? Let`s substitute Hitler, Stalin, etc.. Evil does exist, no matter how it is justified.
We are protecting democracy from toxic males like Comrade Putin 🌻
It's much more sane and much more peaceful to compromise with Russia, for the sake of world peace and environmental concerns. Russia re-claimed-annexed the lands they want in the eastern and southern former Ukraine region, which Russia would not allow to go under the jurisdiction of The West by way of Ukraine.
Understand the history, the neighborhood, and world polarity politics.
Promote: Productive peace with regional-neighborhood integrity respected.
Russia will not bow to the will of The West within their historical lands (Russia, not the USSR).
The Putin apologists’ point of view, Scott? Or an inadequately trained propaganda robot?
“Inadequately trained robot”. You win the internet for today
Thanks, Dave! I am afraid of helping to train the robot. One such argues against its own position. Example: Everything bad under Biden. (For instance?) Abortion illegal. (Who’s Supreme Court appointees were responsible?) Trump! He got his agenda passed so easily!)
Skidmark the Troll blows another wet one, squishing a bit as he settles back into his chair.
This thread seems to attract Prigozhin’s troll farms, that are still trying to survive 😎 I have already reported quite a few of the stragglers.
Thank you! I fear they are using us to learn what works.
No, I've been following the Ukriane/Russia/USA situation since 2013/2014. I've gleaned through much information on the conflict, and the history of the region.
I've made my own conclusions, which I share.
You folks are sounding like the inadequately thinking robots, to give back your terminology.
Have you taken Prof. Snyder’s course on the history of Ukraine? It’s available on YouTube under Yale Open Courses. I took it when it was live in Fall Semester 2022 (delayed posting of each videotaped lecture). It was repeated for this sub stack in Spring 2023, and Snyder posted the readings he’d given the class with that spring offering. I had already read one of his books on the list, and read Serhii Plokhy’s book in my Libby app. Ditto the New Yorker article.
You are arguing that we should compromise with a party that has demonstrated repeatedly it would not abide any such agreement.
Essentially you are arguing to let Lucy pull out the football again.
No thanks.
Your statement is false and faulty, and lacking understanding.
Understand the history of annexed regions, world polarity concerns by the RRE's for the Russian historical intimate neighborhood, USA meddling in the ousting of Yanukovich in 2013/14 (who was trying to make a balance in dealing with both the West and Russia),….
This is not of that essentiality you shared.
It is your several dozen posts in this thread that are false and faulty Scott.
I don’t think you’ve fooled anyone bruh.
Eric Stanhagen, I posted an opposing view in response to Mark Huber, here:
https://snyder.substack.com/p/the-state-of-the-war/comment/40010646
Excellent post, Eric. I agree and have been shouting this from the rooftops for nearly a year now…
https://radmod.substack.com/p/clearly-defining-putins-hybrid-wwiii
I agree!
The best way to get ww3 is to allow Ukraine to lose. Russia needs to be comprehensively defeated by Ukraine or this world gets much more dangerous.
Of course, which is why NATO members do their best to help Ukraine. ☮️ If only China and India and other war profiteers would stop buying Russian fossil fuel.
Start? “We”? Why would you consider the appropriate defense of Ukraine as an instigation?
We all know who started this. Flipping that to our shoulders is specious
Chamberlain did not want to start WWII.
Unfortunately, NATO didn’t exist then. 😎
The Munich Betrayal was signed by UK and France, then "superpowers".
We are already in world war three. This war is a world war. Ukraine and Russia are doing the fighting, Ukraine with help from the US & many allies. It’s over whether a nation can be secure in its borders, can have its sovereignty, whether there is international law that we maintain. Fear of nuclear war is one of Putin’s weapons. It works. We must not let it. Putin would be committing suicide for himself surely and for Russia. He knows this but the blackmail works. As well we do his blackmailing to ourselves fearing WW3. Better to accept we are in it. China and North Korea are in it too.
If what you say is true, every single armed conflict since WWII is WWIII. And of course that’s not the case.
Ukrainians are fighting to avoid becoming a Soviet Republic again, and with the generous support of the free world. 🌻 #ProtectDemocracy!
No. It does not follow that every armed conflict is WW3. But this one has to do with the entire world in its effect and affect if you think sbout it. WW 3 will not be a repeat of WW 2. Sounds like you either did not read and process Prof. Snyder above or disagree with what he wrote.
I’m perfectly capable of reading, Potter and again, all armed conflicts since WWII are usually backed up or created by super powers. Nothing new under the sun, same old power play.
Reading yes, not understanding though. Not understanding that this is different for the reasons plainly stated above and so much elsewhere Powers involved in conflicts for one reason or another, for reasons having to do with power and influence, or responding to terrorism and inhumanity are very different from Putin’s brutal genocidal aggression aiming to claim a whole country capturing it’s parts, destroying towns homes and infrastructure and cleansing, deporting people to resettle and reeducate in the process…..(with lies about history ignoring international law .in violation of the UN Charter it pledged to)
This upsets the world order maintained since WW2. We have certainly not seen this since. Get real.
