Withdrawing thousands of troops near the eastern Ukraine border, 68-year-old President Vladimir Putin made his point to 43-year-old Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who rang the bell to the world community about Russia’s massive military buildup along the Russian border. Zelensky antagonized Putin asking NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg for NATO membership or to participate in war games in Ukraine’s eastern region to send a loud message to Putin. Putin reacted strongly April 20, warning the U.S., European Union [EU] and NATO that any involvement in Ukraine would be met with a “quick and tough” response, forcing Western powers to stop their unconditional backing of the Kiev government. Zelensky was asking the Western Alliance to support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, essentially to defend Ukraine’s borders.
What happened with Russian troop deployments inside Russia near the Ukrainian border involved Putin’s gamesmanship, putting the West on notice that any attempt to insert U.S., EU or NATO forces into Ukraine would trigger possible annexation of the Donbass region. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu confirmed that Russian troops would return to their bases by May 1, saying he had completed “inspection” of the border region. Over the last two weeks, Russia deployed some 50,000 troops to the region, responding to Zelensky’s threats to bring NATO into the area. Putin called any NATO deployment a “red line” for the Russian Federation, prompting what he called “quick and tough” action, hinting he could annex Donbass much like he did Crimea March 1, 2014. Biden or Zelensky should not interpret Putin’s troop withdrawal as “standing down.”
Putin withdrew Russian forces because he had completed his objective to serve notice to the Western Alliance not to do anything stupid, triggering a wider military escalation. Zelensky’s been talking like he’s a part of NATO when, over the last seven years, Stotenberg has avoided Ukraine like the plague. Zelensky wants NATO to fight his battled with the Russian Federation, something Stoltenberg isn’t willing to do. Ukraine “welcomes any steps . . . to deescalate the situation in Donbass,” saying he was “grateful to international partners for their support,” Zelensky said. Telling Putin that “international partners” forced Russian to stand down won’t go over with the Kremlin, that doesn’t like to show any weakness. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Kuleba Dmytro wanted the West to make clear that any Russian invasion of Donbass would be met with the Western Alliance coming to Ukraine’s rescue.
Kuleba, like Zelensky, doesn’t understand the U.S., EU and NATO’s support of Ukraine. There’s no stomach in the three alliances to go to war with Russia to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. If the Western Alliance wanted to offer Ukraine membership in NATO, it would have happened over the last seven years, since Russian annexed Crimea March 1, 2014. Ukraine and the Western Alliance don’t like to talk about the Feb. 22, 2014 CIA-backed, pro-Western coup that toppled the Kremlin-friendly government of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Putin responded promptly to the coup after he finished hosting the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. NATO doesn’t like to admit the background of what preceded the March 1, 2014 invasion of Crimea, blindsiding Ukraine and the Western Alliance. U.S. officials welcomed Putin’s troop withdrawals near Ukraine’s Donbass border region.
Compounding the Ukraine problem has been Biden’s obsession with jailed Russian dissident Alexi Navalny, whose life was imperiled because of a three-week-long hunger strike. Navalny ended his hunger strike April 23 at the urging of the doctors’ union that supports his anti-Putin activism. Biden and Blinken demanded April 17 that Putin immediately release Navalny from Russian prison. Navalny’s serving out a two-year-eight-months prison sentence, after recovering from alleged Novichok poisoning last summer, claiming it was ordered by Putin. Over four years of former President Donald Trump’s presidency, U.S. intel agencies accused Russia of meddling in U.S. elections and democracy. What’s it called when Biden orders a sovereign president to release a known revolutionary from a Russian prison? Only an opinion, not meddling in Russia’s internal affairs?
Putin stated for the record April 21 in his Sate of the Nation address that the Western Alliance shouldn’t cross Russia’s “red lines.” Western press reports Putin’s decision to re-deploy near the Ukraine border a victory for the Western Alliances. But if you really analyze what happened, as Russian Defense Minister Shoigu said, Russia finished its war games and decided to return to bases. Biden, Zelensky and Stotenberg would make a fatal mistake if they concluded that Putin backed down when challenged by, what Zelensky calls, “international partners.” Putin withdrew troops from near eastern Ukraine because he had made his point with the Western Alliance. It would be a big mistake to continue testing Putin by listening to Zelensky and challenging Putin with U.S., EU or NATO troops in Ukraine. Zelensky needs work with Putin to resolve any differences, not try to suck the U.S., EU or NATO into war.
