Russia has annexed four provinces that were formerly part of Ukraine. Ceremonies have been held in Moscow celebrating these events. This was done after the provinces held referendums on which country they wanted to be part of.
What I have written above are the facts as they exist right now. There is no bias to these facts. There is no ideological bent to these facts. Where there is disagreement is in the stated results.
Russia claimed that the result was favorable to them. The West claims it was all a fraud. In war everybody lies about something.
Karl Denninger has written an article that I believe explores all of this in a non-partisan way. Denninger raises questions that should be answered with the truth before we find ourselves in the middle of a nuclear war.
I do not believe that it is hyperbole to suggest that a nuclear war is a possibility. This excerpt from a recent address that Putin gave is apropos.
“To those who allow themselves such statements regarding Russia, I want to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction, and for separate components and more modern than those of NATO countries, and when the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, to protect Russia and our people, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal,” Putin said in a Wednesday address.
“It’s not a bluff,” he added.
Denninger notes:
Do recall that Russia is not the USSR. Unlike Stalin there are now constraints that are in fact quite democratic; in fact, Putin is constrained by the Duma, which must pass laws to enable his acts and power. We may well disagree with the determinations of the legislature there just as we might with regard to Mexico, Canada or France but what’s unmistakable is that said power is in fact delegated, not predicated on dictatorship or monarchy.
In other words, Putin is not Hitler, nor is he Stalin. He might, however, be somewhat akin to Xi.
I agree with Denninger. Putin is not acting by himself. Keep in mind that Putin’s approval ratings in Russia were quite high before the war began. Russia is no longer a communist state. A better description would be an oligarchy. The people live much better under Putin than they did under communism. They also have a higher standard of living than the people in Ukraine.
Regarding the referendums, Denninger notes:
These are areas of the nation that historically, before Ukraine was “spun off”, were Russian. The people there identify as Russian and the land shares a border with Russia. In the case of Crimea it was literally purchased by Russia long before the USSR (an “agglomeration” of lands) existed.
The estimates are as high as 75%-80% of the population is ethnic Russian. They were promised referendums under the Minsk agreements in 2014 and 2015. Those referendums never took place. Why?
One can legitimately question the results of the recent referendums. And Denninger delves into that issue:
I have, as you might expect, plenty of questions about the legitimacy of said polling; is it truly free in that it expresses the will of the people in these parts of the nation? I don’t know the answer to that but what I do know is that if the people of a land have the right of self-determination when it comes to their government that extends, with certainty, to them choosing to ally themselves with a government that happens to be immediately-adjacent on one of the sides of the land in question.
Either one believes in this principle or one does not. However, if one does not, then the United States should not exist. One can argue that the country has drifted away from its foundational values but the fact is that America exists because of this principle.
Denninger then gets to the heart of the issue, what the inquiry must be.
Therefore, the limits of said inquiry are whether the referendum was in fact representative — that is, is it fraudulent or was it freely taken among the people of said land? That’s the beginning and end of it, and if it was freely taken and results in said people choosing to be Russian in terms of their legal identity then the expelled government is in fact an unlawful occupier unless they immediately and peacefully depart.
Of course, this did not happen here in America. The British waged war against the revolutionaries for almost seven years before giving up the effort. Ukraine will not give up either. In fact, they threatened the people with prison if they voted in the referendums. Biden and company will continue to spend American treasure propping up a corrupt totalitarian regime. Where Putin may have miscalculated was the overwhelming need for the Democrats to distract Americans from the horrors visited upon them by this administration. This has led to the unqualified support of the totalitarian regime of Zelensky.
Denninger echoes what I said in the beginning.
Everyone lies during war, and virtually everyone who wants a war lies too. All the time. One cannot take anything from parties with a vested interest in the outcome as having any veracity whatsoever without strict proof, which is almost impossible to obtain due to active obstruction. As a result, I cannot offer an opinion as to whether these votes are just or not and neither can anyone else.
There is no way at the moment to obtain the unequivocal and unvarnished truth here. However, it is a fact that Ukraine never came close to fulfilling their obligation under the Minsk agreements to offer referendums. In fact, the Azov unit was actively engaging in torture and killing of Russians there. There was no effort by the Ukrainian government to stop this. Places like Mariupol were subject to violent occupation by the Azov battalion (and other towns by other similar Nazi gangs).
Denninger asks the obvious question about the results of the referendums.
Should we not first determine if indeed any such claim is in fact legitimate or manufactured nonsense before we offer said commitment?
Indeed, shouldn’t we find out the truth first? This will never happen. Ukraine has been a money spigot for politicians in this country. Hunter Biden is just the very tip of the iceberg of money laundering activities going on there.
Another $10 billion “for Ukraine” is in the continuing resolution to fund the government. The war is an excuse to send money there so that pockets can continue to be lined. Why is there no oversight by the Inspector General’s office into how the money is being used?
How much US political corruption has been channeled through Ukraine the past 18 or so years? During all 4 years of the Trump administration a war was waged in DC to keep Trump’s hands off Ukraine and Russia. Any discussion with Russia was reported as if it were treason. Just how deep does the corruption go?
The war in Ukraine is between Russia and the globalists who have taken over our country. It will determine whether the globalists can continue to terrorize humanity.
Bad times are ahead.
Denninger’s entire article can be found below