For a long time, the Russian army relied on volunteers for the war in Ukraine. Now Russians are being forced to fight.
Photo: AFP/Olga MALTSEVA
Moscow media published a long list on Thursday. The names of the soldiers who died in the attack on Ukraine ordered by President Vladimir Putin were not to be read, but the names of the streets that were closed on Friday were published, because: According to the Kremlin, there was something in Moscow to celebrate great things. The repatriation of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions was to become a lavish display of Russian power.
From September 23 to 27, referendums on their annexation to Russia took place in the areas liberated by the Kiev regime, according to Moscow’s interpretation. There is no doubt that the votes were neither free nor lawful. Nevertheless, the official news agency Tass spread sensational final results. Even the turnout in the areas marked by war and flight must make people suspicious. In the Cherson region, almost 77 percent of those eligible took part, in Donetsk (DPR) almost 98 percent. The statements of approval are no less absurd. They vary from 99.23 percent in the DPR to 87.05 percent in the Kherson region. The assurance sounds like mockery: “The voting took place in full accordance with the norms of international law. The legitimacy of the referendum has been confirmed by foreign observers.«
The tragedy of democracy had been carefully prepared in Moscow. The choreography follows the example of Crimea. Eight years ago, the Black Sea peninsula was incorporated after a similarly overwhelming vote by the mostly pro-Russian population. Despite this experience in occupying foreign territories, this time the bear’s skin had been distributed before it was killed. Some of the voting areas have not yet been conquered, others have been lost to attacks by Ukrainian forces. In addition, only two of the four areas were recognized as independent republics, which is a prerequisite for applying for the regions to be included in the Russian Federation as planned on Friday at 3 p.m. local time. A formality that President Putin satisfied in the case of the Cherson and Zaporizhia regions on Friday night.
It is difficult to judge how the recent annexations will affect the majority of the peoples assembled in the Federation. With a few exceptions, they are not recognized internationally. There is no doubt that the UN Security Council in New York condemned the violation of international law. It is not to be expected that a corresponding resolution tabled by the USA and Albania will be adopted. As a permanent member of the Security Council, Russia will veto it.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rightly described the votes and celebrations as a “farce”. They will “defend” the Ukrainian citizens in the Russian-occupied areas. The same applies to the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014.
The dying and suffering on all sides continues. At the same time, new dangers are emerging for Europe and the world. After the incorporation of the four areas, Moscow can classify offensives carried out there by the Ukrainian armed forces as a war of aggression. For Putin and his vassals, new possibilities of insanity arise, especially since the West, especially NATO, supports Kyiv in many ways. According to military doctrine, Moscow could also respond to a conventional nuclear attack. Putin has threatened to do so more than once.
Military experts in Washington and at NATO headquarters in Brussels say that beyond nuclear weapons the West has enough options for a decapitation strike against Russia’s military-political leadership. What may be meant to have a global calming effect achieves the opposite. After the US magazine »Newsweek« reported on such simulation games, the Russian embassy in the USA reported on Friday. One would “like to believe that such delusional reasoning does not reflect the official position of the US Department of Defense.” Otherwise the world is indeed close to a dangerous point. A “Cuba Crisis 2.0” is looming on the horizon. The US had better “not doubt our determination… to protect state sovereignty, territorial integrity and the people by any means available,” the Telegram channel said.
Cuba 2.0… As long as you can, you should keep in mind what happened during the first Cuban Missile Crisis in October, exactly 60 years ago. For 13 days the world was on the edge of a nuclear abyss. Fortunately, US President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev realized in time that there would only be losers in a war.
Next week, the Russian parliament is supposed to approve what is already being celebrated. The robbery of the Ukrainian territories and the people who live there is probably the best gift the Kremlin ruler could give himself. Putin will be 70 next week.