I know not with what weapons WWIII will be fought, but WWIV will be fought with sticks and stones ☮️ Albert Einstein
This is another anecdotal phrase that nobody can prove to be actually uttered by Einstein.
Maybe, but it’s still a good quote.
Hello Mr. Potter.
The following provide updated analysis:
https://carnegieendowment.org/politika/90814 [Russia’s Other War: The
Administrators Versus the Revisionists, 20.10.2023, Tatiana Stanovaya;
and,
https://carnegieendowment.org/politika/90753 [Russia’s 2024 Budget Shows It’s
Planning for a Long War in Ukraine, 11.10.2023, Pavel Luzin and Alexandra Prokopenko]
Thank you. Bob. Not good news. I do listen almost faithfully to Mark Galeotti's podcasts : In Moscows Shadows and these articles corroborate what I get from him: long war planned. It's scary what the revisionists have planned for Russians. Of course plans are just plans. We really have to keep helping Ukraine and not be so slow, dickering about what they need. it's a real slog for them but I hear they are making some progress and will keep on keeping on.
The long-term commitment to the defense is apparent, as well as necessary [as Prof Snyder points out].
While not to distract from improving our understanding of the Ukrainian defense and diverse preparations for postwar years, you may find useful discussions of Putin regime's continued involvement in Syria [the Carnegie Endowment for Peace being a leading source of examination of that involvement carnegieendowment.org/politika/88958 , carnegieendowment.org/politika/90841 , carnegieendowment.org/publications/75640 ]
As I stated above, this info takes a few hours to read and use to alter one's perspectives on foreign involvement commitments and, separately, on developing new resources to inform novel narratives to reduce involvements that perpetuate conflicts and misunderstandings.
In this instance, we see two horrific conflicts that involve policy perspective of a major actor and within the frameworks of that actor's self-interested understanding of its geopolitical roles and for securing or enhancing its power.
And neither does Russia.
I meant to link this piece from The Guardian a few month ago. Dr. Snyder's current visit to Ukraine reminded me this was overdue. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/30/how-timothy-snyder-became-the-leading-interpreter-of-our-dark-times-putin-trump-ukraine
Timothy Snider is a hard-core propagandist.
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/neo-nazis-far-right-ukraine/
No fake news, no bs, no fantasy. Given the tide of bs that putin thought he could surf to glory, Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, NZ, Japan, Korea and like minded nations have come together and risen to the task.
The media and rusted on political narratives are searching for relevance and still fighting their favourite old wars, like Ireland's neutrality and Glasgow unionists in WWII.
Biden, for a rusted on doddering old politician arising from a sea of USA bs, is doing amazingly well.
Could not agree more, Mark. Russian aggression cannot -- and must not -- stand. We all have to fight against propaganda in all forms, wherever it rises its insidious head.
Ukraine's corrupt, oppressive far-right thug regime doesn't deserve American support.
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/neo-nazis-far-right-ukraine/
Stay safe, Professor. But it is good to hear your first-hand observations of the war and they are spot on in terms of what needs to be done for Ukraine to win and put an end to it. Ukraine has been like the canary in the mine, here resisting autocratic aggression in violation of international law. The western countries must throw everything they have to support Ukraine with arms, funds and humanitarian supplies - as you so pointedly say, Ukraine is doing the very fighting in defense of the west that NATO would be expected to do, and it is doing so on its own, in terms of its country’s expenditure of blood and treasure.
More should be done to isolate Putin’s Russia from the rest of the world. That is tough to do with China and North Korea cozying up to Putin, but further steps should be taken than even the sanctions now in place.
Further, measures should be taken by the UN to sanction Russia and suspend its membership in the Security Council. I understand proxy wars, but it is abhorrent that a member state can wage a genocidal war on another member state without UN consequences.
India and China fossil fuel #WarProfiteers prolong the war.
That is why Ukraine must be given whatever it needs to end it successfully - sooner than later.
That’s the NATO plan.
It’s not obvious that NATO has a plan with weapons just dribbling in
I’m sure they know what they’re doing 😉
It's much more sane and much more peaceful to compromise with Russia, for the sake of world peace and environmental concerns. Russia re-claimed-annexed the lands they want in the eastern and southern former Ukraine region, which Russia would not allow to go under the jurisdiction of The West by way of Ukraine.
Understand the history, the neighborhood, and world polarity politics.
Promote: Productive peace with regional-neighborhood integrity respected.
Russia will not bow to the will of The West within their historical lands (Russia, not the USSR).
So Ukraine is expected to allow Russia to lop off significant parts of its territory, as it did with Crimea, just because Russia wants it? Doubt that. It’s all about one man’s grandiose scheme to re-build the former Russian Empire, and that is not possible given modern sensibilities and agreed-upon borders.
… yes, given the Russian history, adjacent location, Russian demography, and value to Russia, regarding the Donbas/Crimea region. Novorossiya existed in those lands prior to the USSR, beginning in the late 1700's. There's the matter of valuable land in regard to world-polarity concerns, 'neighborhood concerns', by Russia / The Russian Ruling elite.
