Arming Ukraine: A Dose of Realism

The proponents of realpolitik, the so-called "realists", oppose the West supplying lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine to be used against Russian military aggression in the Donbas conflict. In his article titled "Arming Ukraine: A Dose of Realism" (appended below, with my comments in the color fuchsia), Kirk Bennett debunks the shallow argumentation of these "pseudo-realists".

The surreal response of these pseudo-realists to the surreal occurrences in Ukraine for the past 15 months reminds one of the primal scream of Winston Smith: "Do it to Julia!" in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Or perhaps they are subconscious followers of the pseudo-religious rituals of human sacrifice to appease the gods. It is as surreal as the real tears that the survivors of the Holodomor, the Great Terror and the Gulags reportedly shed when they learned of the death of their torturer, Josef Stalin, on 05 March 1953.

Let us list the realities in Ukraine.

(1) Ukrainians face genocide.
Ethnic Russians in Ukraine have never faced genocide or even language discrimination in Ukraine. It is ethnic Ukrainians within their own country who have faced genocide and language discrimination at the hands of Russian occupiers. This dates back to the era of Muscovy which morphed into the Tsarist Russian Empire in 1721, the Soviet Union (1922 to 1991) and even during its most recent "independent phase" from 1991 to the present -- especially during the Yanukovych era from 2010 to 22Feb2014.

(2) The Donbas is indigenous Ukrainian territory.
The 1897 census in the Russian Empire indicates that the majority of the residents of Donbas (and even in areas now within the Russian Federation, such as Kursk, Rostov, Kuban) were Ukrainian-speaking. Patriarch Filaret of the UOC-KP, who was born there, claims that in his youth all the villages and rural areas were ethnically Ukrainian. Ethnic Russians only predominated in the large cities such as Luhansk and Donetsk (originally Hughesovka in the 1870s, Stalino in 1924 and Donetsk in 1961). Opinion polls carried out in 2013 before the Russian invasion indicated that the vast majority of the residents of the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts preferred to remain within Ukraine. (Because of the massive ethnic cleansing associated with the Russian invasion, it is not clear if the remaining inhabitants in the Russian-controlled areas would opt to remain within Ukraine or to be annexed to the Russian Federation.)

(3) NATO in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania is not a threat to Russia.
When Vladimir Putin came to power in early 2000, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had the foresight to apply for and receive NATO membership on 29Mar2004. During the occupation of their lands by the Tsarist Russian Empire and the Soviet Union (with a brief 20-year respite during the interwar period), these peoples faced genocide and extinction at the hands of their Russian occupiers. Should the Putin regime succeed in subjugating Ukraine, Mr. Putin has made clear that the Baltic states would be next in line. The Baltic nations have no intention of attacking Russia or encroaching on its territory, but they will resist Russian aggression on their territory.

(4) Russian "nationalists" versus Ukrainian "patriots".
Russian "nationalists" such as Alexander Dugin, billionaire Konstantin Malofeev, Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church openly support the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian "nationalists" call for the complete destruction of Ukraine as an independent state and genocide of ethnic Ukrainians and their culture. Ukrainian "patriots", on the other hand, simply want to preserve the territorial integrity of their country and have no territorial ambitions on the Russian Federation (even formerly Ukrainian ethnographic territory). Ethnic Russians are invited to integrate into a multi-ethnic society.

(5) Prior to 22Feb2014 the Ukrainian government was controlled by the Kremlin.
During the Soviet era, Ukraine was run from Moscow. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Kremlin-controlled apparatchiks and bureaucrats within Ukraine remained in place. Although they were now officially responsible to the Kyiv government, their loyalties remained with the Kremlin. Many of them were and remain a 5th column acting on behalf of the Kremlin rather than on behalf of Ukraine. The Yeltsin era (1991 to 2000) and the Kuchma era (1994 to 2004) saw the rise of organized crime (Mafia) and Oligarchic clans in both Russia and Ukraine. The advent of the Putin era in 2000 saw a concerted attempt by the Kremlin to bring Ukraine under its control. Condoleezza Rice relates that in 2004 Mr. Putin introduced her to "his man" in Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych. The 2004 Presidential elections saw the Orange Revolution overturn the falsified election results and the election of Viktor Yushchenko. Unfortunately, he was unable to displace the entrenched Mafia-Oligarch power structures within the Verkhovna Rada and the bureaucracy, such that Mr. Yanukovych was indeed elected as President in 2010. The "peaceful" subjugation of Ukraine accelerated and only the Euromaidan demonstrations from 21Nov2013 to 22Feb2014 halted Mr. Putin's plans. Since that time, the Putin regime has unleashed a full scale military and economic attack on Ukraine.

