Letter from Ukraine: Victory will be Ours!

A couple of days ago I received the latest email from my soldier friend in Lviv. He began his military training in the “old” days and ultimately served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He is a retired airborne officer with the rank of major. His letters have been filled with patriotic observations and hope as well as condemnations of Ukraine’s enemies – domestic and foreign. In the subject line of his email he wrote: “Victory will be ours!”

He wrote, according to my translation:

Today we were at the Lviv military hospital, visited my graduate “Cyborg” (Ukrainian troops defending the Donetsk airport were called cyborgs by the Russians) as well as our and other soldiers, it’s a miracle. What an indomitable spirit and a will to be victorious; though they seem so young, they’re already toughened and scorched by war.

Побували сьогодні у Львівському військовому шпиталі, провідували свого випускника “КІБОРГА”, наш та й інші воїни, просто чудо. Настільки незламний дух та воля до перемоги, хоча, здавалось такі молоді, та вже такі загартовані та обпалені війною.

In the 11 months of the Russo-Ukraine War of 2014, Ukrainians serving in the volunteer brigades, the National Guard and the regular Armed Forces have shown boundless determination in their unequal fight to save sovereign Ukraine from the ravages of invading Russian soldiers and mercenaries – all terrorists. Earlier this month Russians destroyed a commuter bus, killing a dozen civilians, and overnight they shelled buildings, schools and daycare centers in Mariupol, killing dozens. Both attacks launched hashtags #IamVolnovakha and #IamMariupol.

For me, nothing good shines for “rashtsi” (a contemporary combination of Russians and Nazis) with their demonic fuehrer Putler.

If only our national and military leaders stopped stealing and at long last initiated real reforms primarily in judicial and law enforcement systems, then our situation would develop faster.

And so, things are heading toward a very terrifying third Maidan.

Як на мене, нічого доброго не світить “рашці” разом з їх біснуватим “фюреромм путлером”.

Ще би наші керівники держави та Армії перестали красти, та почали б вже накінець реальні реформи в першу чергу судової та правоохоронної систем та справа пішла би швидше.

А так все іде до третього дуже грізного МАЙДАНУ.

Expectations about a third Maidan have been circling in several quarters in Ukraine since the election of Petro Poroshenko and formation of the new Verkhovna Rada. Ironically, the cause of the next Maidan will not be exclusively Russia and its henchmen in Ukraine but the current pro-Ukraine government. Ukrainians’ patience has worn thin with its leadership. President Poroshenko and Prime Minister Yatseniuk have been criticized for not instituting comprehensive reforms fast enough, arresting pro-Yanukovych crooks who plundered Ukraine and escaped, and other transgressions.

Recent history of Ukraine has shown that it is sadly plagued with corruption, graft and other vices. Shortly after Ukraine declared its independence, Yuriy Shukhevych, the son of Roman Shukhevych-Taras Chuprynka, commander of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), visiting the USA, commented on this national affliction by comparing the government, parliament and national institutions to a trough. “The trough remains the same but only the pigs have changed,” said Shukhevych, who had spent 30 years in a Soviet Russian prison for being the unrepentant son of his father.

Such a sorry state exists today across the nation, from the summit of national leadership to the village square. Ukrainians cannot expect their country to evolve if their leaders don’t forsake graft but also if they don’t cease their petty thievery and bribery.

Well, we are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst because the damn Russians have considerably strengthened and increased their military formations in eastern Ukraine and along the border and Crimea. What they have in mind does not require a great deal of guessing, but they will definitely take one on the jaw.

Glory to Ukraine!

Ну а ми надіємось на краще, та готуємось до гіршого бо кляті москалі значно посилили та збільшили свої військові угруповання на сході України та вздовш кордону та Криму . Що в них на думці гадати особливо і не потрібно, но по зубах отримають однозначно.

СЛАВА УКРАЇНІ!

My friend’s descriptions and prognoses of Russia’s war versus Ukraine are not reassuring. But the nation can take solace in the resolve of its soldiers to fight the good fight against Russian aggression.

In the wake of the murderous Russian bombardment of civilian locations in Mariupol, enlistment numbers in the Ukrainian army increased. And there have been numerous accounts of Ukrainian officers and soldiers who, as the saying goes, took one for their comrades. This week I read of a military funeral for an officer who threw himself on a grenade to save his soldiers.

Russia’s war with Ukraine is escalating with the mobilization of regular Russian troops and mercenaries in Ukraine and on its border. The free world sees what is happening but is apparently paralyzed by its uncanny fear of Russia and Putin. Russia’s war with Ukraine is fueled by the Kremlin’s vast military-industrial complex while Ukraine is left to fend for itself and defend Europe with its army and blood.

Bravery, heroism and uncommon valor will inspire the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the nation at this crucial time in Ukraine’s history. But that’s only part of what Ukraine needs to subdue Russia and force it to withdraw from Ukraine.

For victory to be truly Ukraine’s, as my friend wrote, Ukraine also needs so-called lethal military aid from the United States and NATO. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) issued such a timely demand on January 22, in which he said: “It is time for the President to demonstrate America’s own spirit of resolve by providing Ukraine the lethal military assistance it needs to defend itself. Failing to do so would be an unmistakable sign of weakness not only to Putin, but to potential aggressors around the world.”

Finally, the Ukrainian nation needs leaders who are not only pro-Ukrainian but also law-abiding, honorable, trustworthy and selfless. If the nation is ready to die in battle against Russian invaders, then its leaders should be worthy of its sacrifice. 