A sane prudent person goes for diplomatic negotiation in accomodating the RRE's concerns with that region, rather than unwise devastation which the USA is majorly responsible for.
Ukraine's corrupt, oppressive far-right thug regime has been enslaved by the rapacious International Monetary Fund, where the NATO countries have voting domination. The IMF demanded that Ukraine re-conquer the breakaway Donbass republics, and NATO promised endless weapons as long as Ukraine delivered pounds of bloody flesh to service the IMF debt. There's no sanity or prudence to this; it's diabolical madness.
I completely disagree! If Russia wants peace, why did they invade? If they are respecting neighborhoods and boundaries why are they bombing Ukraine and using mercenaries to commit war crimes against their neighbors? Self defense is what the Ukrainians are doing. They have a right to conduct their affairs as they themselves determine and not be ruled by an unelected dictator from another country. If Canada had an authoritarian regime and they invaded the US you would just “make peace” with them?
Russia invaded because Ukraine had already started to invade the breakaway Donbass republics, finally burying the moribund Minsk Agreements. Just after Ukraine began its pre-invasion bombardment, Russia signed a mutual defense treaty with the Donbass republics and came to their aid.
Sorry John, but that is so wrong on so many points it’s impossible to respond. I do have a life.
Did you enjoy “Do Commies Have Better Sex?” (3rd party content on The Nation)
So you show up to disagree, without saying anything except dipping into McCarthyist bigotry.
Back in February of this year, the Moon of Alabama website posted a day-by-day discussion of what happened exactly one year before as the war boiled over. Here's a quote (with link) to the first in the series:
"In early 2022 Ukraine had finished the preparations for an overwhelming attack on the renegade People Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk (DPR and LNR).
Half of the Ukrainian army, some 120,000 men recruited and trained during the last 7 years, were stationed near the ceasefire line and ready to go. On the opposing side only some 40,000 men were under arms...."
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/02/the-buildup-to-war-in-ukraine-february-13-2022.html
Which McCarthy?
I should show up for some other reason.
So Ukraine was going to attack two Ukrainian territories, is that what you are saying? I don’t see that it was any of Putin’s business. Russian-backed separatists, armed with Russian artillery, and Russian soldiers without insignia who had been killing Ukrainian citizens for 7 years and WTF? Russia does this shit everywhere it goes. And now who has been tossed into one of those great Russian prisons, Igor Girkin. The commander of the Russian PROXY forces. I can tell that Putin greatly appreciates Girkin's selling out of his own people. Loyalty is Putin’s middle name.
A massive and overwhelming attack. Even if that was true (it wasn’t) 2nd greatest army in the world isn’t and couldn’t. Now we know that they aren’t even the 2nd greatest in Ukraine. A ceasefire line or a ceasefire that Putin has never once honoured, anywhere ever, but cries like a girl if someone else makes a move—in their own country.
WTH is moonofalabama? LOL, yes, a reputable and highly thought-of bastion of original journalism no doubt.
Error 503
Odnamrod Meditation
You've got to understand the history and demography of the annexed regions(Donbas, Crimea,…), in combination with world-polarity respects.
I think you would understand the history and demographics better if you took Snyder’s Yale Open Courses “History of Ukraine” class. You can find it on YouTube. Also read some of his books, and those of Serhii Plokhy (the Ukraine expert at Harvard).
Yes! Plokhy is good too. Marci Shores's “Ukrainian Nights” is excellent too.
It's not necessary to take Prof. Snyders course to get that information, nor read his books.
There are key matters which don't require a book.
Articles and such, are all it takes on this kind of matter.
No. You understand what the Kremlin wants you to understand. Or perhaps Mearsheimer and his outdated “realist school”. Snyder and Plokhy are the current experts on Ukraine. Anne Applebaum and Fiona Hill are two of the current experts on Russia under Putin. Along with Stephen Kotkin at Stanford. If you’re not listening to them, then you’re misinformed.
The Ukraine-Russia conflict is reasonably negotiable, in regard to world-polarity respects, which the USA violated per the opinion of Russian Ruling Elite, and others, in regard to historical Russian lands, - the Donbas region and Crimea.
The USA has made for the prolonged war. Without the USA, there wouldn't be the prolonged devastation and strife. Btw, I'm in communication with natives of both Ukraine and Russia, as close as the Dnieper and Rostov on Don, both sides of the conflict. Things are fair enough, life goes on.
You said that already.
I'll say it again. Ask another question.
What you refer to as land is actually people. What peace will they find if we did as you suggest? And, what lesson would Russia take from letting them invade land/people as a way of getting back what they thought rightfully theirs? That did not work so well in 1939.
Scott the bot is pushing 19th cent. historical rights nationalism, “Rusky mir”. The problem is that the Ukrainians were already there before the Russians. It took centuries for the mass of this rural population to emerge and organize their independence movement.
You don't know what you're talking about. Ukrainians and Russians were originally the same people. In the 17th century little Ukraine became part of the Russian Empire.
