Once again, Putin is playing offense, and the United States — and the allies — are playing defense. Putin acts, we respond.
President Biden assures the world that America and the European allies will NOT allow Putin to win the war – to take even one inch of Ukrainian soil. And that includes the Donbass Region and the Crimea.
After suffering a serious of temporary setbacks on the battlefield, Putin becomes more belligerent, plays the nuclear card again, places more emphasis on tank warfare (where he holds a huge advantage), conscripts 300,000 young Russians, conducts a bogus plebiscite, and holds a huge signing ceremony, claiming to now own the eastern portion of Ukraine.
And what is the response of the Friends of Ukraine? Harsh words and more military equipment with the same restrictions to not launch missiles into Mother Russia – and a few more sanctions. That latter raises the question as to how can there be any sanctions left after President Biden told us that we hit Putin with every sanction in the book at the onset of the war?
The answer is obvious. Biden was fibbing. He was holding back. The past sanctions have done nothing to deter Putin – and any new ones will have even less impact.
It was reported that Biden issued the strongest warnings to Putin – but you had to listen very carefully. He emphatically said that the United States will defend every of … NATO nations. But Ukraine is NOT a NATO nation. Putin will most certainly view Biden’s remarks as meaning that America will NOT defend Ukraine under any circumstances.
And what about that annexation? Biden says we will not recognize it. Good! But then, folks over at the State Department say the annexation poses a problem with our ban on Ukraine firing missiles into Mother Russia – and Putin now considers eastern Ukraine to be part of Mother Russia.
One wonders why our pinstriped pants crowd would have ANY reservations about pounding the Russian forces in eastern Ukraine. The mission is to drive them out – not concede to Putin. In fact, the Ukraine military is advancing in the alleged annexed regions at this very moment.
The underlying problem may be that the Biden policy is to achieve a cease fire and a negotiated settlement that would have Ukraine agree to transfer 15 percent of the country to Putin. Of course, that is not a settlement. That is a total defeat. Putin wins. End of subject – at least until Putin is prepared to take the next bite out of Ukraine. Once again America loses a proxy war to the enemy.
Hey! I have an idea. How about if Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy annexes a small portion of western Russia – including Moscow? He would be claiming less than two or three percent of all that land mass that is Russia. As a lover of Russian history, Purin could relocate to the historic capital of St. Petersburg. Zelenskyy could then bomb the Kremlin since Russian soldiers would be on Ukrainian soil.
Yes, that is a silly suggestion. But it is no greater nonsense than Putin’s annexation of eastern Ukraine. That should not change American policy one iota – other than embolden the democratic nations to end what is essentially an appeasement policy.
The gains made by the Ukraine military have been very impressive – but they do not turn the tide of war. Putin is still potentially winning – largely because he is determined to win. The Biden administration appears to be willing to lose.
So, there ‘tis.