The war in Ukraine is going to hell for Putin. Still, he does not give up, and we all have orchestra seats when he slaughters civilians. How long will we look at, Morten Strand asks.
WAR CRIME: The rocket in Kramatorsk is a Russian war crime. What can stop Putin? Photo: REUTERS / NTB view more
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It was original – that is, before the Great War started – a coarse-grained Ukrainian joke. Now we all know that this answered humor is no longer funny, but completely true. The joke was like this:
– The war between Russia and the West will be fought on Ukrainian soil until the last Ukrainian is dead.
Now we must seriously ask: Shall we just let it happen?
CIVILIAN DEATHS: Lieutenant General Arne Bård Dalhaug says that the attack on the train station in Kramatorsk is very serious. Video: Dagbladet TV. view more
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Nothing is a challenging word. And we are really challenged. The one who challenges us in the West is first and foremost the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He believes that we – the West – are doing far too little to stop the deliberate Russian killings of Ukrainian civilians. He reminds us of what the rocket attack on the railway station in Kramatorsk, the terror against civilians in Butsja, and the blockade of Mariupol, are. Namely war crimes, contempt for people and barbarism.
– When they lack the strength and courage to fight against us on the battlefield, they cynically destroy the civilian population. This is a devil who has no borders, says Zelensky about the Russian war strategy.
The situation description is completely correct. And the indignation is justified by reality.
Furthermore. The Ukrainians are fighting our battle. And it’s time for the big words now, because the war in Ukraine is a battle between freedom and barbarism. It is a struggle the West – yes, let’s in this situation also allow us to use the cliché “the free world” – fight with a deputy. Our deputy is Ukraine. The Ukrainians are our – and not just their own – freedom fighters.
We can not allow that the Ukrainians are losing this war. Then it is we who lose, and not just our weapons, but our values. And this is where Zelensky and the Ukrainians challenge us, again. Because they think we do far too little. Zelenskyj requires no-fly zones, tanks and, at least planes, if we do not implement no-fly zones. He thinks we are doing far from enough. Yes, in relation to the reality of the Ukrainians, we do almost nothing.
Again, nothing is a challenging word. But we do not give fighter jets. And a no-fly zone would mean that NATO or NATO countries would ensure that Russian planes would not be able to operate in Ukrainian airspace. It would involve a direct confrontation between the nuclear superpower Russia and the other nuclear superpower, the United States. Politicians, generals, and public opinion in the West say that such direct involvement is too dangerous. It could trigger a Third World War.
But public opinion is slipping. And maybe the politicians and. The politically heavy newspaper The Observer in Britain challenges us with a leader Sunday. Here, the newspaper argues that Putin must be stopped, that it is a civilizational imperative that he be stopped. The Observer launches five points that it believes will stop Putin. They are worth – at least – discussing in the open. The measures are:
1. Direct intervention at the invitation of the Ukrainian government to create safe zones for internal refugees in Ukraine. These zones must be clearly defined, and explained to Russia, and defended by NATO soldiers. Declare that the port city of Odesa is excluded as a Russian war booty, and defend this part of Ukraine with naval vessels from NATO countries in international waters. Inform Putin that if his artillery kills civilians again, as at the Kramatorsk railway station, then those who fire such missiles are legitimate targets for NATO. 4. Supply Ukraine with fighter jets and tanks. 5. Stop all imports of Russian oil and gas.
This is at least more than nothing. But it can also be dangerous near a 3rd world war. The Observer admits that these are radical measures, and that the risks of implementing them are obvious. But the same is true of continuing to do almost nothing. And above all, not to do what it takes to prevent Ukraine from losing the war.
If we take for granted The Observers’ five points are the first three military, which could involve a military confrontation between Russia and NATO. The fourth is to supply Ukraine not only with defense weapons, but also with attack weapons, again dangerously close to stepping on a Russian red line. But the fifth point – if implemented now – is probably enough to stop the Russian war machine in perhaps just a few weeks. Every day, the EU pays Russia one billion euros for the gas imported.
But without Russian gas Energy prices in the EU will be even higher, with the problems it will create for European households and businesses. And should we really bleed for Ukraine? We?
That is the question while the Ukrainians are victims in without War of Independence, At the same time they are also completely involuntary victims of what is our war of independence. With the Ukrainians as our deputies on the butcher’s bench.
