The war in Ukraine is one of those seminal events that occur precisely when most believe that historical trajectories have been set and outcomes largely pre-ordained. Such wars forge new fault lines that shake governments to the core, forcing them to re-examine the first principles of their foreign and security policies. They result not so much from a sudden miscalculation but rather from a fundamental misreading of structural power shifts that have been in the works for years. And when they have run their course, the geopolitical landscape they leave behind has little or no connection to what existed before – think the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars, the two World Wars in the 20th century, the end of the Cold War. Most importantly, system-transforming wars lay bare the actual power distribution in key theaters and reset the clock of great power competition, with new azimuths that were hard to fathom only months prior now glaringly obvious. Today, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has already set in motion forces that will recast Europe for the next several decades.
First, Ukraine’s stubborn resistance has pushed the importance of national sovereignty front and center. After three decades of post-Cold War institutionalism and globalism, we are back to the fundamentals of national security: only a sovereign Ukraine can provide its citizens with a secure homeland. International institutions could not stop Putin from invading Ukraine. Second, there is no substitute for hard power, and no nation can remain secure if it lacks a strong military, regardless of whether or not it belongs to a military alliance, for NATO has yet again defaulted to the United States to secure Europe. Third, peace should not always be the first priority in a conflict. As Ukrainians have shown us when attacked, the goal should not be to reach a compromise as soon as possible, but to defeat the aggressor and liberate the nation’s territory. Fourth, Germany and France, the two largest powers on the European continent, have failed to lead, proving yet again the adage that being big is not the same as being strong.
There has been visible hesitation in Germany and France in the face of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, notwithstanding the repeated public assertions of solidarity with Kyiv. The war has forced Berlin and Paris to disavow three decades of their Russia policy that sought to “manage” their relationship with Moscow through a combination of economic and political means. During his seminal speech in the Bundestag on February 27, Chancellor Olaf Scholz openly admitted that German policy was wrong on Russia. President Macron has since muted his efforts to engage with Putin. Most importantly for German policy, the war has all but exploded the core assumption of its “clean energy” approach as devoid of national security considerations, and invalidated the naïve maxim of “Wandel durch Handel,” i.e., the belief that more trade would push Russia (and China) toward a freer and more open political system. In fact, Berlin’s decision to lead the EU to switch from coal and nuclear to Russian gas as a gateway to renewables, embodied in the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipeline projects, has only left Europe dangerously dependent on Putin for energy. It has done nothing to democratize or restrain Russia.
Most importantly, the war has shaken the foundations of the established power distribution in Europe, and – pending Ukraine’s victory – may reorder it for decades to come, shifting Europe’s core from the West to the Center of the Continent. A rebuilt and successful Ukraine, with its population of some 44 million and wealth of natural resources and fertile agricultural land would shift the center of Europe’s gravity – regardless of whether or not it joins the EU. A free and successful Ukraine would all but ensure a rapid implosion of the Lukashenka dictatorship in Belarus and, aligned with Poland, Romania, Finland, and the Baltic States would give the Baltic-Black Sea intermarium unprecedented economic and political influence. With the combined population of some 120 million for the intermarium, this new configuration would fundamentally shift the overall power balance in Europe. Last but not least, it would compel Russia to come to terms with the reality of its post-imperial status. It would force it to address the fundamental question of what the “normal” Russian nation-state should look like.