(6) The Kremlin and its operatives have been deliberately sabotaging the economy of Ukraine since 1991.
It is no accident that since 1991 the Ukrainian economy has lagged the Polish economy, such that by 2013 its GDP per capita was only one fourth that of Poland. The catch phrase of Russophiles has always been "The worse it is, the better it is." The Russophiles, the Communists, the 5th columnists, the FSB operatives, the Mafia-Oligarchs all worked in tandem to ensure that Ukraine become a corrupted failed state, such that the impoverished inhabitants would then turn to Russia for salvation. These Ukrainophobes conspired to promote corruption and prevent the creation of "institutions of good governance".

(7) There are military solutions to the conflict in Ukraine.
Despite the ad nauseam declarations by Merkel, Hollande, Obama, etc. "that there is no military solution to the conflict in Ukraine", there really are several military solutions. For the Putin regime and for Russian "nationalists" the ultimate military solution is the complete destruction of Ukraine and its ethnic Ukrainian populace in conjunction with occupation of its territory. The interim military solution would be an uncontested occupation of Crimea and a frozen conflict in the Donbas, such as in Transnistria. For Ukraine the ultimate military solution would be to reassert jurisdiction over Crimea, removal of Russian military equipment and personnel from its territory and re-establishment of control over its border with the Russian Federation.

(8) Russian "rape, loot and pillage" mentality.
The unfortunate reality is that Vladimir Putin reflects the age-old "rape, loot and pillage" psyche of Russia's imperial past. This mentality cannot be satisfied by appeasement and concessions. It is so much easier to steal from your neighbors (or from the hard working members of your own society) than to create something yourself. In my opinion, the solution to the problems within the Russian Federation and its neighborhood requires the Putin regime and Russian "nationalists" to change their mindset from "destruction" to "creation" and co-operation.

Pseudo-realists are guilty of condoning genocide.
In light of these realities, do the pseudo-realists realize that, by not allowing Ukraine to defend itself effectively, they are supporting the genocide of the Ukrainian people? To be followed by genocide of the Baltic peoples and even other victims both within and outside the Russian Federation? By condoning and/or supporting the genocidal policies of a murderous psychopath, these pseudo-realists are guilty of condoning genocide. In the Orwellian sense, these people are willing to sacrifice the lives of other people so as to appease Vladimir Putin. They vainly hope that he will be satisfied with this "morsel" and leave Europeans and North Americans alone to live their comfortable lives.

Real realists would act decisively as follows:
(a) The United States and Europe would impose full sanctions against the Putin regime, including curtailment of SWIFT money transactions immediately;
(b) If, within 30 days, Mr. Putin should not withdraw his military forces from Ukraine and allow Ukraine to establish control of its border with the Russian Federation, they would declare a state of virtual war with the Russian Federation such as to curtail all physical travel, as well as commercial and financial transactions, to the Russian Federation without the express consent of American and European authorities.

The concluding reality.
The incredible technological advances in computers, communications, robotics, medicine, etc. since 1990 is having a profound effect on human societies around the world. Humans are being replaced with machines and computers; jobs are becoming more scarce. Every human being has a responsibility to adapt to these new realities. Rather than throwing explosives over 30 km at each other (reminiscent of catapults of ages past) so as to conquer more territory as is occurring in the Donbas conflict, people must start thinking how they are going to adapt to the new era.

Will Zuzak; 2015.03.01

[This article shall be archived at
http://www.willzuzak.ca/tp/wllzzk/zuzak20150301Bennett20150217ArmingUkraine.html .]

Johnson's Russia List | 17Feb2015 | Kirk Bennett
http://russialist.org/arming-ukraine-a-dose-of-realism/

Arming Ukraine: A Dose of Realism

February 18, 2015

By Kirk Bennett. Kirk Bennett is a former Foreign Service officer who served in both Moscow and Kyiv. The opinions expressed are his own and do not represent the views of the U.S. government.

Provided by Ulana Hryn

The latest upsurge in fighting in the Donbass, as well as hints that the Obama Administration might reconsider its policy against providing lethal arms to Ukrainian government forces, has touched off a vigorous debate among American foreign-policy experts and Russia-watchers. An article by Strobe Talbott and Steven Pifer, making the case for arming the Ukrainians, was the opening salvo. It has been met by withering return fire from a variety of respected experts generally identified with the realist school of foreign policy thought.