ALERT: Congress Seeks to Free Nadiya Savchenko

Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), in cooperation with the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, has drafted a “Dear Colleague” letter to members of the House of Representatives demanding the release of imprisoned Ukrainian fighter pilot and political prisoner Nadiya Savchenko. Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI) has also signed the letter.

The signatories expect the letter to be sent to Secretary of State John Kerry to urge the White House to publicly condemn the illegal detainment of Savchenko and request her immediate release from Russian imprisonment.

Savchenko was seized in Ukraine during the Russo-Ukraine War of 2014 by Russian soldiers, kidnapped to Russia and imprisoned. She is the focus of a global awareness campaign for her freedom that seeks to raise 1 million #FreeSavchenko tweets.

The Ukrainian National Information Services has disseminated Pascrell’s letter to its friends and supporters, urging them to request their elected officials in the House of Representatives to sign on to this letter. Requests/letters to your Representatives may be e-mailed directly by using the House website at: http://www.house.gov/representatives/ . The deadline is January 22.

Pascrell wrote in this letter:

In advance of Global Free Nadiya Savchenko Day on January 26th, please join me in urging Secretary Kerry to intensify his public condemnation of Nadiya Savchenko’s illegal imprisonment by Russia.

It has been over seven months since Nadiya Savchenko, a former Ukrainian Air Force pilot, Iraq War Veteran, Member of Ukraine’s Parliament and delegate to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, was captured by Russian-backed militia in southeastern Ukraine and brought to Russia. Since being transnationaly abducted, Savchenko has been accused of helping kill two Russian journalists and held in isolation while she awaits her day in Russian court, which has been delayed.

As a result of the delay, Savchenko has been on a hunger strike for over a month while in Russian prison. These actions are a clear violation of her human rights and international standards according to clause 5 of the September 5, 2014, Minsk Protocol, which called for the immediate release of all unlawfully detained persons.

Savchenko has become a rallying point in the Ukrainian community and deserves our support. If you have any questions or you would like to sign on, please contact Dylan Sodaro in my office at 5-5751 or Dylan.Sodaro@mail.house.gov by COB Thursday, January 22.

The letter to Secretary Kerry reads as follows:

We write to urge you to strongly condemn Russia’s transnational abduction and the subsequent unlawful detention of Nadiya Savchenko, former Ukrainian Air Force pilot, Iraq War Veteran, member of Ukraine’s Parliament and delegate to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and do everything in your power to secure her immediate release.

On June 18, 2014, Ms. Savchenko was captured by pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine while carrying out her duty to defend her country. Eventually, she was transported to Russia, illegally detained under unsubstantiated charges, subjected to numerous interrogations by Russian authorities and denied access to her counsel. These actions are a clear violation of her human rights and international standards according to clause 5 of the September 5, 2014, Minsk Protocol, which called for the immediate release of all unlawfully detained persons. Subsequent to Russia’s actions and the decision to extend her arrest, Ms. Savchenko entered a hunger strike. We are deeply concerned for Ms. Savchenko’s health and wellbeing, as she is in solitary confinement and has been denied urgently-needed medical attention and communication with her legal counsel.

Russia’s actions betray their previous commitments and have derailed good faith efforts to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine. It is imperative you utilize all diplomatic efforts to ensure the safety of Ms. Savchenko’s life and other illegally imprisoned Ukrainians immediate release. We respectfully urge you to intensify your public condemnation of her illegal imprisonment by Russia, and demand that she and the other illegally imprisoned Ukrainians be freed.

For the sake of Nadiya Savchenko, contact your representative to support this effort. Please also use the hashtag #FreeSavchenko to raise awareness about her illegal imprisonment by Russia.

X-Captive Nations Must Unite vs. Russian Imperialism

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine one week after the conclusion of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and the ensuing Russo-Ukraine War of 2014 have demonstrated that none of the former captive nations of Russia are safe from the Kremlin’s never-ending quest to restore its empire, prison of nations and the iron curtain.

News of Russia’s hurried militarization, pronouncements of a right to defend itself at all costs and retake the former captive nations, and numerous sorties over European countries beyond the Baltics have given rise to real concerns in eastern European capitals that their future is at stake. Russia’s newly revised military doctrine has also lead to sobering fears about Russians at their doors in countries that border Russia to the west and east.

What are the former captive nations to do? With NATO immersed in a deep re-analysis of the mission that it was precisely mandated to undertake at the end of World War II – to defend the free world against Russian imperialism, the alliance is not building confidence in the captive nations. The logical question is if the aggressor has clearly not changed, why then should NATO’s mission change?

Vladimir Putin’s Russia is escalating its war against Ukraine while setting its sights on Baltic and east European countries – and beyond. It has stationed 800 servicemen from its Northern Fleet in Alakurtti within 50 kilometers of the Finnish border, with the rest of the fleet to be deployed soon, according to announcement by Commanding Admiral Vladimir Korolev of the Russian navy on January 13.

At full force, Russia’s Northern Fleet consists of some 3,000 ground troops trained for combat in Arctic conditions, along with 39 ships and 45 submarines. Its arrival in Murmansk follows Russia’s decision last year to create a united command for all of its units designated with protecting Russia’s interests in the country’s northern regions.

