WAR IN UKRAINERussian Revanchism Can and Must Be Defeated in Ukraine

The Ukraine war is only the first phase of a broader conflict between Western democracies and an emerging axis comprising Russia and its allies, according to VoxUkraine’s Ilona Sologoub and Yuriy Gorodnichenko, Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley. And while the West enjoys economic, military, and technological superiority, it is in growing danger of squandering its advantages and paying a much higher price later.

While Russia and its allies may appear intimidating, they are economically, militarily, and technologically weaker than the world’s liberal democracies, they write for Project Syndicate:

But Western countries must not squander their significant advantage. Political infighting in the West empowers Russia and its allies and enables them to provoke more conflicts, further straining Western democracies’ military, financial, and emotional resources. Russian revanchism can and must be defeated in Ukraine.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin envisions Western support fading away for Ukraine, fundamentally impacting democracy in Europe, observers suggest (above). As Western resolve wanes, Ukraine risks being “left on its own against the Russian aggression,” says Natia Seskuria, Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute.

America prides itself as the world’s arsenal of democracy, The Economist adds. Now the great arsenal is drying up because of political paralysis.

The U.S. should make certain Russia, China, Iran and North Korea know that when beleaguered democracies need our assistance they will get it, argues Mark Montgomery, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Statements of intent must be enacted, and critical support to countries like Ukraine cannot be rationed or cut off.

Democracies must not only speak but also act decisively and boldly, said Belarusian democracy movement leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. Ukraine and Belarus both merit sustained support for their continuing pursuit of freedom, she said, speaking after the National Endowment for Democracy’s Lipset lecture, delivered by Stanford’s Larry Diamond.

Putin’s “promises about the stability of Russia’s government were always just promises,” renowned journalist Yevgenia Albats told a Connecticut College forum. “It didn’t happen overnight,” she said, describing Putin’s responsibility for the deinstitutionalization of democracy in the Russian Federation.

Reports of Ukraine’s counteroffensive as unsuccessful are unjustified, adds RAZOM. To date, Ukraine has successfully liberated over 50% of Russian-occupied territory, thanks to the unwavering support from the United States. However, the stopping that aid would put Ukraine’s ability to safeguard its freedom against Putin’s aggression in extreme jeopardy!