It is still possible to avoid a peaceful compromise that legitimizes Putin's war crimes.
The West can no longer pretend that peace in Ukraine can be established through negotiations. Only not after Russia killed 57 innocent residents of Kramatorsk at the railway station with a missile. Any agreement only legitimizes Russian control over Ukrainian territory. This is unacceptable. Ukraine must become a winner. And any instrument of peace must document this fact.
This was written in an article for the Wall Street Journal by former Undersecretary of State for Global Policy Paul Dobrianski and former First Deputy Chief of the Navy for Technology Transfer and Military help Richard Levin.
In war, geography determines tactics. Ukrainian forces had an important advantage when battles continued in the cities. Small and very mobile groups, armed with portable anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, inflicted irreparable losses on Russia. Having failed to conquer Kyiv, Vladimir Putin focused on two other battles. One is for control of Donbass, and the other is for the establishment of a land connection between the region and the occupied Crimea, which will also cut off Ukraine from access to the Sea of Azov. The authors note that Donetsk and Luhansk regions are rich in energy. And Putin will be happy to take over their gas and coal reserves.
In order for Ukraine to resist Russia's attempts to gain control of Donbass, NATO must provide it with tanks, self-propelled howitzers, multiple rocket launchers, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers. . The Czech Republic has already handed over its Soviet fighting vehicles and tanks. This is an important demonstration of solidarity. But this technique was developed in the 1960s and is actually antique.
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That is why NATO must act in stages. First, the alliance should send Ukraine heavy weapons, which the Armed Forces will be able to use almost immediately: either after short training or without them at all. Secondly, Ukraine needs to be provided with armored vehicles as soon as possible, as well as training packages that will allow its army to use new weapons quickly. American or British tanks with composite armor and improved guidance systems will be vital if the war drags on.
Integrated ground and air operations will be critical to Ukraine's victory. Reconnaissance drones are good, but fighters are just necessary. The Ukrainian army needs a MiG-29 or other fourth-generation fighter jets right now. According to the official US position, the MiG-29 could not simply fly from a NATO base in Germany to Ukrainian territory. So NATO needs to find ways to transport these fighters using lures and digital deception so that Russia doesn't notice.
Anti-ship missiles like the American Harpoon will also be needed. They will help prevent the Kremlin from connecting Crimea and Donbas. The Russian navy cannot be allowed to use the Black and Azov Seas to attack port cities on the Ukrainian coast. These missiles will also help thwart Moscow's plans for a naval landing of troops and equipment.
Faced with heavy losses, Russia began to attack civilians. Ukraine needs protection from medium-range ballistic missiles. S-300 systems may not be able to cope with this task. But Patriot batteries are capable of intercepting ballistic missiles. As for Russia's short-range missiles, the SAMP-T anti-aircraft missile systems used by France and Italy can deal with this threat.
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Putin's brutality is designed to demoralize the Ukrainian population. NATO must increase its humanitarian assistance immediately. The US Maritime Command may send two hospital ships to the region, including the port of Romania. Each of these ships has 1,000 hospital beds and is protected from attack by an international convention that Russia has also signed. These floating hospitals can also provide medical care to Russians trapped in Ukraine.
The West and Ukraine share the concept of freedom based on inalienable human rights. No tyrannical force can be allowed to break this bond. Putin invaded Ukraine in order to erase the identity of its people. Joseph Stalin tried to do the same with the help of the Holodomor of 1932-1933, which killed about 10 million Ukrainians. Such catastrophes became decisive for the 20th century. They cannot be allowed to be decisive for the 21st either.
Earlier, CNN reported that the next key battle of the Russian-Ukrainian war will be the battle for Slavyansk. Because the city is of key strategic importance. If the enemy can take control of it, he will have the opportunity to surround the Ukrainian army in Donbass.
In turn, the New York Times wrote that the battle for Donbas will be extremely fierce. It will be very different from the fighting on the outskirts of Kiev, Kharkiv and Sumy. Because here the enemy knows the area better. And its logistics chains are shorter.
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