Free World’s Boredom will be Its Downfall

Russia’s war against Ukraine has entered its 31^st month and Europe and the free world is showing more and more signs of frustration, boredom and exhaustion.

Russia is continuing its military advances against sovereign Ukraine with its own regular armies and armaments as well as its separatist-terrorists. Moscow is pursuing its latest expression of unbounded imperialism as it strives to recover its imperial glory with impunity.

In the wake of this, the free world and Euro-Atlantic political and military structures are at a loss what to do about it. The Minsk truce is a failure. Economic sanctions against the Russian leadership haven’t halted Moscow’s invasion. Negotiations and pleas have been ridiculed by Putin and his junta.

Without anywhere to turn, some global leaders have begun begging Kyiv to stop the fighting while urging a return to normal relations with Russia in the hopes that everything will be alright.

Nothing has worked and the Russian war against continues. Civilians are killed, more than a million Ukrainians have been turned into refugees and human rights are violated.

I have written in previous Torn Curtain 1991 blogs that Europe’s ennui and favoritism for Russia will send a signal to the Kremlin that what it’s doing is okay with the international community. Such a mindset will consequently lead Russian leadership to continue pushing its borders farther west through the former captive nations and old Europe. It will give Putin the opportunity to fulfill what Soviet Communists and tsars failed to accomplish – global domination.

Indeed, Europe has evolved into a pretentious group of countries with self-anointed visions of grandeur and holier-than-thou temperaments. It has tired of having to deal with Ukraine. Russia’s war against Ukraine has tested European leaders’ patience beyond their limited thresholds of tolerance.

But Europe’s irrepressible, gaping yawn will endanger Ukraine but not only. It will also pave the way to Europe’s demise at the hands of a stalking, belligerent Russia.

Geoffrey R. Pyatt, former US ambassador to Ukraine, a staunch advocate of Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and indivisibility, had elaborated in an interview that I cited in my blog that Kyiv faces the threat of what he described as “Ukraine fatigue” from its fair-weather (my description) European allies.

Turning to those that want to resume so-called normal relations with Russia, Linas Linkevičius, Lithuanian minister of foreign affairs, has been one of the outspoken critics of the free world’s political myopia. In an article in EurActiv he chastised the free world for paying too much attention to not provoking Russia. Linkevičius warned about the dangers of acting in a “pragmatic and responsible manner” with Russia.

“With Russian actions in Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, areas of the sovereign country were occupied. The protests of the international community, NATO and the EU were forgotten within several months and the ‘pragmatic and responsible’ position had the upper hand, i.e. cooperation with Russia was going on as usual. Russia did not ask for anything; it was the West that took the role as usual because ‘isolation is harmful, not profitable,’ etc.,” Linkevičius wrote.

Today, too, with Russia invading Ukraine and occupying Crimea and eastern oblasts, the free world is choosing narrow-minded pragmatic and responsible actions such as sanctions while other activities that will isolate Russia or ban it from the global table have not been enacted. Business goes on as usual.

Many countries feign deafness with regards to Russian explicit and implicit threats.

In a September 17 article in EuroActiv, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Ukraine’s First Vice-Prime Minister for the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine, warned of the impending doom that will shatter Europe’s peace if it fails to shake off its feeling of frustration. She pressed European leaders to unite with Ukraine and the other x-captive nations in subduing Russian aggression.

“It is very important for us that Europe is united against Russian aggression,” Klympush-Tsintsadze said in an interview that appeared in EuroActiv. “I do not like to hear comments from some European countries, who place the two camps [of the conflict in the east of the country] on an equal footing, suggesting that they are equally responsible. Because there is just one attacker, and Ukraine is the victim.

“I would like to see more unity and responsibility in the West. Crimea was annexed illegally.”

She also counseled against believing Russian promises regarding the Minsk ceasefire accords and even nuclear non-proliferation. Can the free world trust Russian signatures when Moscow doesn’t live up to its commitments in the Budapest Memorandum, she asked.

Today I received a statement signed by 35 European politicians and intellectuals in which they caution the free world against displaying “tiredness of being conscientious.” Indeed, Europe has been known throughout history as demonstrating strength, unity and single-mindedness in vanquishing tyrants, such as Adolf Hitler. However, its change of heart now endangers mankind.

They wrote:

“The exhaustion from the incessant stream of threats could have been predicted.  But now that exhaustion has become a danger:  it provokes a moral alienation, allowing us to compromise with truthfulness.  That is why Europe is being overwhelmed by populism with its very simple responses to complex issues.  This is why xenophobia and chauvinism emerge as a defense mechanism against foreigners.  This is why it becomes easier to hide from problems, to avoid the additional responsibilities, to look inward.  This turns to self-isolation.