In the 18th century, Russia conquered the depopulated Novorossiya (including all the land that Putin grabbed in 2022) from the Crimean Tatar slave raiders, and started settling all sorts of people in this Russian-speaking territory. Much later, in 1921, the new Communist regime stapled little Ukraine together with Novorossiya to make big Ukraine. Crimea got added even later, in the 1950s.
Yes, and today they are two separate and different countries. The borders including that stapled on bit of Crimea were established in 1994 and accepted by Russia and the international community. Russia has made it abundantly clear that it is the country of corruption and thugs. Not to be trusted with anything. A leader whose word is worth nothing, not to other countries, not to its own people. Promises were made and then broken. Now they threaten Ukraine and the rest of the world with nukes that Ukraine gave them. Russia was so worried about having a nuclear power next door. Grifters and scammers.
"Promises were made and then broken." I don't suopose you have a source. Here's one:
"NATO Expansion: What Gorbachev Heard":
https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2017-12-12/nato-expansion-what-gorbachev-heard-western-leaders-early
Do unto others. Or at least look in the mirror.
Thank you Dr Snyder, from far away New Zealand, where we have lost two soldiers and a brave civilian. standing with Ukraine. I wholeheartedly support you and Ukraine. My parents both fought Hitler, at sea, and on comms ashore, and Japan. They risked their lives, their families lived through terror bombing, V-1 and V-2 bombardment in London. The world must act against this fascist terror unleashed by Putin’s regime in Russia. We all know how well appeasing dictators works - September 1st has just gone. 1939-2023, what have we learned?
Thanks for the update. I do not see any signs that the Russian leader would ever uphold any "promises" that are made in a negotiation. I am not sure what drives him in this direction, but he seems to have made a terrible mistake. Unfortunately the Ukrainian people are bearing the brunt of this mistake. I also don't understand that those US politicians who appear to be pro-Russia in this are not able to see the dangers in their stance. The Ukrainians deserve all the help they can get from freedom-loving countries.
Putin is already using drones from Iran and is cozying up to Kim Jong Un for North Korean weaponry. (Not to mention engaging in war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide for the past year and a half.) How anyone could think he and his minions could negotiate anything in good faith is beyond me.
Ukraine's corrupt, oppressive far-right thug regime doesn't deserve American support.
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/neo-nazis-far-right-ukraine/
It is impossible to win a defensive war. It is necessary to give Ukraine the means to cut the Russian supply lines and the means to move around the defensive positions and cut them off. The other strategic necessity is to cut the supply lines ie bridges to the Crimea with the means to cripple the military ships using the Crimea naval base.
Good to see you are back in Kyiv Professor Snyder. Interested in your views as to why the US and Germany (amongst others) are declining to send the arms that Ukraine have asked for - namely ACTACMS from the US and Taurus from Germany?
Also why does Joe Biden not articulate that we will support Ukraine until their victory rather than the meaningless drivel “we will support Ukraine for as long as it takes”.
President Biden does a good job while walking a tight rope.
It's much more sane and much more peaceful to compromise with Russia, for the sake of world peace and environmental concerns. Russia re-claimed-annexed the lands they want in the eastern and southern former Ukraine region, which Russia would not allow to go under the jurisdiction of The West by way of Ukraine.
Understand the history, the neighborhood, and world polarity politics.
Promote: Productive peace with regional-neighborhood integrity respected.
Russia will not bow to the will of The West within their historical lands (Russia, not the USSR).
Totally disagree. What would have happened if we “made peace” with Hitler?
The Hitler/Putin comparison doesn't hold up.
What would've happened in negotiating with Hitler? I won't venture on that here, now.
But, I know the Ukraine-Russia conflict is reasonably negotiable, in regard to world-polarity respects, which the USA violated per the opinion of Russian Ruling Elite, and others, in regard to historical Russian lands, - the Donbas region and Crimea.
I understand.
The USA has made for the prolonged war. Without the USA, there wouldn't be the prolonged devastation and strife. Btw, I'm in communication with natives of both Ukraine and Russia, as close as the Dnieper and Rostov on Don, both sides of the conflict. Things are fair enough, life goes on.
Yes, you’re just cutting and pasting. Boring.
I'm not just cutting and pasting. I do some cutting and pasting with different threads covering the same topic. I'm also doing fresh non-copied writing also,… as I've written you. sigh
You just keep repeating yourself, almost verbatim. Are you just cutting and pasting?
Scott you are completely wrong.
One cannot compromise with a nation bent on aggressive and genocidal war. To do so is to follow Mr Chamberlain in his misguided policy to appease Hitler.
Putin and Hitler have more in common than you seem to realise. Both follow the same philosophers such as Karl Schmidt and Ivan Ilyin. Both believed that they could get what they want by main force and paid no heed to sovereignty.
As the second President of Ukraine stated “Ukraine is not Russia!”
It is not a genocidal war.
So the charges against Putin and his sidekick the absurdly named Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova are just made up then Scott?
An arrest warrant had been issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Mar. 17 for her and the Russian President for the unlawful deportation and transfer of children during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
There is evidence that Russian authorities have detained and forcibly deported almost 20,000 Ukrainian children from their homes in Ukraine to Russia. Levova-Belova is considered, by Ukraine, to be the prime mover for the policy.