This war also reforges existing alignments in Central and Eastern Europe, creating new ones. The most significant change is in relations between Poland and Ukraine. The outpouring of support for Ukrainian refugees and the spontaneous help provided by the Poles is building a qualitatively new relationship between the two countries. Meanwhile, crimes committed by Putin’s military against the Ukrainian population have transformed the once-friendly Ukrainian attitude towards Russia into one of relentless hostility. Next, the decision by Finland and Sweden to ask for NATO membership will fundamentally reconfigure the Baltic-Scandinavian region, bringing significant geostrategic depth to allied defenses there. Last but not least, in cooperation with the United States and the United Kingdom, Poland has emerged as both the key NATO Eastern flank country, but also as the lynchpin along the frontier, much like West Germany was during the Cold War. Although the debate in Washington on forward defense and the nature of future US deployments in Europe has not been settled, it is reasonable to expect that US military assets along the flank will increase over the coming decade. Poland’s own military potential, fueled by the acquisition of new long-range rockets and artillery systems, air defenses, 32 of the F-35 aircraft, combined with the Polish purchase of 250 most modern M1A2 SEPv3 tanks, will change the military balance in the East. This transformation is being accompanied by ever-closer US-Polish political and military cooperation, as America plans for the next decade in Europe while NATO rearms.
Putin at St Petersburg International Economic Forum plenary session. Photo: TASS
The war in Ukraine is laying foundations for a new power distribution in Europe. The failure of the Russia policy pursued for three decades by Germany and France has left a leadership vacuum in Europe. For Germany to reclaim it, notwithstanding the country’s dominant economic position in the EU, it will now have to earn the right to lead. The key question facing Europe going forward is what role the United Kingdom will play in NATO, and especially what role Poland will play in both NATO and the EU. The navy will remain the British forte, especially as great power competition in the Indo-Pacific heats up. For Poland, land forces will be the centerpiece of its military power. But neither of them, independently or together, can assume the leadership position in Europe without a clear decision by Washington to endorse and materially support such a reconfiguration on the Continent. In the past, the United States twice turned to Germany to lead on the Continent, first at the end of the Cold War, then more recently when the Biden administration agreed to drop its sanctions on Nord Stream 2. In each case Germany managed instead of leading, focusing on political and economic tools, and only reluctantly allowing for the military dimension to enter the overall power calculus. Washington may yet decide that three times is the charm and default to Germany yet again, but the realities of the war in Ukraine, the most brutal war in Europe since the Second World War, and the attendant military requirements have stacked the odds against this outcome. The question then is what Europe will look like once the shooting in Ukraine stops. This question is not about who wants to lead Europe, as there are aspirants old and new; rather, it is fundamentally, about who can. We will find out soon enough.
A 1945 Contributing Editor, Andrew A. Michta is Dean of the College of International and Security Studies at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch, Germany. He is also former a Professor of National Security Affairs at USNWC and a former Senior Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis in DC. The opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, the U.S. Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.
Commentar
May 8, 2022 at 8:00 pm
Yeah, the war in ukraine is an event that will see a transformation in Europe that is permanent and no going back or turning back.
But who planned it in the first place.It is Biden who planned it.Biden thinks he’s the best president since Kennedy or LBJ and thus it’s his job to chart the world’s destiny for the next 100, 200 or 500 years.
Biden who brazenly threatened Russia in a hubris-laced march 2021 interview with george stephanopoulos has carried out the ‘first phase’ of his plan-a bloody proxy war on Russia.
His second phase forsees a direct involvement or US military boots deployed against Russia, and this is where Biden will destroy Europe in the process.Biden’s greatvplan will come a cropper and Europe will never be the same again.
Him
May 8, 2022 at 10:12 pm
Two things can be true at the same time – whereas deception says that two things (which are both true), that only one is true. That type of argument is know as a “false dichotomy”. It is used in a lot of deception and propaganda.
Hence, these two things are true at the same time:
1) That the Ukrainian people want to fight for their freedom, to be free from Russian tyranny, and to choose to join the E.U., and to seek protection from Russia by joining NATO.
2) The Ukraine-Russia war is turning out, effectively, to be a proxy war between Russia and NATO countries that supply the weapons.
Both of the above can be true at the same time.
Whereas, the “false dichotomy” argument deceives people by saying that one cancels out the other.
Jack
May 8, 2022 at 11:19 pm
All these views think the world is just the Western alliance. There’s 8 billion people worldwide. The change in geopolitics is fundamentally sad for both Europe and Russia. They are neighbors that should have tried harder to be friendly with each other. But the U.S. led this quarrels through NATO and the E.U. pushed to Russia’s borders. The aftermath of this war is to push Russia to align and trade with the East (China) and the South, as well as Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Who loses? Both Russia and Europe!
