I asked a friend of mine in Lviv what it would take to end this war in favor of Ukraine. What surprised me more than his answer was the rapidity and confidence.
No, he is not the mayor of Lviv, nor a high-evel politician or soldier. He is an intellectual, once a television personality, journalist and currently a website master.
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He said that the Russian empire has to be brought down to its knees economically. As an example, he cited Russia’s ability to purchase American chips despite American sanctions. Once Russia suffers severe economic distress, even the Russian population will revolt in favor of their personal well-being, forsaking the empire which will make political turmoil by the other nationalities much more impactful.
Given the current political scene, that opinion seemed to make some if not much sense. American economic sanctions against Russia are not monitored. Its arms assistance is outdated, delayed, and even then it is restricted.
I began to think how Russia has for years outmaneuvered the United States and Europe in many areas, how negligent America and Europe have been in oversight.
One example would be the Russian Orthodox Church of theMoscow Patriarchate, which pursuant to American law should have its US leadership register as foreign agents. Yet they do not and there are no consequences. Many within that Church are much more than foreign agents. They are spies.
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Recently, a fellow Ukrainian-American, but totally immersed in the Trump swamp wrote that Trump will be good for Ukraine precisely because of his ego, which will not permit him to play a subordinate role to Putin. This person clearly did not see the Trump-Putin Helsinki press conference from 2018; and granted, this individual is very primitive intellectually, but even so, such declarations are dangerous because they are aimed at the poorly educated and come right out of the Russian playbook for misinforming the Ukrainian-American electorate.
A question arises whether this person is simply primitive or an agent.
Russia relies on disinformation, careless disregard, boredom, even abusing Christian values such as that man is made in the image of God or that all Christian churches, even fake ones, must be protected. That is why the Pope is so dangerous in his irresponsibility.
The vulnerable are all that lack any level of reason. Or as President Ronald Reagan stated regarding Mikhail Gorbachev, “doviryay ale proviriay” (trust, but verify).
That is only part of the problem. We live in a world where Russia is able to find fertile ground. We somehow mix up the China variable,suggesting that the demise of one authoritarian regime enhances another. If the Russian empire is dismantled China’s hegemony will not be enhanced.
Who is the greater threat to Western democracy and values: Russia or China? For countries such as India, South Korea, Japan, Philippines, Taiwan, even Australia, clearly the enemy at the gate is China.
How immediate is the threat? That is a topic for another time. Immediately, China is invested in production and export. Russia is invested in war crimes and genocide. Russia produces nothing. It simply exhausts its natural resources. Oil and gas are not renewable energy sources. Russia is a time bomb and for that reason it has tobe an empire appeasing the masses.
Russia started as Muscovy and moved to expand its territory both west and east. It was much more successful in the east. It cannot go any further eastward, stymied by the Pacific Ocean.
The possibilities in the west are quite fertile and tangible. The fear of nuclear Armageddon often suggested as a reason for appeasement, limitations on arming Ukraine, restraint on Ukrainian inclusion in European structures is misplaced if only because if Russia takes over Ukraine, Armageddon will be at hand. Victory in Ukraine is the only solution.
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