If a shrewd Kremlin military analyst had drawn up a list of objectives for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the reality of this horrific misadventure is more or less the photo negative of that. Rather than a quick and decisive march to Kyiv, the Russian military has alternately been bogged down and repelled, received nothing but anger and derision from the locals, sustained heavy losses and lost a crop of high-ranking officers. Meantime, the West’s tightening vise around the Russian economy has made things increasingly hard on Vladimir Putin’s regime domestically.
In the latest incredible turn of events, last week the Russian flagship Moskva was sunk by Ukrainian missiles. The ship was not only a warship but a symbol of its naval strength, featuring prominently in 2014′s annexation of Crimea. It won’t be participating in any more unprovoked invasions from the bottom of the Black Sea.
Unfortunately, rather than taking their massive setbacks and casualties as a sign that his campaign is doomed to fail, Putin’s forces responded with heavy-handed retaliation. Evidence of war crimes continues to mount as international investigators find proof of abductions, rapes, strikes on civilian infrastructure and the use of banned munitions. Following Russia’s withdrawal from the area around Kyiv, more than 900 civilians have been found dead.
At this pivotal juncture, the international community must continue supporting the Ukrainian defense, including with robust weapons and supply shipments. Russia’s dark and indistinct warnings about the consequences — the CIA director, while cautioning that he’s seen no “practical evidence” suggesting such an attack is imminent, says America can’t take lightly the possibility of Putin using “tactical” or “low-yield” nuclear weapons in Ukraine — should only stiffen our spines.
Putin’s attack had the base objective of weakening NATO. On that front, like all others, he has failed miserably, as Sweden and Finland are moving to join the defense pact. The despot can make all the noise he wants about his nuclear weapons arsenal. The rest of the world sees that he must be contained.
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