“In 2015, the Defense Ministry’s main efforts will focus on an increase of combat capabilities of the armed forces and increasing the military staff in accordance with military construction plans. Much attention will be given to the groupings in Crimea, Kaliningrad and the Arctic,” Russian General Staff chief Valery Gerasimov said, according to Russia’s Sputnik news agency. 

Leaders of the former captive nations fully understand the danger that Russia presents to their independence and sovereign existence. They are on the record as stating that Russia is a terrorist state that has not lived up to any agreement that it has signed. They meet regularly to coordinate their security and defense. The Baltic Review reported on such a meeting held earlier this month:

“This year, President Bronisław Komorowski of Poland is also invited to take part in the traditional meeting the main purpose of which is to discuss regional security measures.

“The Lithuanian head of state together with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Latvian President Andris Bērziņš and Polish President Bronisław Komorowski reviewed the implementation of decisions adopted at the NATO Summit in Wales as well as energy, information and cyber security issues.

“ ‘Our countries have a shared goal – secure and economically strong region. We will only achieve this goal by standing together in the implementation of long-term collective defense measures and strategic projects aimed at ensuring the region’s energy self-sufficiency,’ the President (of Lithuania) said.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine delivered a wake-up call on defense spending to the small Baltic States.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are on heightened alert as Russian military planes and warships circle their airspace and sea borders on a daily basis in what they call “unprecedented” Russian activity.

Sven Mikser, Estonian Defense Minister, recently concluded the biggest military procurement in his country’s history, worth 138 million euros ($160 million). The deal buys 44 CV90 combat vehicles and six Leopard tanks from the Netherlands. It comes a month after Mikser agreed a contract worth $46.2 million with the US to buy 40 Stinger missile systems. Estonia also has an order for self-propelled guns in the works.

Latvia bought 123 combat vehicles for $55.5 million from Britain in August and in November agreed to a $4.6 million deal with Norway for 800 Carl Gustav anti-tank weapons and 100 trucks.

Lithuania bought a $39.3 million GROM air defense system from Poland in September and a month later said it would spend $18.5 million on a fresh supply of Javelin anti-tank missiles from the US.

That brings the price tag for Baltic military spending on hardware to $347 million euros in six months.

Leading the political fight against Russia’s aggression is President Dalia Grybauskaite of Lithuania, an unabashed critic of Putin and Russia’s imperialism, and ardent supporter of Ukraine, who is often photographed at a military shooting range.

Grybauskaite has noted that Ukraine is not just fighting for its own sovereignty, but it is defending the sovereignty of all European nations. Her acerbic denunciation of Putin’s war is without comparison in eastern Europe.

During an interview with German news magazine Focus in June Grybauskaite said the Russian despot “uses nationality as a pretext to conquer territory with military means. That’s exactly what Stalin and Hitler did.”

Grybauskaite elaborated:

“Russia is at war against Ukraine and that is against a country which wants to be part of Europe. Russia is practically in war against Europe,” she said, adding that she is prepared to “take up arms” in the instance Russia attacks

Grybauskaite is convinced that if Russia is not repulsed from Ukraine, Putin will sweep across the Baltics, central Europe and northern Europe.

“The situation is still deteriorating. Russian troops are still on the territory of Ukraine. That means that Europe and the world are allowing Russia to be a country which is not only threatening its neighbors but is also organizing a war against its neighbors. It is the same international terrorism as we have in Iraq and Syria.

“In Ukraine, it is a real war. The European Union and most of the leaders in the world are trying to talk about it as if it is not war but some kind of support of terrorist elements. We saw Crimea. In the very beginning, it was green men, and it became Russian military. Now it is the same in eastern Ukraine. And I’m sure that it is not the last territory where Putin is going to demonstrate his powers.

“If we will be too soft with our sanctions or adapt sanctions but not implement them, I think he will go further trying to unite east Ukraine with south Ukraine and Crimea. He recently said that in two days he is capable to reach Warsaw, the Baltic States, and Bucharest. So that is an open threat to his neighbors.

“If he will not be stopped in Ukraine, he will go further.”

Grybauskaite’s colleagues in Riga and Tallinn are equally troubled by Russian saber rattling. In the Baltic States, Russia’s goal is to undermine local trust in NATO’s collective defense, to destabilize internal politics, provoke local Russians to seek Moscow’s intervention, and ultimately to cause the countries to give in to Russian interests. As for military provocations in the Baltics, Moscow sees them not so much as an invasion, but rather a matter of taking back what rightfully belongs to Russia. Some feel the same scenario used in Ukraine is already unfolding in the Baltic countries.

Archbishop Gintaras Grusas of Vilnius, president of the Lithuanian bishops’ conference, observed that Lithuania is in the front line and Russia has made its intentions clear. He believes that Russian aggression against Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia is possible, and appealed to Western Catholics to be better informed about the situation.

“While we feel NATO’s support, we know the front could move forward if the international community fails to stand firm,” said Archbishop Grusas of Vilnius. “What isn’t fully realized in the West is that the information and propaganda war which preceded the military action against Ukraine is very much underway here, too. There’s a high degree of tension, and everybody here knows how dangerous the situation has become. The three Baltic states are relatively small countries, which can be pressured more easily than Ukraine,” Archbishop Grusas told the Catholic News Service.

“Russia is a great country, with great people. But the desire to promote that greatness, perhaps with new empire-building, runs deep in the Russian mindset under President Vladimir Putin. They’ve expressed a belief they have a right to lands they once ruled.”