Joe Comment
May 8, 2022 at 11:36 pm
Commentar: Biden “brazenly threatened Russia in a hubris-laced March 2021 interview”? Could you give us the quote you are referring to? I remember he said something like, “I told Putin that he would pay a price if he interfered in our election.” But I have a hard time seeing that as the first step in some kind of master plan to force Putin to order an invasion of Ukraine.
Sebastian
May 11, 2022 at 6:32 am
Russia invaded Ukraine first in 2014. Where was Biden then? Was it his fault too?
Russia is a fallen empire that in its last breaths wants to regather the pieces it lost. Biden has nothing to do with it. Ukrainians voted to leave USSR in 90s, then they voted several times for presidents that wanted to join EU and leave Russian sphere of influence. Russia helped their countercandidate (Yanukovych) falsify the elections, posioned one of the proeuropean candidates (Yushchenko), intervened directly in 2014, annexed part of Ukraine, broke the Budapest Memorandum (Russia was supposed to protect Ukrainian independence in exchange for the nukes Ukraine gave up to Russia).
Now suddenly all of that doesn’t matter because it’s Joe Biden’s fault 🙂 It’s obvious to anyone that you’re just a biased American who thinks everything bad in the world is the fault of your least favorite politician. World doesn’t care. Russia invaded 4 different countries in last 30 years (Lithuania, Chechnya twice, Georgia, Ukraine twice). Russia is dangerous to the stability of the region and needs to be dealt with – one way or another. EU was appeasing Putin for decades now, it obviously doesn’t work.
So, Ukraine is the line on the sand. It has the benefit of not being in NATO – so it’s only a proxy war. Would you prefer to give up Ukraine to Putin and then have to wonder if NATO should defend Baltic States in real (not proxy) war? Or I guess you could just dismantle NATO altogether if it won’t defend its members?
Slack
May 8, 2022 at 9:14 pm
Pope Francis in an interview on 3 MAY 2022 said dog barkngat russia was chief causr of ukrainr war
Great pretender minds are great barkers with great plans that meet with great failures. Napolron, hitlet and now Old Joe. Europe has what’s coming for it.
Vladolph Putler
May 8, 2022 at 10:01 pm
Interesting that the Russian trolls ^ beg for US and/or NATO involvement. This means they work for Putin, not Siloviki or Oligarchs. US or NATO involvement would be a political escape route for Putin from his administration of broad, deep, and shocking incompetence.
Не нуждаясь в НАТО или США, Украина сама по себе делает нарезанное мясо ваших призывников.
Будьте осторожны с тем, что вы хотите. Вы можете его получить. И остерегайтесь Путина, уйло не превратит вас из тролля в орка. 😉
Brutus
May 8, 2022 at 10:17 pm
Weakened or not, Russia will always have nukes and possibly an alliance with China when goals and outcomes overlap. Germany is impressively weak. Their deservedly vaunted warrior class was annihilated over two world wars and they are left with dregs who just don’t get it…put the rock group Rammstein in charge and you’ll see a better result. France is a woman…capable of such beauty, sophistication and allure but as always ultimately doomed to suffer when the uncivilized realities of war arrive
: maybe stick to fine food and wine. Aside from Switzerland, Finland and Norway, Europe has relied completely on the US military to achieve their smug sense of comfort and elite cultural status but they are not really capable of war, only a reactive collective suffering. US leadership can best be described as “lights are on but no one is home” as the pursuit of equitable decadence and romanticized environmental fantasy is the new American Dream. There is no decisive military solution coming out of current leaders in Europe or the US. If Russia had bothered to train and equip a professional army and truly prepare for this assault, they may have achieved their goals of a quick, “special operation”…but they were sloppy, quickly lost the element of surprise and are locked in a slog. It is high time for the silent old-school leaders of Europe, those who respect and understand war and its high cost, to emerge and come together with Russia and work out a civilized solution. This is not a discussion for those who believe coal/oil/gas are the greatest threats to the world. The Russian rank and file and especially the Ukrainian soldiers and people who suffer day and night due primarily to western leadership, who thought they could casually poke the bear for sport and expect it to run away, deserve it.