Outstanding post, Professor Snyder.
I am just sorry we have such a divided government bickering about what backing
Ukraine needs to win this war
they didn't ask for and never
wanted.
Thank you. Just watching this horrible war,( but all wars are horrible, there are no 'nice' wars) is very hard. Though not as hard as fighting it, to be sure. I take comfort from the fact that Britain has been steadfast in support of Ukraine and unlike the US, France, Italy, Germany, does not contain any significant numbers of Putin sympathisers or deluded pacifists. No doubt because our racial memory of June 1940 is still so strong in us. Been there, done that.
The UK remembers (still) what it is like to stand up against a force bent on world domination. It was indeed their finest hour.
To be precise: there is no such thing as a UK "racial" memory. The memory of WWII is that of the multiracial British nation.
Too bad you forgot about #Brexit 😉
To be precise: seeing the British fight in WWII as their finest hour in no way suggests Joeff has forgotten about Brexit. The only people who regard Brexit as Britain's finest hour are the tiny extreme right minority.
Putin helped get Brexit passed I believe. He is trying to tear apart all democracies.
Agreed. He can't control them, and he's a control freak.
Not so tiny, as the Brits voted for Brexit 😉
I was thinking of today, where a majority of Brits now regret Brexit. This applies to both Labour and Tory voters, although the majority of Tories suffering from Bregret is smaller than the majority of Labour voters bregrettimg it all.
This Guardian article by Simon Jenkins gives a good flavour of where things are at today:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/07/britain-brexit-eu-horizon-programme-science?utm_term=64f9f38f0d09ad2b0c769014d93605b8&utm_campaign=BestOfGuardianOpinionUK&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=opinionuk_email
It is basically only the extreme right of the Tory party members that still believes in those sunlit uplands, plus a minority of voters centred in the traditional shires of the southeast.
As for the original referendum vote, I think most are now agreed that the public was misled by an underhand campaign which, like that in the US which elected Trump, suffered from no small degree of interference from Russia.
The alarming difference between today's UK and US, however, seems to be that whereas the scales are falling from British voters' eyes and opinions and voter loyalties are changing, in the US the Trumpists seem to be beyond reach of any rational thought or decent human feeling, so the nation is much more polarised. This presents a real threat to all of us everywhere.
Brexit was Putin’s five year plan 😉
That could well be true. My sense is that even now, many liberal westerners fail to see the true depths of the evil Putin represents, in particular the special cruelty of his sustained long-term planning.
Thank you, Prof Snyder, for this commentary.
You seem to be one of the few people who clearly sees the need for the Ukrainian success of its self-defense. Thank you for making this need understandable and very understandably, humanly essential to all of us.
This defense effort is a difficult and costly self-defense; doing it well for the long term security of the Ukraine and other European nations (along with others) means demonstrating that genuine defense of the international, rules-based system that secures each nation's political self-determination is a common, international defense commitment that will not be tolerated, will be carried forward until all the conditions for durable postwar cooperation and security are firmly and credibly re-established.
Speak and act truth to power.
Interesting is your observation: "When the war does not quickly end, we jump to the idea that it is a “stalemate,” which is a situation that lasts forever. This is false, and serves as a kind of excuse not to figure out what is going on. This is a war that can be won, but only if we are patient enough to see the outlines and the opportunities." I suggest it may only be well-understood in the context of another of your observations: "This war has brought an entirely new theory of what a defensive war means: fighting only on one’s own territory. This does not correspond to international law and has never made any sense." This is a legal self-defense against an explicitly illegal and vicious aggression, combined with illegal occupation and crimes against humanity.
In conducting this legal and necessary self-defence, the Ukrainians demonstrate a peculiar humanity, resolve and global humanitarian concern and commitment by defending, with clear and exhaustively communicated strategic understanding, the international legal order that Putin is actively endangering and working to end.
I do and will continue to support the Ukrainians, and will again act on your advice to support all their needs, both defense support and humanitarian supports. Again, sincere thanks.
Finally, and with sincere concern, it is important to note the immense challenges the Ukrainians will all confront -- immediately and without respite -- once they succeed in the defense and enter the moment of internal political, economic and social reconstruction, while maintaining an always active (proactive), humanitarian, foreign relations involvements. We should not be content to see anything but the Ukrainians taking the lead in facet and every decision of these efforts. Now is the time for any of us to speak clearly to our elected representatives about this. Each of us can also comment to international agencies and institutions to affirm this support for the Ukrainians.
Very grateful for this substack environment for candid dialogue and for informing our respectful, critical, factual mutual understanding.
It's much more sane and much more peaceful to compromise with Russia, for the sake of world peace and environmental concerns. Russia re-claimed-annexed the lands they want in the eastern and southern former Ukraine region, which Russia would not allow to go under the jurisdiction of The West by way of Ukraine.
Understand the history, the neighborhood, and world polarity politics.
Promote: Productive peace with regional-neighborhood integrity respected.
Russia will not bow to the will of The West within their historical lands (Russia, not the USSR).