The realists have backed up their argument against arming Ukraine with a host of undeniable facts. Russia’s interests in Ukraine outweigh those of Europe, let alone the United States. Even armed by the West, Ukraine’s army could never hope to defeat Russia on the battlefield. An uptick in Russian casualties is not going to bring the Putin regime crashing down. The Russians would be unhappy if we armed Kyiv, and might retaliate by escalating the conflict further. The really important task in Ukraine right now is internal reform and reviving the economy, and we need to “freeze” the conflict in order to achieve those goals. Our approach in Ukraine must be to seek a negotiated settlement.

[W.Z. Ukrainian interests in Ukraine far outwiegh Russian, European or American interests in Ukraine. The Putin regime has been doing and will continue to do everything possible to destroy Ukraine as an independent state by both military and economic means whether the West arms Ukraine or not.]

These facts, to my mind, are all unassailable as far as they go. But they don’t go far enough. Honeycombed with straw-man arguments and questionable assumptions, the realist case ultimately disappoints by its sheer lack of realism.

There are at least four problems with the bland assertion about the preponderance of Russian over Western interests in Ukraine.

1) It fails to distinguish between valid and invalid Russian interests, or between legitimate and illegitimate means of pursuing them. Moscow’s “interest” in saving ethnic Russians from genocide was bogus from the start; even a legitimate Russian interest in proposed changes to Ukraine’s language policy hardly justified invasion and conquest. This is a crucial point that the realists largely gloss over. While most of them -- admirably -- condemn Russian behavior in Ukraine, the blanket assertion that Russia’s interests are “greater” comes pretty close to excusing Moscow’s actions.

[W.Z. Ethnic Russians in Ukraine have never faced genocide or even language discrimination in Ukraine. It is ethnic Ukrainians within their own country who have faced genocide and language discrimination at the hands of Russian occupiers. This dates back to the era of Muscovy which morphed into the Tsarist Russian Empire in 1721, the Soviet Union (1922 to 1991) and even during its most recent "independent phase" from 1991 to the present -- especially during the Yanukovych era from 2010 to 22Feb2014.]

2) It appears to assume that Western interests in Ukraine are limited to such bilateral matters as trade, investment, and people-to-people contacts. However, the compelling Western interest with regard to the war in Ukraine is not bilateral at all, but lies in the preservation of the post-Cold War order in Europe, a matter of vital interest for the EU and NATO as well as their individual members. Salvaging Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity is crucial for the West not because our bilateral relations with Ukraine are so important, but because European security writ large is so important -- and this is true regardless of whether or not Ukraine ever joins NATO or the EU.

[W.Z. As soon as Vladimir Putin came to power in early 2000, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had the foresight to apply for and receive NATO membership on 29Mar2004. During the occupation of their lands by the Tsarist Russian Empire and the Soviet Union (with a brief 20-year respite during the interwar period), these peoples faced genocide and extinction at the hands of their Russian occupiers. Should the Putin regime succeed in subjugating Ukraine, Mr. Putin has made clear that the Baltic states would be next in line. And after that ... .]

3) It views the Ukraine war through a narrow East-West lens, sidestepping the inconvenient fact that Russian interests in Ukraine, even legitimate ones, are heavily outweighed by Ukrainian interests in Ukraine. The assumption seems to be that Ukrainian interests should be irrelevant, or at least subordinate to Russian interests, in Western policymaking with regard to Ukraine. [W.Z. See comment at the top.]

4) Logically, it is an argument not against Western arming of Ukraine, but against the West doing anything in Ukraine at all. Why should realists urge the West to focus on Ukraine’s stabilization and reform, since Russia’s interest in an unstable, unreformed Ukraine outweighs, a priori, any interest of the West’s? And if the preponderance of Russian interests essentially excuses the seizure of Crimea and the Donbass, why wouldn’t it equally justify the imposition of Russian rule over the whole of Ukraine?