Air battle over Nis
May 8, 2022 at 10:48 pm
Biden, on the brink of history, has foolishly beared down on putin and russia, unable to even realize or think for himself that he’s taking on a formidable adversary that has nuclear weapons, including hypersonic gliders and underwater nuclear drones.
Hitler also used to think that way in the 1940s, unable to look at the map and see that his victim was a country that stretched from the Barents Sea in the west to the Bering Sea in the east. Like a python wanting to swallow an alligator.
Biden will get his comeuppance before 2022 is out. Already, the stock markets are falling, thanks to biden’s great policies at the domestic front and abroad.
Taking on putin is biden’s monumental disaster, akin to the sinking of the RMS Titanic on its very first voyage.
Slack
May 8, 2022 at 11:28 pm
When a fierce dog starts barking at your door and absolutely refuses to go away (even after you’ve paraded your capability openly), what do you do.
You point your double barrel shotgun through the door and aim at the dog and pull the trigger. That’s what putin has done. On Feb 24 2022.
In January 2013, weeks after a man shot dead 26 people at a school in Newtown, Connecticut, Biden was asked what must be done to stop such incidents. His answer which came in a moment of great brilliance was – get yourself a double barrel shotgun.
Biden advised every family to own a shotgun and just fire two blasts from it if you ever suspect anything amiss.
While his advice could be wholly applicable to America, it’s ultimately the wrong type for Europe. Today, Europe’s in a mess. Thanks to Joe Biden.
What’s meat for Biden’s home nation is definitely poison for Europe and it’s future.
Air battle over Nis
May 9, 2022 at 12:49 am
The US has always been eager to make enemies out of friends or allies and too impatient to get a wise long term appreciation of political events.
In nov 1944, the US commander of the US air fighter group based in Italy attacked a soviet airfield in yugoslavia as well as a soviet military convoy. Several planes were shot down and US later made an apology which was rejected because it was thought the US attack was both deliberate and reckless in nature.
In 1999, again, US air forces attacked yugoslavia, even hitting a foreign embassy and destroying bridges, markets, hospitals, water plants and power stations, all to support vicious separatists in kosovo.
Today, US is fighting a proxy war in europe, recklessly and impatiently, unable even to wait for the moment for its military to deploy some quantity of working hypersonic weaponry to europe.
Without hypersonic systems, europe is assuredly unable to get the upper hand in ukraine, and therefore, biden’s gamble is bound to fail.
Biden’s failure will have deep repercussions for europe’s future. A future without real peace, without real political stability but only real and permanent clouds of war.
Pagar
May 9, 2022 at 2:19 am
Europe is transforming itself into an extreme far right political bloc, that’s for sure.
Europe is tying itself closer and also tighter to great nanny’s apron strings, INSTEAD OF GROWING UP and becoming an adult.
In other words, Europe is transforming itself into a colony of vassals and minions where the great goddess’ words and commands reign supreme.
Who the hell is that great goddess. It is the moeder van de hoeren, the great seductress, the one that worships its own evilness and the representation of the most extreme abominations on earth.
Where is the so-called emancipation after 1945. None, only permanent occupation by military bases and military boots and the ever present fear of ‘bogeymen’ cooked up by the seductress.
As a result, Europe is falling deeper into a quagmire and totally unable to shake off the yoke of the abominations and so the future for Europe is one that could only be decided by a thermonuclear struggle between great powers with europeans as nuclear cannon fodder or main course on the nuclear platter ! ! !
Joe Comment
May 9, 2022 at 2:22 am
The Russian line seems to be, “Biden started it.” If so, why won’t the Russian leaders thwart Biden by simply removing all their troops back behind the lines before 24 February and stopping all fighting? Do Russians think Putin has no will of his own and is under Biden’s mental control?