Yes, sane and peaceful are what we all wish for but rather we are watching Russia illegally take Ukrainian lands, kidnap Ukrainian children, force Ukrainians through filtration camps, and bomb Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure while insisting they are aiming at military positions, their aim is that bad. Yesterday they hit a kindergarten. War crimes, crimes against humanity, lies big and small. How does one negotiate with such criminals?
This has nothing to do with the will of the West. This is all on Putin and his revisionist history tales, his anti-sematism against President Zelenskyy, his lies to the Russian people themselves, and his murderous schemes against those who don’t toe the party line. If you want to talk about historical lands Ukraine has a much more compelling right towards great swatches of today’s Russia than the Kremlin has of Kyiv.
When every Russian has left every inch of Ukrainian territory, then maybe, can negotiations begin.
Understand the Ukraine-Russia conflict is reasonably negotiable, in regard to world-polarity respects, which the USA violated per the opinion of Russian Ruling Elite, and others, in regard to historical Russian lands, - the Donbas region and Crimea.
This is the will of the West which is violating world polarity-respects in regard to Russian historical lands and neighborhood,… with the Donbas region being of critical concern for Russia, given the Russian-history, adjacent locality, and long existing substantial Russian demography in that region.
The USA has made for the prolonged war. Without the USA, there wouldn't be the prolonged devastation and strife. Btw, I'm in communication with natives of both Ukraine and Russia, as close as the Dnieper and Rostov on Don, both sides of the conflict. Things are fair enough, life goes on.
I cannot understand that the Ukraine-Russia conflict is reasonably negotiable or even unreasonable. There is nothing to negotiate. First, it is not a reasonable conflict and there is little that Russia wants to negotiate, the grain deal for example. It must all be Russia’s way or no way, and they’ll lob a few more missiles at Odesa for effect.
So far as a world polarity with the USA I fear that’s just another non-starter for the Russians. Violating an opinion of the Russian ruling elites (Putin) is certainly not grounds to invade and occupy a sovereign country that may or may not have “violated the opinion” along with the US. Why did Putin not take it up with the US when the UN was in session? Russia was the chair of the Security Council. Did they do anything to save the lives of young Russians and Ukrainians? No, they didn’t. They do ignore rulings of the UN, showing a lack of respect and honour that the UN must have from all participants, especially from permanent members.
Why is the argument always the US? What about Canada, Australia, Japan, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Estonia, the UK, Italy, Georgia, even Kazakhstan is not impressed. And it’s not all NATO countries, most of them say no to Russia.
Historical lands is always an interesting topic. Russia currently has no claim to either the Donbas or Crimea. In fact, they are actively showing that they deserve no claim as they blithely roll on committing war crimes, terrorist acts, and meat grinders. If the Donbas was of such critical concern to Putin why did he attack Kyiv, why the NAZI/Banderite boogyman stories, why lie to hundreds of thousands of conscripts and mobilized that they would be guarding the borders because Ukraine was planning to invade Belarus and Russia? At the same time! But of course, it was a lie and they were tossed into the front lines with barely any preparations. 200 and 300 is all they are now. Except the ones mouldering in fields and farms next to land minds and dragons' teeth. The RF leaves no one behind. Right? Donbas has some serious mineral wealth. It is not there for Putin’s taking. The adjacent locality is exactly what it is, which is not Russian. I suppose some mining rights could have been suggested, but no one ever did, did they? Putin just wants to take. You have heard of Russian tourists? Also little green men? It no longer matters. Since Feb 2022, people have fled for safety. Some into Russia proper, many deeper into Ukraine or further outside of the country entirely. I wonder what the population of Bahkmut is today.
Russia has made for the prolonged war. Without Russia's stubbornness, there wouldn’t be prolonged devastation and strife. I have no doubt that your communication with the natives gives you a complete and satisfactory idea of how awful the USA is treating Russia and Ukraine.
You may not have noticed that many countries are not impressed with Russia's intransigence. Putin’s plans for reinvigorating his country into some sort of simulacrum of “the great patriotic war” are not working out. He cannot beat the Russian people into much more submission than they have already allowed. He can continue to jail “extremists” until the jails are overflowing but word still gets out. He’s got NK, Iran and a couple of African countries hoping to cash in but no one believes him and his mission. Belarus isn’t a partner but a temporarily occupied territory.
There will be another “partial” mobilization coming up very soon. You should ask your natives what they think of that plan.
Yes, life goes on. One cannot live in terror indefinitely. But Putin insists on trying. Was it the 205 battalion that blew up the dam causing amazing damage—eco-terrorism? A new word for a new century. The word is that this same group of soldiers were in Bucha for four weeks. If it wasn’t them it was a similar group.
Thank you for this very comprehensive, detailed, factual response to “Scott” and his idea of negotiation.
“The RRE's attacked Kyiv for the purpose of a shock and awe subdual intent of engagement for dominating over Ukraine , though realizing Russia would not likely takeover the western region of Ukraine, including Kyiv.” Says “Scott” below your post. He says YOU are being nonsensical and that another poster should work on her dietary practices. “Scott” attempts to sound sophisticated while lobbing childish insults, a la “No I am not, you are!”
