Give Ukraine fighter jets and ground armaments but don’t send troops and wreck the global economy with a protracted, incipient Third World War. That’s filmmaker and internet pioneer with interests in Ukraine, Ronnie Apteker’s advice. He reminds us Putin’s takeover of Crimea precipitated Ukraine’s ever-increasing shift westwards, making the latest invasion the inevitable result of a Putin policy aimed at restoring a long-vanished USSR. Fantasy though that may be, calling his nuclear bluff risks the breakout of WWIII. Hence, Apteker’s suggested full-out arming of besieged Ukraine. There have been acres of space devoted to the hopeful belief that Putin cannot win a long, drawn-out guerrilla-type war against the resolute Ukrainians. He probably can, but if the defenders are better armed and the airspace is contested, that’s the least harmful intervention. Only time will tell. Truth be told, we’ve hardly seen a greater threat to world peace in our lifetimes. – Chris Bateman
Help Ukraine NOW!
By Ronnie Apteker*
No, I am not keen on WWIII. No one is. Except Putin. He is pure evil.
Imagine your neighbour’s house was on fire and everyone inside could die, and you have a chance to use your garden hosepipe to try put out the fire, but you don’t because there are water restrictions or they are not part of the same club as you. And yes, I know the argument about there is a big bully out there with dangerous bombs that says if you help your neighbour, you are looking for trouble. If you were in that burning house, begging for help, how you would feel … humanity is being tested here, and it is failing. God help all of us.
In my view, the West will have to step in at some point. When a lot more women and children are killed, then perhaps. I wonder how many innocent people will die before the West acts. A million? And certainly, if Putin drops a small nuclear device on Ukraine, which it has been reported on multiple news sources that he said he would do. Yes, the West will have to get involved then. WWIII is inevitable.
I know all the arguments about Ukraine is not part of NATO and if America, for example, gets involved directly, then we are in fact in WWIII proper. But if you were in Ukraine’s shoes, getting attacked like this, and begging for help, wouldn’t you expect a lot more help.
The West is weak and they need to call Putin out on his bluff. I cannot believe that all Putin’s pals in Moscow will allow him to press the button when he soon becomes the biggest loser in history. Russia is now nobody’s friend and at some point the Russians will want this to end, too. No-one wants this. This is Putin’s madness and Putin needs to be taken out.
We must also not forget The Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurance; America was a key part of this agreement. What happened to Ukraine’s sovereignty? The world seems to have amnesia. If Ukraine had not given up its nuclear arsenal at the time, it would probably be a very different playing field right now. And they had the third biggest nuclear weapons stash after Russia and America. Yes, Ukraine – the country most people keep calling The Ukraine, like it is an area. It is not an area. It is a country, the largest country in Europe, and it is a helluva place. It is Ukraine. Drop the ‘The’.
Ukraine needs help. The sanctions are doing their part, but they need real help. Close the airspace, give them the fighter jets and whatever other hardware they need. If you don’t want to send in soldiers that is one thing, but give them the tools and resources they need to hold off the Russians. If they can do this, the Russians will get worn down and then that evil Putin will be removed. I will bet on this.
Before 2014, Ukraine and Russia co-existed and collaborated. Trade, IT, business, tourism, friends, marriage, sports, arts, culture … Ukraine and Russia were connected. History, culture, religion, language … there are many overlapping aspects. But when Russia took over Crimea, that marked the end of this co-operation. Ukraine blocked the worx: no flights, no TV, no Internet sites … the friendship was over. Ukraine then looked westwards and started to grow and grow and grow. The past eight years have been boom times and Ukraine was just warming up. Russia, on the hand, was going backwards and becoming less relevant in the world. Putin is jealous. This is also driving his madness.
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