Most lies are told in love and war. Only in love, the victims usually remain alive. The greatest war crimes, war itself as a crime against humanity, are surrounded by value narratives and moralistic excuses. For decades the US and its allies have been intervening openly in various parts of the world under the pretext of counter-terrorism.. The State of Israel maintains its role as a violent gendarme in the Middle East, arguing that as a victim of history it can do anything to ensure its security. This week Putin's Russia bombed and then invaded Ukraine to «denazify" it».
The first victim of this war is also international legitimacy.. The fact that there are various arguments on which to build the «right» to invade a country and the redrawing of borders in Europe is a dangerous development, but to be fair, was not inaugurated by Vladimir Putin.
It was the Western allies who divided Yugoslavia by breaking up a powerful country into satellite states and of course it was they who constructed the Kosovo model., according to which wherever there is or is created an ethnic difference, some Westerners from the West will intervene and change the borders. Therefore Putin repeated the crime in his own way and after showing great patience and good discipleship.
Anyone who (also) in this war attempts to make the simplistic distinction between «good» and «bad» would do better to watch a children's series with superheroes on Netflix and leave the reflections behind. Putin's invasion is the result of a multifactorial international reality. He bears responsibility for his choice, as the westerners are entirely responsible for the institutionalization of the methods of enforcement and all the inventions of the «axis of evil".». It was only a matter of time before the Russian giant also chose its own villains and its own domination. It simply needed time to get back on its feet and define its vital space.
Russia after the collapse of the Eastern bloc experienced its own «Treaty of Versailles» and its transformation from a Soviet superpower into a pariah and humiliated state. The glory of the old empire and the power of nuclear weapons were a check on its possible total collapse. At that time the West made the mistake of underestimating the «defeated» Russia and not including it in the plans for a secure Europe. Instead, they saw it as an opportunity to extend NATO to the underbelly of Russia and to weaken it completely by putting it in a bind. And they did so surreptitiously.
In the 1990 German Unification Pact, Western leaders pledged not to expand NATO towards Russia, setting the Elbe River in Poland as the eastern limit. In 1999, however, before the war in Kosovo, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary joined NATO. In 2004 NATO is extended eastwards with the Baltic countries. Η Russia does not react militarily because it may not be able to react. It is left to diplomatic protests. In 2008, when Georgia's entry into NATO is attempted, Russia reacts under the pretext of the threat to the Russian-speaking populations of Ossetia. Putin invades the Georgia, but in a sign of goodwill, as it was put at the time, he withdrew, but after creating a fait accompli in the Ossetia.
In 2014 Russia makes a more decisive move. It occupies Crimea from Ukraine when - as it claims - the Russian-speaking populations in Ukraine are threatened. In fact Russia was attempting to secure control of the only warm sea, the Black Sea, and put geopolitics back on the table.
The current business in Ukraine is of a different quality. Putin is not showing off his power, but is present in Europe and claiming a role in determining its future, believing that it cannot be determined unilaterally and at his expense by the West. In essence, it is reversing (just as criminally for international legitimacy) the reality chosen by the Americans and their allies, creating an Iraq or Kosovo of its own.
The term «denazification of the region» used by Putin was not well read by analysts. ∆It was not a pretext for invasion, but an accurate description of his willingness to change and define the regime in Kiev, which he has accused of being Nazi. Despite the selective blindness of the West, the Kiev government has neo-Nazi groups and paramilitary organisations as its supporters and national proxies. But this change, or getting rid of the neo-Nazis, is a matter for the Ukrainians.
Putin is waging a lightning hot war to get rid of the effects of a new chronic Cold War with the West. He is playing on the board that they can't deal with him, as it is now obvious, NATO has placed its line of decency much further away from Ukraine. The former confederate president of Ukraine, Zelensky He is alone and declares himself alone, and in a short while he will probably negotiate his fate with the Russians.
Putin, in short, has managed to bring Russia into the new plans for the security of Europe, showing that otherwise it is he who threatens it. In the face of an ageing European Union without any political autonomy, Putin is demonstrating not only a military machine but also an alliance with China and a vision of a Eurasian Union. In the new plans Turkey will have an enhanced role as a prudent ally and player. ∆It is no coincidence that Erdogan condemned the invasion but also condemned the economic measures against Russia.
A tragic figure in the new and multi-level game is the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. First of all, he did not want to update the Cyprus problem by reminding us that, apart from Ukraine, Cyprus is also under occupation, and is a member of the EU. Then, with the air of an American army lance corporal who is prepared to shine boots and wash toilets to get a stripe, he came out and threatened tough measures. Who? Mitsotakis to Vladimir Putin. All the European leaders are calling for calm, Mitsotakis found a camera and said to play General Patton.
By Kostas Vaxevanis