David Chang
May 9, 2022 at 5:12 am
“Wandel durch Handel” is a policy of disobedience to the Ten Commandments.
Socialism parties in the world, want to deny the socialism policy of U.S.S.R., While promoting “Wandel durch Handel”.
But from Eisenhower, Marshall to Trump, against socialism and preaching the Ten Commandments.
So U.N. and E.U. shall abandon socialism and trust God.
aldol11
May 9, 2022 at 5:24 am
good article, thank you
Him
May 9, 2022 at 5:31 am
I saw a few videos by Peter Zeihan, and it reinforces what we all come to know: that Russia thinks the whole world wants to attack Russia.
This is what makes Russia dangerous.
If you are trying to be friendly to a dog – and the dog thinks you are going to attack it, when you’re just trying to be friendly – then if you reach your hand out to the dog, the dog will bite you.
How did Russia gains this bunker mentality that everyone wants to attack it? It is an evil way of thinking, and it came from Russia being subjected to Communism 100 years ago. That Communism then spread to subjugate so many Eastern European countries – who managed to break free – and it spread like a virus to Communist China and Vietnam. Russia is the source of the virus.
This made me realise that, this Russian belief that everyone wants to attack Russia, is so deep rooted, it is part of the Russian psyche. I have seen it in Russians I have spoken to.
This is why Americans and Europeans – who think that being nice to Russia will reassure Russia – it won’t work. Russia is like a psycho person with deep mental problems, thinking everyone wants to attack them. No matter how much you explain to them that our intentions are peaceful towards Russia, the Russians see it as attack.
The average Russian will laugh if you try to explain that, if Russian never attacked anyone, no one would attack Russia. The Russians think this is nonsense – and yet, to all people living in the West, this was what we assumed.
This is how the West operates. See how the West thought that China would be nice, if we brought China into the WTO to trade with it. The West thinks that by being nice to people, they will be nice back. The West does not understand the inherent evil in the Communist-Totalitarian mindset.
CK
May 10, 2022 at 9:21 am
I had Russian friends that were the same. Siege mentality. The classic quote “Why have a world, if there is no place for Russia in it?” comes to mind.
There is PLENTY of space for Russia and Russians, just as there is plenty of Space for Germans and Germany. But not the Germany of 1930-1945, and not the Russia of today.
It’s always the same victimised, misunderstood, brutalised mentality. It’s both sad, and threatening.
Commentar
May 9, 2022 at 7:09 am
Biden threatened russia shortly after the democratic party won the 2020 presidential elections through the fradulent postal vote deluge at counting centers.
The most glaring fraud by biden’s democratic party was the wins in pennsylvania and especially georgia, where credible evidence of ballot stuffing was ignored by virtually everyone who was anyone including regulators and judges.
Biden is another US president (in a long line of such people) who cheated or careened his path to the white house and then stained his hands with the blood of innocent humans abroad.
Barking incessantly against his imagined nemesis, including acts of provocation, biden is responsible for the conflict in ukraine and the looming or rising cloud of ww3 in europe. What kind of transformation is it – coming hell or heaven, a hell more like one never seen before?
Fluffy Dog
May 9, 2022 at 4:42 pm
A good article. It’s the first one I’ve seen that recognizes the reality of the events. Ukraine by itself cannot become a leader of any new group of nations until it becomes a recognized industrial and technological power. It was not until now, but it might become one after the reconstruction. It will take time, though. It certainly has the potential: natural resources, engineering tradition, size. It does need to deal with the tradition of corruption that it inherited from Mother Russia; 400 years of cultural interaction cannot be discarded overnight.
While it cannot be expected to be a leader in the near future, Ukraine can be a decisive component of a group that is coming into existence: a new version of Hetman Pilsudski’s Intermarium. “Intermarium” mentioned in the article is actually getting to be more than the original. And it can gel around Poland and Ukraine. The members are the countries with a very realistic view of Russia, having personal experience with its policies.