[W.Z. During the Soviet era, Ukraine was run from Moscow. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Kremlin-controlled apparatchiks and bureaucrats within Ukraine remained in place. Although they were now officially responsible to the Kyiv government, there loyalties remained with the Kremlin. Many of them were and remain a 5th column acting on behalf of the Kremlin rather than on behalf of Ukraine. The Yeltsin era (1991 to 2000) and the Kuchma era (1994 to 2004) saw the rise of organized crime (Mafia) and Oligarchic clans in both Russia and Ukraine. The advent of the Putin era in 2000 saw a concerted attempt by the Kremlin to bring Ukraine under its control. Condoleezza Rice relates that in 2004 Mr. Putin introduced her to "his man" in Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych. The 2004 Presidential elections saw the Orange Revolution overturn the falsified election results and the election of Viktor Yushchenko. Unfortunately, he was unable to displace the entrenched Mafia-Oligarch power structures within the Verkhovna Rada and the bureaucracy, such that Mr. Yanukovych was indeed elected as President in 2010. The "peaceful" subjugation of Ukraine accelerated and only the Euromaidan demonstrations from 21Nov2013 to 22Feb2014 halted Mr. Putin's plans. Since that time, the Putin regime has unleashed a full scale military and economic attack on Ukraine.

Mr. Putin and many Russian "nationalists" have made it perfectly clear that their goal is to wipe the state of Ukraine, the Ukrainian language and any democratic aspirations off the face of the earth. Genocide -- pure and simple! ]

There is evidently a finite number of small countries that can be thrown under the bus to accommodate Russian “interests,” somehow without ever jeopardizing European security. Indeed, if the “Russia’s interests are greater” argument is dispositive, then there must be a whole raft of states that qualify for the “Donbass treatment.” Perhaps the realists could give us the list now, so that we can see just how far into Central Europe it extends.

No question, the Russians would not be pleased if the West armed the Ukrainians, and it is factually true that the Kremlin COULD escalate the conflict as a result, but we can only conjecture how Moscow might react to various armament scenarios. What we can say for a fact is that Russia has been escalating the conflict anyway, and it is singularly illogical to posit that we can induce greater Russian restraint to the extent that we make Russian escalation easier by withholding key weapons from the Ukrainians. Moreover, warnings about Russia’s response to the arming of Ukraine seem to assume that Russian escalation would be both cheap and painless for the Kremlin. It would not. Opinion polls show that most Russians oppose direct military engagement in Ukraine, hence the Kremlin has been at pains to conceal the extent of Russia’s intervention. The flip side of Putin’s sky-high public-approval ratings is that fact that he has nowhere to go but down.

The Ukrainians are the most unfortunate of post-Soviet nations. Far more than anyone else, they have been chronically unable to either a) create institutions of good governance, or b) reconcile themselves to the venal, corrupt oligarchy they’ve got. After the crushing disappointment of the Orange Revolution, the 2013-14 Euromaidan brought to mind Dr. Johnson’s quip about second marriage as the triumph of hope over experience. The Ukrainians often give the impression of being quite capable of squandering opportunities without any “help” from Moscow. Indeed, if the Ukrainians are ultimately not willing to bite the reform bullet, they might save us all a lot of fuss by just capitulating to Russia now.

[W.Z. It is no accident that since 1991 the Ukrainian economy has lagged the Polish economy, such that by 2013 its GDP per capita was only one fourth that of Poland. The catch phrase of Russophiles has always been "The worse it is, the better it is." The Russophiles, the Communists, the 5th columnists, the FSB operatives, the Mafia-Oligarchs all worked in tandem to ensure that Ukraine become a corrupted failed state, such that the impoverished inhabitants would then turn to Russia for salvation. All Ukrainophobes conspired to promote corruption and prevent the creation of "institutions of good goverence".]

However, it is an utterly false dichotomy to argue that we must EITHER support Ukrainian reform, OR provide lethal weapons. Not only is there no inherent contradiction between the two, but they are in fact complementary. How is Ukrainian reform to have any chance at all of success if the Russians, more or less at will, can ratchet up the war in the east, draining Ukraine’s budget, spooking investors, stoking social tensions, and driving down the hryvnia? Make no mistake -- Moscow’s nightmare scenario is not so much a Ukraine in the EU or even in NATO, but a successful, prosperous, reformed and independent Ukraine with the freedom of maneuver to make its own choices. Such a country would be equally impervious to Russian blandishments and coercion to join the Kremlin’s flagship Eurasian Union project, and could by example even undermine the foundations of Putin’s “managed democracy” at home.

Far from being an unaffordable luxury, or even a hindrance, a modicum of security is a precondition for any serious attempt at restructuring Ukrainian political and economic institutions and practices. Ukraine won’t get even that modicum of security without leveling the military playing field a bit.

