Rom Reddy’s editorial correctly points out that the Ukraine War is a humanitarian disaster. Unfortunately, Mr Reddy is wrong on virtually every other count.
Ukraine is a “corrupt proxy regime.” What else could one expect after 70 years of Communist rule? In 1991, 93% of the Ukrainian people, including the Russian speakers, voted for independence. Since then, Ukraine has had seven free presidential elections. Mr. Reddy also asserts that the “public termination” of high officials is proof of corruption. On the contrary, it proves that Kyiv is willing to hold high office holders publicly accountable.
Russia’s “security interests” are threatened by Ukraine: Russia has massive conventional forces; Ukraine does not. Russia has nuclear weapons; Ukraine has none. In 1994, Ukraine voluntarily eliminated all its nuclear weapons. Furthermore, there was no chance of Ukraine becoming a member of NATO in the near term – and Moscow knows it.
The end game is to “trade Russian security for an independent Ukraine.” Russia has never been threatened by Ukraine and Putin has never recognized an independent Ukraine. Putin’s goal has been to eliminate Ukraine as a state and Ukrainians as a people. Over the past year, Russia has committed well-documented crimes against humanity. If Putin succeeds in his unprovoked land grab, what happens to Russia’s other neighbors? What is the lesson for Xi Jinping, who claims Taiwan as a province of China? In other words, an imperfect peace would only encourage further and more deadly conflict.
How then to end Putin’s war? NATO should provide the weapons to shorten and win the war. A final note: In 1938, a small European nation was faced by a similar threat. Hitler merely wanted a small German speaking province in Czechoslovakia. British Prime Minister Chamberlain acquiesced, declaring peace in our time. How’d that work out?
In the early 1990s, Gundersen served as the first American charge' – acting ambassador – to Ukraine for both the George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations. He also participated in early talks between the United States, Russia and Ukraine on Ukraine’s nuclear disarmament and membership in NATO.