Roger Bacon
May 9, 2022 at 5:34 pm
Did Alex take the day off or did Putin finally fire him?
Ghandi’s Shrink
May 9, 2022 at 6:29 pm
Reading these comments it looks like Alex got sent to the gulag and all the troll bridesmaids are coming out of the woodwork to see who will be next to wear Putin’s kneepads.
Illurion
May 9, 2022 at 9:58 pm
This is a great article.
I object to nothing in it.
A great reset has happened in Europe.
A new matrix is forming.
Like the author, i too, hope that we will find out “soon” how it plays out.
CK
May 10, 2022 at 9:30 am
Haha, I love that everyone is wondering where Alex went. Maybe he finally put his patriotic money where his patriotic mouth was and decided to enlist?
Great article by the way.
Yet, you see he is not alone. You see very easily the tactic of the day was “It’s Biden’s fault”. Yes, Biden gave the order to Putin, to begin the attack. Biden himself crossed the Russian border and into Ukraine, where he personally led the offenses against Kyiv, Mariupol, Kherson, Donbas, Luhansk and Mariupol.
There are labs in Ukraine btw! Yes, Biden cloning labs, where Biden clones himself so that he may personally engage in the fighting, where 26,000 of his clones have so far died. Biden fired all the guns, missiles, shot all the men on bicyles, dug all the pits in Bucha, filled them with civilians, and raped thousands of women and children. He just can’t trust others to do it for him. If you want a job well done, do it yourself!
It was all Biden. Biden single-handedly invaded Georgia in 2008, he alone overthrew Yanukovych in 2014 and invaded Crimea, he brewed the tea that killed Alexander Litvinenko, he personally paid for all the ads and paid all the salaries of the trolls and propagandists that influenced Brexit and the 2016 Elections, he was personally at Tiergarten and gunned down the Russian dissident Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in 2019, was responsible for the Novichok poisonings in Salisbury himself, handcrafted the poisoned Novichok pants that were given to Navalny, and every day he phones putin – every day! – threatening him with nukes. He threatens Finland and Sweden too. Every day. Ring ring, ring ring, ring ring. Nukes!
Yes, it’s definitely Biden that is behind all of this. It’s funny, the Russian trolls are always accusing the west of being “hysterical” but here, I think the facts speak for themselves…
Alex
May 10, 2022 at 10:57 am
And now, instead of tantrums and fantasies, let’s face it.
Zelensky is a Kremlin agent.
So in just two months:
1. Actively extorted money from the West.
2. Strengthened the ruble.
3. In addition to the Crimea, he gave Donbass to Russia.
4.. Turned off the gas at the whole of Europe, sending it to the Middle Ages.
5. Ruined the pockets of drivers, farmers, entrepreneurs and manufacturers in the EU and the US.
6. Since the beginning of the special operation, almost all major competitors from Russia have left, making room for Russian entrepreneurs.
7. Begging for so many weapons that even Scholz said that the Bundeswehr was running out of weapons “for himself.”
8. He collected all the crap of the Ukrainian Nazi subculture – tattooed Nazis, outcasts, idiots, maniacs, murderers from Europe and other countries in one place, where the Russians kill them in batches and promptly deliver them to Bandera.
9. United the Russian people around their leader. Russia has never known such powerful support for the actions of the President and his cabinet during all the terms of his reign.
10. He sent into emigration the entire corrupt beau monde of the Russian stage and cinema, with pockets full of “wishes” from the grateful Russian people.
Never before has Russia been as good as under Zelensky.
Illurion
May 10, 2022 at 4:13 pm
Dear Alex:
you forgot to mention that Zelenskyy personally executed over 25,000 Russian soldiers and sailors.
you also forgot that Zelenskyy also has started a purge of Russian Troll/Agents/Bots, and their bodies are “disappeared” into the sunken hull of the Moskva by Ukrainian navy divers.