The Baltics are hoping for at least an increased NATO presence so that Moscow would think twice about invading them. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius explained that he does not have any reason to doubt the security guarantees which were provided by NATO and the EU but he added that that’s not a reason to relax.

“Freedom and peace are not a given. They are something that should be defended when the time comes,” Linkevicius said. “We are not talking about militarization, about big divisions of NATO troops. I am talking about a sensible level of presence which does not exist at all right now.”

A few days ago, Lithuania’s Defense Ministry announced that it will be distributing a manual that advises its citizenry how to behave if Russian tanks stream across their borders. “Keep a sound mind, don’t panic and don’t lose clear thinking,” the manual advises Lithuanians, according to Reuters. “Gunshots just outside your window are not the end of the world.”

Reuters said the manual reads like a guide to non-violent, passive civil resistance. It urges Lithuanians to participate in demonstrations and strikes. The manual even tells workers to engage in a kind of passive sabotage to crash the economy and make life hard on the Russians by “by doing your job worse than usual.”

The country’s Defense Minister Juozas Olekas told Reuters: “The examples of Georgia and Ukraine, which both lost a part of their territory, show us that we cannot rule out a similar kind of situation here, and that we should be ready,”

Distrust of NATO’s promises is not unfounded. Despite what up to now has been a solid EU front in support of sanctions against Russia, seven countries in the European Union have said they will support ending them. Austria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Hungary and Slovakia are reportedly in agreement on the matter. Such a crack in the bloc will only encourage Russia not to fear the European paper tiger.

Fortunately, in an op-ed article in The Times of London, President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron declared their commitment and “enduring mission” to fight the growing terror threats and stand up to Russian aggression against Ukraine.  They said they will face Russia’s aggressive stance in Ukraine since the failure to challenge Moscow may lead to instability as Putin continues to ignore international law. Their position allays some anxieties but only if the US and UK maintain their position.

Some Western pundits also see this threat but not nearly enough of them. Bloomberg news wrote: “Vladimir Putin undermines NATO members by stirring up trouble with Russian minorities in Estonia and Latvia, and with Russia's Kaliningrad enclave between Poland and Lithuania. Recent airspace encounters show Russia’s willingness to test NATO’s capabilities.”

Russia’s militarization also foresees its development of the capability to threaten several neighbors at once on the scale of its present operation in Ukraine, according to Lieutenant-General Ben Hodges.

Hodges, commander of US Army forces in Europe, told Reuters last week that an attack on another neighbor does not seem imminent because Moscow appears to have its plate full in Ukraine for now.

But that could change within a few years, Hodges said, when upgrades sought by Putin would give Russia the ability to carry out up to three such operations at the same time, without a mobilization that would give the West time to respond.

“Right now, without mobilizing, I don’t think they have the capacity to do three major things at one time. They can do one thing, I think, in a big way without mobilizing. But in four to five years, I think that will change,” Hodges said. “Certainly within the next four to five years they will have the ability to conduct operations in eastern Ukraine and pressure the Baltics and pressure Georgia and do other things, without having to do a full mobilization.”

In view of the latest wave of Russian aggression against the former captive nation, the joint defense concept charted by Yaroslav Stetsko and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists in 1943 is worthy of a revival. The resulting Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations (ABN) was created as a coordinating center for the liberation of captive nations of the Soviet Russian empire.

The former captive nations may have another opportunity to resuscitate such a structure. According to the Latvian Foreign Ministry, plans are under way to convene in May the next session of the Eastern Partnership summit in Riga that is aimed at intensifying ties between the EU and six of the other former Soviet republics – Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine. The participants would be remiss if they didn’t form a regional security and defense organization along the lines of ABN or NATO that would include a well-armed and funded multi-national rapid deployment force.

Not surprisingly, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin had also alluded to the imperativeness of such a far-reaching coalition. Outraged by the Russian invasion of his homeland, Klimkin suggested soon after President Petro Poroshenko’s visit to Canada and the United States last fall the creation of a Coalition of Freedom to defend democracy and Western values in a troubled world.

“It is about security for everyone,” said Klimkin during an exclusive Fox News interview on the eve of the 65th UN General Assembly. “If someone in this interchangeable and intertwined world cannot feel secure, how can US citizens here feel secure?”

Klimkin explained then that Ukraine is confronting a threat any nation can face, adding “we need a network of security.” His Coalition of Freedom would consist of “countries which are committed to freedom, to democratic values, where we are not talking about spheres of influence, but the values and real interests of democratic countries.”

I applauded his decision in my blog at the time.

Undeniably, the former captive nations are being threatened by Russia and cannot trust their sovereign, independent existence to the whims, politics and nervousness of NATO and the free world. They must unite for their joint security and defense and to protect themselves from Russian aggression.

Je suis Charlie, Я – Чарлі, I am Ukraine, I am Crimea, I am Donbas

Indeed, the premeditated, methodical murder of a dozen journalists in their editorial office is instantaneously more shocking and incredulous than the perpetual killings during the 10-month-old Russo-Ukraine War of 2014.

In three days last week, radical Islamic terrorists perpetrated a coldblooded attack against freedom of the press, democracy, peace, Paris, France, Jews and the world’s sensibilities.