Thanks, Carol, That’s very kind. Really it is a hat tip to Prof. Snyder. I was following along, sort of, 18 months ago. I started listening to Prof Snyder and reading his books and reading Marci Shore’s Ukrainian Nights. Needless to say, I’m hooked. I’m on the left, wet coast of Canada. A bit north of our friend Yuri/Scott here. While I went on a bit of a tear, which felt really good, Scott didn’t understand one word in six. “Shock and awe subdual Intent”, is such an awkward thought and my spell check hates it.
I did respond to his next instalment even though he changed the topics entirely. As he states, some people are understanding, some people aren’t. Sorry, Scott, you are not understanding.
Slava Ukaini!🇺🇦
HL Gazes says, "There is nothing to negotiate."
I am reminded of what Putin said toward the beginning og the escalation of this nine-year-old war: "The decisions are not made in Kyiv. They are made in Brussels and Washington."
At least you acknowledge that the war was started by Russia in 2014. Do not believe what Putin says. He lies. He is very good at it.
Some people are understanding, some people aren't.
Russia has declared its terms of negotiation / compromise.
You 'fear'. Sounds like you come from an emotional perspective. I come from the perspective of ''lets make a solution with respects for the concerns of both Ukraine and Russia, not just one of them.''
The USA is by far the biggest militaristic contributor of the conflict besides Russia.
Russia currenty has claim to both the Donbas region and Crimea. You're being nonsensical.
The RRE's attacked Kyiv for the purpose of a shock and awe subdual intent of engagement for dominating over Ukraine , though realizing Russia would not likely takeover the western region of Ukraine, including Kyiv.
There was Russian propaganda in the early 20th century claiming that the Donbas was a heart of Russia. And btw, Russia has had a military base in Crimea since the late 1700's,
“There was Russian propaganda in the early 20th century claiming that the Donbas was a heart of Russia.”
The only accurate thing you’ve said in all your many posts. Russia’s “claim” to the Donbas is indeed nothing more than propaganda. It’s not true, and it’s not valid. It’s just a false narrative designed to justify an illegal invasion and subjugation of a foreign state.
What you fail to grasp again is that nothing that Russia declares carries any weight. Nothing they negotiate or compromise has any validity. No law supports them. The invasion of Ukraine in 2014 where Russia “annexed” Crimea, and took over the regions of the Donbas with Russian-backed military (similar to ploys done elsewhere) are illegal acts. The Un has told them to cease. De Hague is waiting. The world is watching. Putin will not come through this looking good.
You are either very young or you are very ignorant. The use of the words, I fear, has nothing at all to do with being afraid or emotional. That you are unaware of the phrase and try to claim some higher purpose is sadly informative. You do not have the maturity of thought necessary to understand what is happening around you and how the grownups will deal with it. Your perspective is faulty. You are also being nonsensical.
Yes I remember an earlier articulation of Shock and Awe. Do you know how that played out? Do you understand why it was called Shock and Awe? A subduel intent? What an odd little word. Why not call it what it is...an invasion of a sovereign country, an illegal invasion and occupation.
Russian propaganda has been pumping out a lot of stuff over the years. Making false claims is a favourite way to keep the Russian citizens in fear and in line. With regards to a military base since 1700 in Crimea, I would say that Russia really owes Ukraine a hell of a lot of back rent. The Russians were permitted to use the Port of Sevastopol by the Ukrainians. Obviously, the Russians have abused this favour just as they abused all the promises, treaties, signings, whatevers, Russia is not honourable, not to be trusted, and not given an inch.
Bottom line Scott, or is it Yuri? Ukraine is free to design its own future. Russia will have the honour of paying reparations for a great deal of what is needed. Russia picked the wrong people to kick around this time. Vlad Vlad Putin with his Tsarist fantasies of being baptized in Kyiv or some such equally silly idea and having what is left of the population waving golden flags at him just like in the best paintings will never happen.
All VVP has for Russia is increasing debt, sketchy hookups with people you don’t want to meet after dark, rising inflation, mothers, sisters, wives and children who will never see their sons, brothers, husbands and fathers because Putin sent them to the meat grinder and he’s getting ready to do it again. He starts far out east so the people in Moscow and St Pete’s are lulled into a mistaken sense of safety. The commanders lie to their new recruits, though not very well, but it doesn’t matter as they will probably die within the week. And should the weather change as it always does and it gets wet and cold and muddy you will see too many young and older (up to 60) men dead and frozen in the mud where they will remain because it’s not true; Russia does leave it’s own behind.
None of this is propaganda. None of this is good. Russia must pay for the months of despair they have caused. Russia must leave every last inch of Ukraine. They should de-mine the place as they go but that would too much to ask of orcs.
It is the 21st century. Russia had better get with the program.
Can you explain the point of Bucha?
“Things are fair enough”
Hmm, Russian sympathizing opinion dismissed.
This is a brutally unfair situation for Ukraine and Ukrainains, being forced to endure terroristic invasion of a dictatorship intent on domination.