Alex
May 10, 2022 at 12:42 pm
Jim Chambers (Fergie Chambers) – a journalist from NY spoke about how he SAW the attacks of Ukrainian fascists on peaceful Ukrainians. He told how he SAW what horrors the Bandera Nazis were doing to the Ukrainians. He said that food and medicine appeared when the Russian Liberators came.
He told how he SAW Nazi paraphernalia wherever the military of Ukraine abandoned their positions (swastikas, Mein Kampf books, paintings by Hitler, Bandera, etc.).
He SAW how opponents of the regime of the Ukrainian authorities were detained, tortured and killed. He told how the people of Ukraine are waging their struggle for existence and for peace without Bandera Nazis. He spoke about how the Russian liberators help civilians and the Ukrainians ask the Russians not to leave. The Ukrainians are upset that the Russians came late, they should have come earlier.
He said: “Our American weapons have only exacerbated the useless bloodshed in a battle that the Ukrainian fascists can never win. I am ashamed to carry an American passport with me. The world desperately needs a Russian victory: at the end of Ukrainian Nazism and at the end of the American NATO empire. World needs victory for freedom.”
Alex
May 10, 2022 at 1:56 pm
Graham William Phillips is an outstanding British journalist who objectively and unbiasedly covers events in Ukraine.
He is in a war zone and interviews all sides. He confirms the existence of Bandera Nazis who brutally torture and kill Ukrainians just because they do not want to see Bandera Nazis in their country.
He confirms that the Ukrainians are asking the Russian liberators not to leave them anymore and not to leave.
It is interesting to see how Graham interviews Aiden Aislin, a Briton who fought on the side of Ukraine as part of the Nazi Azov Battalion and was taken prisoner in Mariupol.
The truth will always see the world thanks to such professionals, and not propagandists, who sometimes have never been to Ukraine and are thousands of miles away.
No Nazism. We – free people will win.
I. Martin
May 10, 2022 at 2:05 pm
All this overthinking is silly. Putin just needs a punch in the mouth and be told to shut up and back off. Yes, it is that simple. Why? Because Russia has not been a world power for sometime now. Putin just couldn’t come to terms with it. They were making money and life was good, but no, it wasn’t good enough! Nobody wants to invade Russia, but Putin’s dreams of restoring the Soviet Union were never viable. That is not just because of Biden. It’s because of reality. Coddling this delusional fool is a mistake. The only reason folks want to conjure up a win for Putin is so they can get back to business as usual. If they want to give him a win, then reconsider sanctions if he retreats to pre-2014 borders.
Alex
May 10, 2022 at 3:37 pm
Stupid are those who have pig brains. Stupid is he who does not see reality and believes liars. Stupid is the one who writes such comments like you.
Illurion
May 11, 2022 at 9:07 pm
Well Alex,
Given what you just wrote above,
You therefore are admitting that YOU are stupid, as YOU DO all of the things you listed.
Alex
May 11, 2022 at 12:10 pm
A bit of truth.
The head of the UN monitoring mission, Matilda Bogner, said that the organization has reliable information about the torture of Russian soldiers in Ukrainian captivity:
“Ukraine and Russia must promptly and effectively investigate all allegations of torture and ill-treatment of prisoners of war,” she said.
The military-civilian administration of the Kherson region announced their intention to appeal to Putin with a request to include the region into Russia:
“We intend to live as part of the Russian Federation. We fully cooperate and feel as one with the regions of Russia.”
Pfizer, Moderna, Merck, Gilead are testing medicines in Ukraine, bypassing international safety standards, reducing the costs of research programs and gaining significant competitive advantages. Coronavirus vaccine manufacturers have been involved in US military biological activities.
Along with American pharmaceutical companies and Pentagon contractors, Ukrainian state structures are involved in military biological activities, the main tasks of which are to conceal illegal activities, conduct field and clinical trials, and provide the necessary biomaterial.
The American side expanded its research potential both in the field of creating biological weapons and in the field of obtaining information about antibiotic resistance and the presence of antibodies to various diseases in the population of specific regions.
Ukraine has long become a training ground for Western countries to create biological weapons components and test new samples of pharmaceuticals.
