So far, Western countries, including Canada, which has already accepted tens of thousands of Ukrainians, have managed it well. The war in Ukraine has already created a refugee crisis on an unprecedented scale. It is very crucial to send a clear message to Putin that such a course of action will lead to a devastating military response from the West that would cripple Russia’s remaining military potential. Also, Ukraine’s application to join NATO should be given very serious consideration.Ĭonsidering the recent failures of the Russian army at Kharkiv and now at Lyman, a tactical nuclear weapon remains Putin’s last chance at reversing the tide. Failure to do so will inevitably lead to a much larger European war. It is now very critical for the Western world to do everything possible to boost Ukraine’s fighting potential. His rhetoric always included moving “NATO borders” back to where they were in 1997, so all of Eastern Europe will, most likely, be his new target. Ukraine will be devastated and Russian losses very high, but it would be very naïve to think that Putin, who is now trying to draft, by conservative estimates, close to one million men, will send these people home. It should be now crystal clear that if Ukraine is defeated, Putin and his lieutenants will not stop. This escalation creates major new challenges for the Western world. The Russian dictator, who, during his 20-year rule has managed to turn the geographically largest country in the world into a very close analogy of the Nazi Germany, with no independent courts, jailed opposition leaders, sham elections and a puppet Parliament, has now chosen to raise the stakes. It is clear that such a threat effectively means deploying a tactical nuclear weapon. The Russian dictator is not only attempting to slice off a piece of his neighbour’s land, but is threatening to use “all means” to protect his new assets. The recent annexation of about 20 per cent of Ukrainian territory, proclaimed by Putin and his cronies in the Kremlin, marks the apotheosis of Putin’s insanity. This war has been marked by war crimes, from shelling and bombing of peaceful Ukrainian cities to summary executions of civilians in territories occupied by Russian soldiers. Nonetheless, tens of thousands have been drafted, sent to barracks, and are being prepared to be used as cannon fodder in the Ukrainian war, which Putin started against his neighbour. Video footage at border crossings show the scope of the mass exodus, unseen since the time of the Russian civil war, some 100 years ago. The total number of Russians fleeing “partial mobilization” is unknown, but about 260,000, mostly younger men, are estimated to have fled the country. My friend called me a day later, from Kazakhstan. The entire conversation - even for me, who was born and raised in the authoritarian U.S.S.R. He cannot be reached until he buys a new SIM card at the place of destination. Crossing the border, and I cannot tell you where it’s unsafe. She sounded as scared as she could possibly be. Nevertheless, his age, his three children, and lack of training in modern weaponry made him a very unlikely candidate for the draft. 28, I decided to call a friend of mine from Moscow.Ī few days prior, Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered a so-called “partial mobilization.” My friend, who is about 50, had never served in the Russian army before, but, like most Russian university graduates, he received some military training about 30 years ago, and is officially an officer in the reserves. Pavel Boubnov is a barrister and solicitor who lives in Halifax.
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