The global outrage against this bloodshed and tumultuous support for what the victims in two locations stood for was more than justified. About 3 million people by some estimates, including 40 national leaders, among them President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine, participated in Sunday’s march of unity in Paris. An inspiring manifestation of fraternity, equality and brotherhood that was tarnished by the presence of Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov. But hypocrites will always be immoral frauds.

The outpouring of support for the related issues is inspiring, historic and worthy of repetition. At its peak last Thursday evening, there were nearly 6,500 tweets per minute with the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie. As of late the following day, there had been more than 5 million tweets using that hashtag since the previous Wednesday and the subsequent reach was astronomical.

There has also been a lot of soul searching in the aftermath of the killings as masked murderers shouted “Allahu akbar” while shooting innocent people, then fleeing in a car. Everyone who was touched by this crime reflected about freedom of speech, the newsworthiness of ridiculing Mohammed and other religious symbols, and terrorism.

Sally Kohn, activist, columnist and television commentator, observed on CNN:

“As others have pointed out, in the wake of the Paris attacks we’ve conflated support for free speech with support for the actual speech in question. But while I unquestionably support the free speech rights of the KKK and ‘god hates fags’ protesters, for example, that clearly doesn’t mean I would support, never mind join in, their hateful messages. Some on the right insist that media should have to re-print Charlie Hebdo’s anti-Islam cartoons or else they're cowardly. However, this is a fundamental perversion of free speech, to say the least. There is no inconsistency between supporting free speech for Charlie Hebdo’s cartoonists and finding the content of some of their cartoons offensive and disrespectful.”

Or as Voltaire was to have said: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

As civilization has come to learn in recent history, the evil of terrorism comes in different sizes and shapes but it is all the same: Senseless. Vile. Bloody.

With these murders in Paris occurring during Russia’s war against Ukraine, some social media tweets and posts sought to condemn the French government for failing to support Ukraine against Russian terror. However, with murders at Charlie Hebdo still fresh, it was not prudent to reprimand French leaders for their cold policy regarding besieged Ukraine and Russian terrorism there. It’s better to build national, popular support and consensus.

Having said that, it is appropriate for the world to remember that the Ukrainian nation is in the throes of a murderous war that Russia is waging against it. Press freedom, human rights and democracy were violated in Paris while at the same time the right to an independent national existence, sovereignty and democracy are being violated in Ukraine by a megalomaniac in the Kremlin.

Russia’s brutal, criminal behavior toward Ukraine is terrorism on a grander scale but with boredom enveloping the world’s leaders and activists, the war in Ukraine will likely not get a fair hearing. While radical Islamists were out rightly condemned for the carnage in Paris and reminded of earlier massacres, Putin and Russia are given the benefit of the doubt with evasive criticism and naïve hopefulness.

How can world leaders accept the invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea; how can world leaders condone the subsequent invasion of eastern Ukraine and seizure of Luhansk and Donetsk; and how can world leaders tolerate the murder of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, and innocent air travelers?

When will 3 million non-Ukrainians gather in any national capital to condemn Russian aggression and defend Ukrainian national rights?

These questions are as painfully real as those being asked on the Champs Elysees.

History has shown that when Ukrainian interests intersect interests’ of other countries or issues, Ukraine has been placed on the short end of the stick. Already NATO leadership has uttered hopes that Russia, which has fervently supported global radical Islam, would join in the fight against it. Radical Islam is an indisputable global danger but free world leaders would not do better by forgiving Russia, begging it to help in the fight against international radicals and betraying Ukraine.

Radical Islam is a threat to world peace and stability just like Russian terrorism is and the world doesn’t have the luxury to choose between lesser or greater evils.

The Wolf at the Door

I read the other day an interesting, insightful and timely passage from John Le Carré’s “A Most Wanted Man” that I’d like to share:

“That’s one of the greatest problems of our modern world, you know. Forgetting. The victim never forgets. Ask the Irishman what the English did to him in 1920 and he’ll tell you the day of the month and the time and the name of every man they killed. Ask an Iranian what the English did to him in 1953 and he’ll tell you. His child will tell you. His grandchild will tell you. And when he has one, his great-grandchild will tell you too. But ask an Englishman—” He flung up his hands in mock ignorance. “If he ever knew, he has forgotten. ‘Move on!’ you tell us. ‘Move on! Forget what we’ve done to you. Tomorrow’s another day!’ But it isn’t, Mr. Brue.’ He still had Brue’s hand. “Tomorrow was created yesterday, you see. That is the point I was making to you. And by the day before yesterday, too. To ignore history is to ignore the wolf at the door.”

When I read the words “wolf at the door,” the inherent warning in them struck me like a thunderclap. This simple admonition should be read and re-read by all national leaders around the world regardless of their political or ideological affiliation.

If you ignore Russian history, you will be doomed to ignore Putin’s armies at your doors.

Of all modern empires, Russia has maintained its preeminent position as one that incorrigibly invades, subdues and subjugates independent nations near and far. It has successfully waged war against its neighbors since its establishment in muddy swamps around Muscovy and ultimately expanded to nine time zones from Europe to the Far East.

Russia has bloodied its hands in every country that became a captive nation while the free world did nothing to stop it and demand restitution. During the famine murders of more than 7 million Ukrainian men, women and children in 1932-33, Washington cold-heartedly formally recognized the existence of the USSR.

During World War II, Russia’s crimes against humanity rivaled Nazi Germany’s but the latter was the sworn enemy of the free world, not the former.

