In a recent interview with Leonid Kravchuk (below right), the first president of an independent Ukraine, Diane Francis (left) informs us that, “Putin’s policy is to
conquer Ukraine and keep it a slave. He wants to restore the Greater Russian
Empire, not the Soviet Union,” [Kravchuk] said.
This philosophy, he said, is no different than Hitler’s who
wanted to incorporate all Germanic people under an expanded Third Reich empire.
“Western Europe gave Hitler lands bit by bit. He swallowed
these bits and decided to take everything. Now Europe doesn’t resist [Putin] in
order to avert World War III. But Putin’s popularity in Russia is not because
of his democratic reforms or economic prosperity. He’s popular because of his
aggressiveness." (KyivPost : July 5, 2015) (my emphasis)Nowhere is Putin's aggressiveness currently more evident than in the escalating buildup of Russian military forces and military equipment in eastern Ukraine.
As reported by Ukraine Today (UT),
"Moscow threatens to use nuclear weapons to defend annexed Crimea.
The announcement came days after a drone video was published online appearing to show a large Russian military camp deep inside Ukraine's Donbas region. The video shows T-72 tanks, scores of soldiers, construction equipment and tents, and shows that activity had increased in recent weeks." (UT : Jul. 4, 2015) (my emphasis)
The question that now needs to be asked is:
"Will Obama, Merkel, and Hollande, continue to resist arming Ukraine with lethal defensive weapons because of their 'fear' that it would spark Putin into unleashing all-out nuclear war against them, even in the face of all the current evidence of him gathering his military forces in eastern Ukraine for his impending attack on Mariupol ?"
Yet again are we confronted by the glaring truth revealed by Kravchuk namely that,
“Putin’s policy is to conquer Ukraine and keep it a slave. He wants to restore the Greater Russian Empire, not the Soviet Union,” [Kravchuk] said." (ibid Diane Francis)
How many more 'bits' of Ukraine is he going to be allowed to 'swallow' before President Obama, Angela Merkel, and Francois Hollande, in particular, will say, "Enough is enough!", and begin to arm Ukraine with lethal defensive weaponry?
Max Fisher (left) has written that Fyodor Lukyanov (right), widely considered both an influential leader and an unofficial interpreter of Russia's foreign policy establishment, (and also close to Sergey Lavrov!), has stated that, "The atmosphere is a feeling that war is not something that’s impossible anymore," Lukyanov told me, describing a growing concern within Moscow's foreign policy elite.
"A question that was absolutely impossible a couple of years ago, whether there might be a war, a real war, is back," he said. "People ask it." (Vox : June 29, 2015) (my emphasis)
More disturbingly, Fisher warns us that,
"To solve the problem of Russia's conventional military weakness, [Putin] has
dramatically lowered the threshold for when he would use nuclear
weapons, hoping to terrify the West such that it will bend to avoid
conflict. In public speeches, over and over, he references those weapons and his willingness to use them.
He has enshrined, in Russia's official nuclear doctrine, a dangerous idea no Soviet leader ever adopted: that a nuclear war could be winnable." (ibid Max Fisher) (my emphasis)
"...Putin’s popularity in Russia is not because of his democratic reforms or economic prosperity. He’s popular because of his aggressiveness." (ibid Diane Francis)
That drone which showed us just how Putin is building up his Russian military camp deep inside Ukraine's Donbas region should give us all serious pause for concern.
Putin is indeed not popular with the Russian people for his democratic reforms or economic prosperity, but rather for his invasion of, and annexing of, Ukrainian Crimea.
How many more 'bits' of Ukraine are we going to allow him to swallow?
(to be continued)
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