Putin’s goal is to control Ukraine
The presiding country in the UN Security Council is waging a brutal war of conquest against Ukraine.
While there was initially speculation that Putin’s troop deployment could be about annexing the territories in eastern Ukraine already occupied by Russian mercenaries, the massive attack has now made it clear that his aim is to conquer all of Ukraine. Putin is thus following a script familiar from earlier wars of conquest launched by dictators driven by fantasies of great power.
For this reason, it is to be feared that as Russian troops advance further, there will be massive purges and the establishment of death camps, whether they are called concentration camps or gulags. If the conquest of all of Ukraine is not achievable, Putin will definitely try to conquer an overland route to Tiraspol, thus cutting off Ukraine from access to the Black Sea, and wreaking as much destruction as possible in the rest of the country.
It is now time for the free world to massively increase sanctions against Russia and cut it off from the SWIFT payment system. At the same time, it will be necessary to impose direct sanctions against Putin and his immediate entourage responsible for this war. They must be cut off from their assets in Europe and other parts of the free world.
The brutal cynicism of Putin’s actions is demonstrated by the fact that the war of aggression is being launched at a time when Russia holds the presidency of the UN Security Council. This raises the question of whether this Security Council is still capable of acting at all.
An indictment of Putin before the International Criminal Court must be prepared. But the European intelligence services will also have a lot of work to do in combating the massive disinformation campaigns that are being spread in all European countries by supporters of the Russian dictator.
In any case, Europe is now well advised to prepare for a wave of people fleeing from the war and to help these victims of Putin’s aggression unbureaucratically.
Published on February 24, 2022.