Life goes on fair enough in most of Ukraine, not ideal but it wasn't great before either. I've been in communications with some Ukrainians who are in Ukraine. USA didn't respect the neighborhood world-polarity concerns by the RRE's, and so were seeing what happens.
Russia is doing a land re-claim, specifically the claimed annexed portions, and Russia will continue the barage as long as the resistance continues.
I find it totally disgusting you shill for dictators.
Maybe stop being such a lickspittle dude
Hard to have sanity and peace in a world run for the oligarchs by authoritarians!
One key argument the Prof is making, and an important one to realize, is that too many in the West have internalized Russian propaganda about the threats, reasons and prospects of this war despite all the evidence to the contrary. People like Elon Musk and part of the Republican party are especially guilty of that, because of their inordinate influence on global affairs.
In parts of Europe where I spent some of my time it is also fashionable to point to the past of Ukraine as barely above the Russian example when it comes to Oligarchic corruption, authoritarianism and lack of democracy. What these folks - maybe conveniently ignore - is that the Maidan and what happened since are precisely efforts to overcome this past, which of course is the real reason Putin is afraid of modern Ukraine and desperately wants it under his thumb.
"… the Maidan and what happened since are precisely efforts to overcome this past, which of course is the real reason Putin is afraid of modern Ukraine and desperately wants it under his thumb."
You have put your finger on it… I wonder, does any official survey exist rating different countries according to the degree of their oligarchic corruption? I would be most interested to see where countries like Greece and the UK might fall… !🙀
Thank you. Bravo!
It’s so good to hear from you. So very grateful for the update. Thank for keeping us informed. It helps.
In 1776, in the pamphlet "American Crisis," Thomas Paine called on colonists not to give up on our fight to establish a democracy in the U.S.. Like Ukraine's war with Russia, ours was fought against a much larger, better equipped, and richer enemy. Like Ukraine, It had many setbacks, causing many colonists to despair and some to give up. Today we consider the outcome of that war inevitable, but what if colonists, uncertain about the future, had given up and gone home? Barely a year and a half into its own battle for independence and democracy, Ukraine's fight is just beginning.
Yesterday the George W. Bush Institute organized thirteen presidential foundations and centers to issue a statement that implicitly supports Ukraine and criticizes the U.S.: "Americans have a strong interest in supporting democracies around the world because free societies elsewhere contribute to our security and prosperity at home. But that interest is undermined when others see our own house in disarray."
Ukraine is not the only place fighting for democracy and against autocracy. We have our own war here at home. Thomas Paine understood, and I suspect Snyder might too, that we the people must win that war. Ukraine is today's city on the hill to which we citizens can look for inspiration, and Timothy Snyder is today's Thomas Paine to whom we can look for guidance and grit.
Very grateful for this synopsis of the war, Prof. Snyder, and for the opportunity to support "COME BACK ALIVE." It is an excellent feeling to contribute in Uah's .
Harvey Simon, Scottsdale AZ
Does anyone know why we have not supplied Ukraine with the A-10 Thunderbolt ground attack fighter. It was designed specifically to support ground attacks. It is much simpler to fly the the F16.
Is Ukraine air force trained in the A-10? This is the problem with the air defense in Ukraine. They've been flying
old MIGS. The countries that
have sent MIGS only have so
many to offer. Think of the
training for the F-16s they're
undergoing. Not a walk in the
park for these pilots.
While I don’t pretend to know anything about A-10s, MIGS, F-16s etc, and the training on them, I would not be at all surprised to see the Ukrainian flyers aloft much sooner than the projected timelines (there have been several) reported—somewhere between March 24 and Sept 24. I’m aware that the training includes not just the pilots but also ground crews, mechanics, English lessons, and more. It’s a team effort but they are motivated.
But why not the A-10? They, the Americans, are happy with the new Warthog according to to reports. The original came off the line in 1972! It does sound like a hell of a plane. Even if it’s not pretty.
The Warthog IS a hell of a plane. Has had a wonderful
aviation history, though not
notan eye candy plane. No matter, it gets the job done.
But, we're not ready to give
"new" aircraft to anyone at
this point and I have no idea
what the inventory, or combat readiness of the older A-10s is. Plus, Ukraine
needs fast maneuverability in
aircraft equals jets/F-16. An A-10 up against a Russian MIG is a very tough call.
This was the problem in the
early air war over Vietnam
with the older F-4s up
against the MIGs. And yes,
it's not just Ukraine pilots that are being trained here, as you
point out. Hopefully, these F-16s will be on station in
Ukraine 🇺🇦 soon.
A-10 are easily eliminated by men with Stingers. The losses can be 50%. If the were converted to UAVs- perhaps...No idea if this is possible.
Time and $$$ for conversion just delays training and delivery even longer. Speed
and maneuverability of the
F-16 already available, plus
weaponry is the cherry on the cake right now.
Thank you. It is hard for those of us who do not have access to direct sources to make sense of what is printed for the public. I appreciate your clearing my cobwebs. I hate war and feel extremely chagrinned that Ukrainians die and we shackle them with our slow-footed and ultimately inadequate supplies of materiel. Does real-politic admit of a conscience? Tragic.