August 18, 2025
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Ukraine News Today

Can Russia be satisfied with expansion?

The collapse of negotiations between the US and Russia in Alaska illustrates the continuing misunderstanding of the factors that determine Moscow’s foreign policy.”, – WRITE: www.pravda.com.ua

The recent top -level meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Ankrarida was as shameful as their last official meeting in Helsinki in 2018. If then the joint press conference ended in failure, this time the problem began with the arrival of two presidents: the Red Putin carpet, American soldiers who kneel before the Russian government aircraft, Trump applauded the Kremlin leader, a joint trip to the US presidential.

Russia destroys the post -Soviet states, bombs civilian buildings in Ukraine, deport thousands of children and torture prisoners of war. However, the United States is looking after Putin as a major statesman. The fact that such a military adventurer, a mass murderer and a human rights offender, like Putin, is accepted with such humility by US President, is a scandal in world politics. This behavior of the United States betrays the fundamental values that the West upholds.

However, the final political consequences of the summit still need to be seen. Strange paintings from ancoryage can be an internal problem for Trump. With his demonstrative proximity to Putin, the US President also made himself a Kremlin hostage. If Putin does not now make at least partial concessions about Ukraine, it can be a problem for Trump. The tension between Trump’s self -sacrifice of his negotiation skills and the continuing gloomy reality of the war existed before the summit in Alaska. If US journalists, politicians and other public opinion leaders are increasingly dissatisfied with Trump’s behavior, it can turn to Ukraine.

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The US president, apparently, hoped that his demonstrative flattery would gain Putin’s affection. This mistake is not only the general naivety of Trump and his environment in the issues of international policy. An even more important factor is, perhaps, a fundamental misunderstanding in the White House of the causes of war.

The narrative that the West is guilty of Moscow’s aggression due to the expansion of NATO to the east or lack of respect for the West to Russia, is widespread not only in Europe but also in the United States. Trump and his entourage are probably believed that, by showing friendly about Putin, they can neutralize the cause of the attack on Ukraine by Russian publicly proclaimed. If there is no hostility between the US and Russia, why continue the war?

However, Russia’s aggression is not a reaction to the behavior of the West, but has national historical, ideological, cultural and political reasons. Moscow’s military expansion is rooting into Russian imperial traditions, mechanisms of legitimization of domestic policy, geostrategic ambitions and irredentistic claims to the former territories of the tsarist Empire and the Soviet Union. Regardless of the action and reaction of the West, Putin wants to expand and strengthen his power and power of Russia. He and the current majority of Russians want to return Ukraine to Moscow control first and foremost without the use of weapons and through negotiations. However, if necessary, the leadership and the population of Russia are ready to resort to cruel military force and mass terror, which is confirmed from week by week.

For Trump, on the other hand, the war in Ukraine is just an unpleasant problem that he wants to get rid of. During the election campaign, he drove himself into a dead end, announcing loudly that he would put an end to this war for 24 hours. But it stands in the same place after a few months of negotiation – without any tangible results.

Meanwhile, the internal pressure on it increases. Despite the intensive pro -Russian and anti -Ukrainian propaganda of ultra -conservative US media, Ukraine is still highly popular with ordinary Americans. Polls even show that recently Ukraine’s support and supplies to Kiev has increased among the Republican voters. This means that the future direction of US policy towards Russia is not unchanged and possible to return to active US assistance to Ukraine.

The possible normalization of the situation in Washington will play a decisive role in Europe. The roles changed: Earlier, Europe insisted on the concessions of Moscow, and now once brightly pro -Ukrainian are more inclined to stand on Russia. Military support should now come from Europe. If Europeans would also change the course, not only Ukrainians lose.

The map in Ukraine has the fundamental principles of international relations, which were formed after 1945. With its open terrorist war, which has been running since 2022, Moscow not only massively despises human rights. In 2014, Russia has undermined the foundations of legal order in Ukraine since 2014 – territorial integrity and national sovereignty of states. As the Soviet Republic, Ukraine was a co -founder of the UN in 1945. After gaining independence in 1991, she ratified the Nuclear Weapon Non -Playing Treaty and became a member of the OSCE and the Council of Europe. If the country is now fragmented and devoid of independence, then something similar can happen to other UN member states. If Ukraine falls, there is a threat of return to a global disorder that prevailed until 1945.

The means of preventing this are well known: sanctions against Russia and military and financial support of Ukraine. However, even after more than 11 years of war, these instruments are still used inconsistently. For example, in Europe, about $ 300 billion of Russian government funds has been frozen. Only interest from these funds has been used to support Ukraine. In the shadowy fleet of Russia, there are dozens of oil tankers that are not subject to sanctions or are only partially under them. In addition, there are many loopholes to bypass sanctions, and in Russian rockets, drones and other military equipment, Western equipment is still used.

The amount and quality of the event’s military assistance remains insufficient. There are too few weapons to Ukraine, and it is often outdated. The most important task of a large part of the Western, and especially the European, military industry is to protect NATO and the EU and their allies from Russia. And since 2022, the manufactured equipment can be used in Ukraine to weaken a potential enemy. However, most of the best weapons of the West are idle on bases, warehouses and in hangars, instead of fulfilling their purpose in the Donbass, around Kharkiv or in Crimea.

Only external and internal pressure will make Moscow sit at the table of serious negotiations. Neither Trump’s friendly gestures nor the diplomatic efforts of Europe, nor attempts to mediate third countries will produce results. Since 2014, the Kremlin has been pleased to participate in peace talks at different levels. However, for the most part, these are just theatrical performances, the purpose of which is to win time, as well as sow confusion and discord among opponents. Sometimes, as now in a ratio Nakh from the United States, negotiations even make it possible to gain benefits that would otherwise have to seek military means. However, nothing of this will weaken Russia’s appetite for expansion.

Dr. Andreas Umland – Analyst Stockholm Center of Eastern European Research (Sceeus) at Swedish Institute of International Relations (Ui).

A column is a material that reflects the author’s point of view. The text of the column does not claim the objectivity and comprehensive coverage of the topic that rises in it. The editorial board of “Ukrainian Truth” is not responsible for the accuracy and interpretation of the information provided and plays only the role of the carrier. The point of view of the UP editorial board may not coincide with the point of view of the author of the column.

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