The United States, as part of its military biological program in Ukraine, used Mariupol as a regional center for work with the cholera pathogen.
Evidence was obtained of the emergency destruction of documents confirming work with the US military department. A preliminary analysis of the surviving documentation indicates the use of Mariupol as a regional center for the collection and certification of the cholera pathogen.
The selected strains were sent to the public health center in Kyiv, which is entrusted with the functions of further sending biomaterials to the United States.
This activity has been carried out since 2014, which is confirmed by the acts of transfer of strains.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby on Fox News recalled that the United States supplied weapons to Ukraine long before the start of the Russian special operation.
“The Biden administration was supplying weapons long before the invasion. The first billion dollars that the president allocated for Ukraine did indeed include assistance with lethal weapons … The United States, Canada, Britain, other allies actually helped prepare the Ukrainians, ”Kirby quoted the TV channel as saying.
As military experts and analysts had previously assumed, Ukraine would have brought down all its military power on the Donbass in any case, but Russia was the first to come to the aid of Donyuass.
The world is watching. The world sees. Lies are dying.
Alex
May 12, 2022 at 10:14 am
OK. In Ukraine, 10,000 Russian and 1,000 Russian tanks are destroyed every day. It’s not even funny to read, but it’s not interesting anymore. Let’s talk about the collapsed Russian economy:
The Russian ruble has become the best world currency in 2022. On Thursday, May 12, Bloomberg reported.
According to the latest data, the ruble has grown by 11 percent against the dollar since the beginning of 2022. Thus, it has become the leader among the 31 major currencies monitored by the agency’s experts.
The strengthening of the currency came after the measures taken by the Russian government against the backdrop of Western sanctions, writes Bloomberg. It is clarified that the authorities introduced capital controls, and also obliged exporters to sell foreign exchange earnings. In particular, in March, the President of Russia announced a new procedure for paying for gas by European consumers.
As similar examples, the authors of the article cite the Turkish lira and the Argentine peso, which failed to achieve maximum growth rates after the decisions of the governments of these countries. The Russian currency, on the contrary, responded well to the measures taken, Bloomberg experts conclude.
Only facts, not squeals and fantasies of Bandera Nazis and Slavophobes.
Alex
May 12, 2022 at 11:52 am
Russia’s oil revenues have grown by 50% since the beginning of the year, despite trade restrictions imposed after the start of a special operation in Ukraine, writes Bloomberg citing a report by the International Energy Agency.
“Russia has earned approximately $20 billion monthly since the beginning of 2022 from cumulative sales of oil and petroleum products at an export level of 8 million barrels per day,” the document says. As the IEA noted, supplies from Russia continue to flow despite the fact that the EU is currently discussing a ban on energy imports, and major international oil companies Shell and Total Energy promise to stop purchases.
Russian energy resources are in high demand in Asia, especially in India and China. Experts emphasize that the reduction in the supply of refined products from Russia, such as diesel fuel, fuel oil and naphtha, has exacerbated tensions on world markets. At the same time, stocks of so-called middle distillates (some types of petroleum products that are obtained as a result of the distillation of hydrocarbons, including heating and marine fuels) are at their lowest level since 2008.
Another collapse of the Russian economy. I am sure that in Russia they clap and thank you.
Alex
May 14, 2022 at 9:04 am
You need to understand the main thing: the United States is hysterical because the United States is losing the war in Ukraine. The only thing is to intervene directly in the conflict. And this will mean the end of the US country.
And here are the real numbers:
In total since the beginning of the special military operation, Russia has destroyed: 165 aircraft, 125 helicopters, 858 unmanned aerial vehicles, 304 anti-aircraft missile systems, 3,051 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 372 multiple rocket launchers, 1,507 field artillery pieces and mortars, as well as 2898 units of special military vehicles.
Will the old American idiot decide on a nuclear war because of a slap in the impoverished Ukraine? We will see. But one thing is clear: the United States will cease to exist not as a country, but as a continent.