At the end of the war, Moscow took advantage of the free world’s desire for an end to warfare and the start of peace by seizing freedom-loving nations of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Poland, Czecho-Slovakia, Hungary, Rumania and East Germany.

In the latter half of the 20th century, Moscow persecuted the captive nations and deprived them of their human, national, religious, cultural and linguistic rights. Today Russia continues to deny all of its citizens, media and NGOs of their rights.

Despite the free world’s shock and disbelief, some 11 months ago and five days after it hosted the global peace festival called the Winter Olympics, Russia, a G-level country, launched the historic Russo-Ukraine War of 2014 in the first step to re-subjugate Ukraine and restore the Russian empire.

The United States and the free world, for all intents and purposes, have remained inert in the face of these Russian violations of international order and UN resolutions. The reluctantly implemented economic sanctions against Russia have begun to have their intended effect with the Russian economy in a tailspin. However, the short-attention span world leaders have also grown bored of threatening and complaining about Russia and some, like France and Germany, are hoping for a cessation of the war at all costs – even a freeze of hostilities.

Such an unresolved conclusion of the war would leave Ukraine in a state of perpetual instability, bloodshed and fear much like the Middle East. The Daily Beast wrote earlier this week that Vladimir Putin has enacted terrorism in Ukraine. This can escalate to a cross-country wave of Russian instigated acts of terrorism, including drive-by killings and bombings even in western Ukraine. That possibility alone should convince Ukrainian and world leaders to devise a plan to convince Russia to cease hostilities, withdraw from Ukraine and pay reparations. If that doesn’t work, then Russia must be expelled from Ukraine at all costs in a joint Gulf War-like military campaign.

The US and free world must understand that Russia is a criminal, belligerent, terrorist state with Vladimir Putin as the man in charge. He should be treated like other national leaders who have committed crimes against humanity. He should not be treated as an errant citizen, a perpetrator of a misdemeanor, a jaywalker, who will learn his lesson and reform after paying his fine.

It would be irresponsible and dangerous to presume that.

Despite peaceful coexistence, détente and re-set, Russia has not changed in 1,000 years. Saber rattling, militarization, launching sorties against US, EU and NATO, and boasting that Russia’s army is unbeatable are the mainstays of Putin’s foreign policy.

The West should hold Putin personally responsible for the war against Ukraine and other unending transgressions. For committing crimes on a grand scale, he must be held accountable and brought to justice. The free world would violate the former captive nations’ trust if it is already preparing plans to welcome Putin back into its midst after a respectable amount of time elapses.

The United States, and perhaps the other free world countries, have a legal mechanisms to coerce Russia into quitting Ukraine and changing its ways. They only need courage, single-mindedness, resolve, watchfulness and a good memory. Don’t waste this opportunity.

The wolf is already marking its territory.

Human Rights – All Humans’ Righteous Battle

In a perfect world, the comprehensive range of human rights would be a universal standard with widespread acceptance. However, in today’s imperfect global society, compliance with human rights norms must be championed, monitored, protected, refined and adjudicated every day in generally recognized autocratic states as well as democratic ones.

Throughout modern history, societies have attempted to define human rights principles, which were meant to guide humans’ relationships with their peers – individually and collectively. Among these documents have been the Magna Carta (1215), the US Bill of Rights (1791), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), and the Final Act of the Helsinki Accords (1975).

The periodic re-publication, refinement, reemphasis and expansion of accepted human rights values does not indicate a flawed original attempt at delineating human rights but rather demonstrates mankind’s evolution, the appearance of new needs, as well as continuing violations of human rights.

“Whereas, recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,” states the Preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Human rights principles not only dictate mankind’s one-on-one conduct with other humans as well as governments’ conduct with their citizens, but they also serve as a reminder of the horrors mankind has perpetrated against its fellow humans. In recent history, the fight for human rights was a direct reaction against horrible crimes such as the Holodomor murder of Ukrainians by Russia and the Holocaust killings of Jews by Nazis while the battle for those principles continues to be an endless universal endeavor.

Over time human rights have been expanded to include concepts such as national, religious, cultural, academic and civil rights.

Karel Vasak, initial contributor to the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and former legal advisor to UNESCO, alluded to the expanding notion of human rights by noting: “Since 1948 we have drawn up other human rights, we haven’t just stayed in 1948, there are other human rights, the right to development, the right to the environment, the right to peace and the right to humanitarian assistance.”

Indeed, promoting human rights also means defending the right to think differently, the rights of women, the right to peace, security, health, education, media, Internet, untainted ecology and gender. This unexhausted list dovetails aptly with President Roosevelt’s vision of four freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want and freedom from fear – including the fear of being invaded by a neighboring superpower or being shot intentionally or unintentionally by a police officer, and freedom from unwarranted arrest, kidnapping and imprisonment as happened with Nadiya Savchenko.Roosevelt’s words inspired Ukrainian Americans to establish in 1946 the Organization for the Defense of Four Freedom for Ukraine to explain to Americans the battle for independence being waged by Ukrainians in Ukraine and the Diaspora.

Adherence to human rights creates a level playing field for everyone to enjoy a life of dignity and rights. “The approach bolsters accountability by clarifying the duties and responsibilities of governments, donor countries and non-governmental organizations regarding action taken or committed,” observed Navanethem Pillay, former UN high Commissioner for Human Rights. She also said several international human rights instruments even categorize health as a human right that must be pursued in tandem with all other human rights.

