The war in Ukraine is almost a year old, with no end in sight to the fighting, suffering and destruction. In fact, the war’s next phase could turn into a bloodbath and last for years, as the U.S. and Germany agree to supply Ukraine with battle tanks and as Volodymyr Zelenskyy urges the West to send long-range missiles and fighter jets. It is becoming increasingly obvious that this is now a U.S./ Source Source / Read More: Chomsky: A Stronger NATO Is the Last Thing We Need as Russia-Ukraine War Turns 1
NATO
Instead of Deescalation, NATO Chooses Expansion While Declaring China a Threat
The United States announced at a NATO summit in Madrid plans to build a permanent military base in Poland, as it formally invited Sweden and Finland to join the military alliance after they applied for membership in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We look at the impact of prolonged U.S. military presence in Europe and the overemphasis on Russia or China as enemies to the West at a time when threats to Western liberal democracy seem to be primarily internal. The Quincy Institute’s Anatol Lieven also discusses possibilities for a peace settlement to end the war in Ukraine.…
NATO Chief Warns Russian War on Ukraine Could “Last for Years”
It has been nearly four months since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion Ukraine and with peace talks stalled, the chief of NATO warned Sunday that war could drag on for years. “We have to prepare for it to last for years,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag. “We must not let up in supporting Ukraine. Even if the costs are high, not only for military support, but also because of rising energy and food prices,” he continued. “But: That is no comparison to the price that Ukrainians have to pay every day…
Putin Issues Warning About “Future of Ukrainian Statehood” Amid Refugee Crisis
Despite evacuation efforts hampered by Russian shelling, Ukraine is enduring Europe’s most rapidly escalating refugee crisis since the second world war, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees said Sunday. “More than 1.5 million refugees from Ukraine have crossed into neighboring countries in 10 days — the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II,” tweeted the commissioner, Filippo Grandi. Also highlighting the crisis created by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.N. Refugee Agency warned Sunday that “in the coming days millions more lives will be uprooted, unless there is an immediate end to this senseless…
A Russian Invasion of Ukraine Could Destabilize Russia’s Political Order
The U.S. and U.K. officials and media have long been warning against the “imminent” Russian invasion of Ukraine. Whatever the prospects of such an invasion are, it also raises an important question about the character of the Russian political regime and how the invasion may change it. Let us hypothetically assume, as many have, that Russia can defeat the Ukrainian army and occupy a large part of Ukraine (especially the southeastern and central regions). The question is what to do with this part of Ukraine. The problem is not the unlikely massive Ukrainian guerrilla war against the Russian army. The…
Antiwar Groups Pan Biden for Announcing Troop Deployment to Eastern Europe
Anti-war advocates accused the Biden administration of continued warmongering late Friday into Saturday after President Joe Biden confirmed he plans to send U.S. troops to Eastern Europe. “I’ll be moving troops to Eastern Europe in the NATO countries in the near term,” Biden told reporters at Joint Base Andrews late Friday. “Not too many.” Earlier this week, the president announced that 8,500 troops were standing ready for a potential deployment to confront what the White House says is an imminent attack by Russian forces in Ukraine—despite pleas by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stop creating “panic.” In a phone call…