The same consideration applies to the question of securing a negotiated settlement, even an interim one that merely freezes the conflict. Why on earth would Moscow agree to any compromise if the Russians can easily demolish the Ukrainian military and seize additional territory at any time Moscow can manufacture a suitable pretext? On the other hand, the prospect that further military action could entail significant loss of men and equipment could -- in conjunction with ongoing political and economic pressure -- change Moscow’s calculus. Casualties will not result in a flash mob of Russian soldiers’ mothers storming the Kremlin, but with time would undermine Russian popular support for the Kremlin’s current policy in Ukraine. Thus, the provision of Western weapons to Kyiv is not even intended to facilitate a triumphal Ukrainian march on Donetsk, but it just might help forestall a triumphal Russian march on Kharkiv or Odesa.

It is a factual error to maintain that there is no military solution to the conflict in Ukraine. There most certainly is a military solution, and we’ll recognize it if Russian forces -- no doubt masquerading as anti-fascist Ukrainian freedom fighters -- arrive on the Bug, the San, and the Tisa. Victory for the Ukrainians, on the other hand, would look very different from victory for the Russians -- probably something like the Algerian war of independence. Recall that the Vietnamese did not defeat the Americans on the battlefield, nor did the Afghans overwhelm the Red Army, yet in the end it was the Americans and the Soviets who withdrew -- and the military element was a key factor in the calculus. This is probably the best scenario Ukraine can expect -- and the provision of Western weapons would be both efficacious and justified.

[W.Z. Despite the ad nausem declarations by Merkel, Hollande, Obama, etc. "that there is no military solution to the conflict in Ukraine", there really are several military solutions. For the Putin regime and for Russian "nationalists" the ultimate military solution is the complete destruction of Ukraine and its ethnic Ukrainian populace in conjunction with occupation of its territory. The interim military solution would be an uncontested occupation of Crimea and a frozen conflict in the Donbas, such as in Transnistria. For Ukraine the ultimate military solution would be to reassert jurisdiction over Crimea, removal of Russian military equipment and personnel from its territory and re-establishment of control over its border with the Russian Federation.]

Finally, there are at least two dubious assumptions that underlie much of the realist analysis of the war in Ukraine. First is the belief that, if only Russia were granted its rightful place in the world (as defined by Moscow), the Russians would fall all over themselves to cooperate with us across a wide range of issues: Iran, North Korea, terrorism, nonproliferation, global warming, AIDS -- you name it. Yet there is no basis for thinking that we can buy Russian cooperation in this fashion. The Russians have not been dilatory (from our perspective) on so many issues for so many years out of resentment or spite, but because they simply see their interests as fundamentally different from ours. Granting Moscow carte blanche across some zone of Russian privileged interests will not change that equation in the slightest.

[W.Z. The unfortunate reality is that Vladimir Putin reflects the age-old "rape, loot and pillage" psyche of Russia's imperial past. This mentality cannot be satisfied by appeasement and concessions. It is so much easier to steal from your neighbors (or from the hard working members of your own society) than to create something yourself. In my opinion, the solution to the problems within the Russian Federation and its neighborhood requires the Putin regime and Russian "nationalists" to change their mindset from "destruction" to "creation" and co-operation.]

The other unfounded assumption is the idea that, if only we can put this annoying little Ukraine matter behind us (inter alia, by compelling wide-ranging concessions from Kyiv), we can get back to the serious, if largely fruitless, business of securing Russian cooperation for our international agenda. Unfortunately for this line of thinking, the war in Ukraine is not some third-rate sideshow, it’s the main event. It is too late -- roughly a year too late, to be precise -- to avoid a new East-West confrontation. If the Cold War materialized gradually, with no precise start date, historians will be able to identify the beginning of the current confrontation practically to the minute, with the first appearance of little green men in Crimea. Russia has crossed a Rubicon in its campaign to overturn the post-Cold War order. Like it or not, we are already firmly in a post-post-Cold War Europe. It is wishful thinking, not realism, to pretend otherwise.

The argument for arming Ukraine has absolutely nothing to do with neo-con conspiracies, knee-jerk interventionist impulses, aspirations to spread democracy indiscriminately around the world, or a pathological obsession with keeping Russia down. Securing Russian cooperation internationally will not come from pandering to Moscow’s selective and self-serving “Russia as victim” narrative, but through a dawning Russian realization over time that their current course dooms them to enmity not only with the West, but with their ostensibly fraternal post-Soviet neighbors. Russia has embarked on a path to isolation, deprivation, chronic conflict and decline. The case for arming Ukraine is rooted in a clear-eyed, unsentimental recognition of this dynamic. In short, it is rooted in realism.

PLEASE Read the article reprinted and linked above

I can forward the lengthy reports ( 300+ and 100+ pp.) from the UK to anyone who is interested -- total 6 MB, E-mail address: [email protected]