If there is indeed a shift in strategy to another level of confrontation with Russia, we need to know what we’re getting into.
To judge by its latest statements, the Biden administration is increasingly committed to using the conflict in Ukraine to wage a proxy war against Russia, with as its goal the weakening or even destruction of the Russian state.
As calls grow for a ‘victory’ over Russia, we should examine whether such a win-lose outcome is even possible.
Tell me how this ends. General David Petraeus famously posed this question at the outset of the Iraq War in 2003.
Declaring someone irrational leads to a place in which no one wants to negotiate, because, no one wants to talk to crazy people.
A number of things about Putin’s invasion of Ukraine are not in doubt: that it was a deeply criminal act; that it has been accompanied by great brutality on the ground; that it was based on extremely faulty intelligence; and that in consequence it involved extremely serious political and strategic miscalculations.
On April 27, 2022, the Director of Russian Foreign Intelligence Service [SVR], Sergey Naryshkin, (whom Vladimir Putin publicly humiliated on the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine) claimed that the Polish authorities are planning to take control of Ukraine. Russia has made these charges before[1] but Naryshkin now claimed that the assessments were backed by trustworthy sources.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala wants to convince his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán to change his stance on Russia as Hungary is among the countries willing to pay for natural gas imports in roubles – a move unacceptable for Czechia despite its heavy Russian gas dependency.
The Greek government is expected to raise with its EU partners Ankara’s decision not to join western sanctions against Russia, questioning Turkey’s narrative of being a neutral broker, EURACTIV has learned.
“It’s inconceivable that Turkey has managed to escape western sanctions against Russia,” a source close to the matter told EURACTIV Greece.
Most Finns would accept permanent NATO presence. Most Finns would allow permanent NATO military bases on their soil ahead of the country’s possible application for NATO membership, a survey conducted by media house Uutissuomalainen found.
Thousands gathered across several French cities to participate in Labour Day demonstrations on 1 May, just a week after French President Emmanuel Macron was re-elected and as parties gear up for legislative elections in June. In a symbolic move, the same day Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s La France insoumise (LFI) reached a deal with Julien Bayou’s Europe-Ecologie-Les-Verts (EELV).
Germany now favours an EU embargo on Russian oil, having previously opposed further energy sanctions against Russia, according to information obtained by several national media. Meanwhile, EURACTIV was informed that the EU is considering banning imports of oil transferred by tankers and allowing the ones through pipelines, at least for now.
Now, following Russia’s dramatic decision this week to cut gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, the West and its allies must give serious consideration to upgrading the level of military support they provide to Ukraine.
The real reason, though, [that Russia cut gas supplies] is that Russia is trying to blackmail Poland and Bulgaria, which have become high profile supporters of the Ukrainian war effort, to end their support for Kyiv.