The War in Ukraine: Vladimir Putin and the Ghosts of World War 2

In 2014, Russia invaded and then annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. It became clear that Russia faced no real consequences for that violation of Ukrainian sovereignty, so in 2022 Vladamir Putin followed up with a full-scale invasion of the country. Putin claimed the action was necessary to “denazify” Ukraine and to defend the Russian-speaking populations in the border regions. These claims have been widely rejected by the West.Nevertheless, what we are witnessing is the continuation of events that have a long historical context. In this case, the boat we are riding in is rocking from the wake of the Second World War in Europe. It is imperative that we understand the history here, because the only way the current war raging in Ukraine is going to come to an end is through a negotiated settlement, or an escalation that brings the full might of NATO into the conflict. And since the latter most likely includes a full nuclear exchange between Russia and NATO, a negotiated settlement becomes the only prudent course of action.There is a popular sentiment that Putin is Hitler and Ukraine should fight until Russia is completely driven out of the land it holds. With that, there are those demanding nothing but a full Russian surrender and a return to borders as they existed before the annexation of Crimea. This ignores some harsh truths. The first is this: Ukrainians cannot defeat Russia alone, regardless of how much military supplies NATO keeps giving them. The second harsh truth is that NATO cannot join the fight without it escalating into World War Three. And finally, and this is the one that the left finds hardest to swallow, Putin does have some legitimate security concerns regarding NATO, concerns born out of nearly a century, or more, of history with the rest of Europe.Music by: Andrii Poradovskyi (lNPLUSMUSIC - Pixabay)Show Notes: www.rootsoftoday.blog