Kenneth Roth, a former federal prosecutor and executive director of Human Rights Watch, updated this observation in his comment in the December 28 edition of The New York Times by saying, “Treaties are effective even when courts are too weak to enforce them because they codify a public’s views about how its government should behave. Local rights groups, working with their international partners like Human Rights Watch, are able to generate pressure to respect these treaties by contrasting a government’s treaty commitments with any practices that fall short. The shame generated can be a powerful inducement to change.”

Arguing against needless attention to human rights, some have said that they cannot be precisely sculpted in the human mind or legal statutes. Despite this mistaken observation, they are recognizable. To paraphrase US Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s observation about obscenity in 1964, we all know what human rights are when we see, hear, speak, abuse or defend them.

The backbone of the fight for human rights is civil society or non-governmental organizations. Simone Veil, former Minister of State of France, pointed out in a speech at the 61st Annual UN DPI/NGO Conference that “NGOs have a vocation to focus attention upon those whose rights are insufficiently protected. Because of their diversity, because of their independence, it is easier for them to defend different points of view, different interests even when those points of view are contradictory.”

Indeed, before the collapse of the Soviet Union, rights activists in Ukraine, Russia and elsewhere took advantage of the tenets of the Final Act of the Helsinki Accords to raise their fight for freedom to a global legal level.

Apart from international human rights covenants, the practical guarantor of the entire range of rights that men and women should enjoy is the national government. However, when citizens and civil society give up on their governments and cease making their voices heard, democracy and human rights are sacrificed for the benefit of the ruling elite. Semper vigilant is the all-important watchword.

Some governments, even those that preach human rights, have unfortunately violated them but the righteous ones endeavor to correct their transgressions. At least they encourage an uninhibited public discussion of the wrongdoings that condemn or exonerate the participants.

Others, despotic regimes, talk about human rights but habitually violate them and deny freedoms to all perceived enemies, including civil society, women, press, intellectuals, faithful, LGBT and others.

To reach the highest level of human rights acceptance, society should engage in a lifelong educational process that must begin with the youngest of its members in the earliest years of education. It has been said that this form of human rights inculcation will fulfill humanity’s aspiration to attain universal human rights compliance.

Ukraine Fulfills National Destiny

As 2014 draws to a close, Ukraine has finally laid the political foundation for fulfilling its national destiny. It has expelled Russian saboteurs and minions, as well as domestic traitors and criminals, beginning with Viktor Yanukovych and his cabal. In recent elections Kyiv and the Ukrainian nation have charted a course to accede to the European Union, nullify its former detrimental nonaligned status and position itself for eventual membership in NATO. The Verkhovna Rada also adopted a budget for 2015.

At the same time, Russia has been busy solidifying its despotic policies of shackling opposition, waging a war against Ukraine to restore the Russian prison of nations, and adopting a hardened revised military doctrine that reaffirms NATO and all of its member-states are Russia’s No.1 enemy.

Vladimir Putin signed on December 26 revisions to the Military Doctrine of the Russian Federation. Called “clarifications,” these amendments had been approved by the Security Council of the Russian Federation on December 19.

The current doctrine, which comes during the Russo-Ukraine War of 2014, reflects the Kremlin’s readiness to take a stronger, more aggressive posture in response to what it perceives as US-led efforts to isolate and weaken Russia. The doctrine mirrors the belligerent tone and warnings issued by Putin in his three-hour press conference on December 18. See my post of December 19.

The 29-page doctrine outlines Russian’s perceived top threats to its security and its possible responses, excluding nothing. It is the third edition of the Military Doctrine since Putin was first elected president in 2000. I discuss its warlike military and security doctrines in a post on November 15. None of the versions offers the United States or NATO an olive branch. All of them condemn the free world’s threats against the existence of Russia and its military and political advances against the former captive nations, which Russia still regards as its backyard. Washington and other national capitals should not belittle the implications of any version of Russia’s Military Doctrine while they prepare their own defense.

The doctrine places the blame for heightened global tensions and the war in Ukraine squarely on NATO and the USA. “A build-up of NATO military potential and its empowerment with global functions implemented is in violation of international law, as well as the expansion of NATO’s military infrastructure to the Russian borders,” the doctrine said.

Demonstrating Russia’s historical paranoia of the non-Russian world, the doctrine stresses that the deployment of foreign military forces on the territory of Russia’s neighbors could be used for “political and military pressure.”

The doctrine’s greatest threat against mankind is its clarification of the use of nuclear weapons. Despite the predominant global belief that nuclear weapons should be banned, Russia did not consider it necessary to echo that conviction.

“Russia reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in response to the use of nuclear weapons or any other types of weapons of mass destruction against Russia or its allies, as well as in the case of an attack with conventional weaponry that threatens the very existence of the state," the doctrine says.

As Putin stressed in his press conference, it is “us protecting our independence, our sovereignty and our right to exist. That is what we should all realize.”

Consequently, Russia announced that it will defend itself with any weapon against any attack by anyone.

A threat to Russia is also described as the “establishment of the regimes in the neighboring countries threatening the national security of Russia, including the regimes formed as a result of the illegitimate governments’ overthrow.”

Just as Putin elaborated, the Military Doctrine also alludes to the importance Russia places on an allied Ukraine, not a potential new member of NATO. The Kremlin leaders realize that the only way that Ukraine – and the other former captive nations – will remain a loyal buffer zone that protects Russia will be in a restored Russian prison of nations.