“Russia's war against Ukraine, the occupation of the Crimea, the armed intervention in the Donbas, tens of thousands of victims, 1,500,000 internally displaced refugees belong to those problems from which a European philistine wants to hide behind the screen of exhaustion. Daily Russian diversions, provocations and blackmail no longer appall a portion of the European polity. They have become accustomed to this war. The routine dulls empathy; indifference levels the victim and the aggressor.

“But Russia's war against Ukraine continues. The aggression continues.”

They signatories pointed out that as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues and exhausts slowly, European exhaustion is the Russia’s strongest ally, “who with arms in hand violates world order.”

They condemned this dangerous exhaustion and calls for a return to business as usual with Russia, saying “this is a horrifying self-illusion and self-deception. Life in Europe has changed. One of the main reasons is the attempt of foreign aggression to inject onto the very values, sense and style of life in Europe. No attempt to hide in one’s one home will return the previous comfort.”

Their concluding appeal to the free world sounded like this:

“We call on all thinking people of our joint European community to show solidarity and to find the strength to stand against the threats of self-isolation, xenophobia and populism, which will dismember Europe.

“And Europe needs to fight with all its strength from an exhaustion of its conscience as an exhaustion of itself.

 “Let’s not be afraid of the future.  Let’s create it together.”

The statement was signed by the following:

Vytautas Landsbergis, the first Head of the renewed state of Lithuania

Valdas Adamkus, President of the Republic of Lithuania (1998-2003, 2004-2009)

Aleksander Kwasniewski, President of the Republic of Poland (1995-2005), Honorary Doctor of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy

Algirdas Saudargas, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania (1990-1992, 1996-2000)

Petras Vaitiekūnas, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania (2006-2008)

Audronius Azubalis, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Lithuanian Republic (2010-2012 

Antanas Valionis, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Lithuanian Republic (2000-2001)

Uffe Elleman-Jensen, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Denmark (1982-1993) 

Juri Luik, Minister for Foreign Affairs (1994-1995) and Minister of Defense (1999-2002) of Estonia

Jon Baldvin Hannibalsson, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland (1988-1995) 

Karel Schwarzenberg, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (2007-2009, 2010-2013) 

Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Foreign Secretary (1995-1997) and Defense Secretary (1992-1995) of the United Kingdom 

Adam Michnik, Founder and editor-in-chief of Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper, Honorary Professor of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy

Adam Rotfeld, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Poland (2005) 

Vyacheslav Briukhovetsky, Honorary President of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, member of “The First of December” Initiative Group

Bohdan Hawrylyshyn, member of the Club of Rome, founding member of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Honorary Professor of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, member of "The First of December" Initiative Group

Lubomyr Cardinal Husar, Major Archbishop Emeritus of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, member of “The First of December” Initiative Group 

Ivan Dziuba, former dissident, literary critic, member of Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences, Honorary Professor of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, member of “The First of December” Initiative Group 

Yevhen Zakharov, former dissident, human rights activist, member of “The First of December” Initiative Group

Myroslav Marynovych, former dissident, philosopher, human rights activist, Vice-Rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University, member of “The First of December” Initiative Group

Volodymyr Panchenko, literary critic, member of “The First of December” Initiative Group 

Myroslav Popovych, philosopher, director of the Ukraine’s Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy, Honorary Professor of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, member of Ukraine's National Academy of Sciences, member of “The First of December” Initiative Group 

Vadym Skurativskyi, philosopher, culturologist, member of “The First of December” Initiative Group

Yuri Shcherbak, writer, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine, member of “The First of December” Initiative Group 

Ihor Yukhnovskyi, the first Leader of the democratic People's Rada in the Parliament of Ukraine (1990 – 1994), scientist, member of Ukraine's National Academy of Sciences, member of “The First of December” Initiative Group

Ivan Vasyunyk, Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine (2007-2010), chief of the secretariat of “The First of December” Initiative Group

Danylo Lubkivsky, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine (2014) 

Volodymyr Viatrovych, historian, head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance

Josyf Zisels, former dissident, head of the Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities in Ukraine 

Volodymyr Ohryzko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (2007-2009) 

Yuriy Makarov, journalist, writer 

Olena Styazhkina, historian, writer, member of the Ukrainian PEN-Centre 

Oksana Zabuzhko, writer 

Audrius Siaurusevicius, Director General of the Lithuanian National Radio and Television 

Ramūnas Bogdanas, former advisor to Mr. Vytautas Landsbergis as the first head of state of Lithuania

Is this the free world’s last chance to save itself from Russian global domination? Does the free world want to succumb to its exhaustion, frustration and boredom, and abandon Ukraine to Russia’s aggression?