The doctrine reiterates Putin’s notion that Yanukovych was ousted in a US-inspired revolution and the current government of President Poroshenko and Prime Minister Yatseniuk are probable enemies.

The doctrine lists among major foreign military threats “the creation and deployment of global strategic antiballistic missile systems that undermine the established global stability and balance of power in nuclear missile capabilities, the implementation of the ‘prompt strike’ concept, intent to deploy weapons in space and deployment of strategic conventional precision weapons.”

Another new point in the doctrine is that one of the Russian military’s goals is to protect national interests in the Arctic region. Evidence of Russian militarization has also been visible around the world. Last Friday, Moscow successfully test-fired the RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk launchpad in northwestern Russia. Naval adventurism in open seas has also been recorded.

The direct and indirect threats of the doctrine were not lost on the former captive nations, which are already concerned for their own independence and sovereignty due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Karl Altau, managing director of the Joint Baltic American National Committee, said Putin’s move is more evidence that he continues on the road to entrench and isolate himself and his regime. “His threats against perceived enemies, particularly NATO, are surely meant to both cow the West and to ramp up chauvinism for an already propaganda-infused domestic audience in the Russian Federation,” he said.
Altau said Russia’s entrenchment is both worrisome and dangerous for Russia’s neighbors, such as the Baltic countries. “The Baltics, and all other Central and Eastern European countries, were absolutely correct in sensing that perhaps one day, a revanchist Moscow would be back [after the collapse of the Soviet Union].”
Carl Haglund, Minister of Defense of Finland, said in the Helsinki Times that despite references to nuclear retaliation, the doctrine reaffirms long-standing warnings to the free world not to threaten Russia. “This changes nothing in Finland, [but] it doesn’t mean that we aren’t awake. It has become obvious over the past 12 months that the approach of Russia has become more aggressive,” Haglund said.

With an aggressive, threatening neighbor that has already sent its soldiers and mercenaries into its territory, can Ukraine be blamed for nullifying its nonaligned status and hastening its dream of acceding to European geopolitical arrangements?

Signing the law on the abolition of the nonaligned status of Ukraine, Poroshenko said last week: "I think it was a strategic and fundamental mistake in 2010, when Ukraine acquired the non-aligned status. Having done that, Ukraine has destroyed its Armed Forces.”

Answering journalists’ questions on holding a referendum regarding Ukraine’s accession to NATO, Poroshenko credibly emphasized that Ukraine must first reform so it can comply with the criteria for joining the EU and NATO. “These standards are 99% the same. When Ukraine will meet these criteria, the people of Ukraine will decide on NATO membership. Probably, these criteria will be achieved within the implementation of the Strategy of Reforms – 2020 in the course of the coming five to six years,” Poroshenko noted.

NATO did not reject Ukraine’s vote and by implication its aspiration to become a member of the alliance at some time in the future. The alliance said it respects Ukraine’s decision to abandon its non-aligned status and confirms that Ukraine will be a member of the organization if it requests membership and complies with all alliance standards and principles, NATO headquarters said last week, according to UNIAN.

“We respect the decision of the Ukrainian parliament. Ukraine is an independent and sovereign state and it is the one who can make decisions on its own foreign policy,” the statement said. “As it was agreed at the summit in Bucharest in 2008, our doors are open, and Ukraine will become a member of NATO if it requests this and if it complies with [NATO] standards and adheres to its principles. If Ukraine decides to apply for membership of NATO, we will assess its readiness to join the alliance in the same way as we do with any other candidate.”

Russia was quick to denounce the Ukrainian vote. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, in a Facebook post last week, said the vote to drop Ukraine’s nonaligned status is tantamount to its application to join NATO and therefore makes Ukraine a potential enemy of Russia.

The comment was the strongest Russian reaction to date to Poroshenko’s decision to reverse Yanukovych’s 2010 choice to formally declare the country to be non-aligned.

“[The] Ukrainian president has submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a bill on dropping Ukraine’s non-aligned status,” wrote Medvedev. “Essentially, this is a bid to join NATO, which turns Ukraine into a potential enemy of Russia.”

Medvedev also reiterated Russia’s objections to the Ukraine Freedom Support Act, signed by President Obama, authorizing military aid to Ukraine and additional sanctions against Russia in response to its intervention in eastern Ukraine.

“Our relations with America will be poisoned for decades to come,” he wrote, equating the Ukraine Freedom Support Act with the Jackson-Vanik amendment.

The 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment linked trade ties with Russia to free emigration for Jews and other religious minorities. Obama signed the law repealing it two years ago and perhaps in hindsight that move was premature.

While Ukraine is endeavoring to rid itself of Russian influence and shackles in order to embark on a progressive and democratic course of national development, Russia is hardening its long-held belligerently imperialistic policy of threatening countries in its region as well as those that have stood on the barricades of defending freedom of the captive nations.

While Ukrainian leaders are realistic in assessing their country’s ability to apply for membership in NATO now or in the near future, that application cannot be denied by anyone. Some in the West and everyone in the Kremlin have said Ukraine should not be allowed to join NATO, arguing that it would destabilize global relations.

However, the question of Ukraine’s membership in NATO would be better addressed by looking at what would befall the international community if Russia fulfills it manifest destiny, re-subjugates Ukraine and the other former captive nations, and restores its empire. Would security and stability of the free world be enhanced then?