Presents a point of view reflecting the company’s progressive values on an issue of public interest. Editorials are written by staff within the Star’s editorial board, which is independent of the newsroom.
Russia’s march into the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine is moving ahead with frightening speed, aggression and disregard for its sovereign neighbour. The situation is now being described as the most serious confrontation between Russia and the West since the Cold War ended a quarter-century ago.
Russia’s march into the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine is moving ahead with frightening speed, aggression and disregard for its sovereign neighbour. The situation is now being described as the most serious confrontation between Russia and the West since the Cold War ended a quarter-century ago.
Even as the Paralympic Games go ahead in Sochi, on the balmy coast of the Black Sea, Russian President Vladimir Putin has pushed ahead with his own unilateral agenda. Since the Ukrainian people ejected their pro-Russian leader, Viktor Yanukovych, Putin has been relentless. Troops have poured into the strategically important area, ostensibly to safeguard ethnic Russians living there.
The assault continues on a number of fronts. On Friday, Russian military laid siege to a Ukrainian military base in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol. Russian television stations, not Ukrainian, are now broadcasting in Crimea. A United Nations special envoy was forced to leave, and unarmed military observers from a European organization were also blocked. The Russian gas utility threatened to stop supplying Ukraine because its gas bill, nearly $2 billion, is said to be unpaid. Then on Thursday, the situation escalated further when the Crimean parliament, dominated by ethnic Russians, voted to join Russia. It has set a referendum for March 16, the constitutionality of which is in dispute.
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Meanwhile, other countries that were once unwilling members of the Eastern bloc are watching with deep concern and foreboding. “If we allow this to happen, next will be somebody else,” said Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite.
The way forward is difficult and delicate. Putin himself is no global collaborator, but a lone wolf, an isolationist with a deeply defensive outlook, a dark, Slavic Clint Eastwood figure. It is fair to observe that in this, he somewhat reflects the historical perspective of his country. It has withstood invasion attempts from Western Europe, been drawn into two crippling world wars, and endured the humiliating descent from a Cold War superpower to a rogue nation largely rejected by its former republics. And this last act played out while its former adversary, the United States, took on the role of global police.
It is no wonder, then, that Putin’s government has acted so unilaterally or that it has responded with a mixture of anger, threats and ridicule at both the initial sanctions from Western nations, and also at the proposal to hold internationally arranged negotiations to seek an end to the crisis in Ukraine. But if Russia’s behaviour is, to a degree, unsurprising, it remains unacceptable. It made no effort to address any of its concerns with the co-operation of either the United Nations or European Union members. This calls into question Russia’s assertion that it is defending ethnic Russians in Crimea while raising legitimate fears Russia is instead grabbing territory from a sovereign state.
Small measures have already been taken in response by the U.S., Canada and the European Union. These actions include freezing the assets of some individuals involved in the incursion, offering financial aid to the beleaguered Ukrainian government, and freezing talks with Europe on visa-free travel. If talks fail, the next step would be deeper economic sanctions, but that brings its own wide set of problems. For example, if Europe - which buys a third of its natural gas from Russia - stops trading, the consequences could be dire.
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U.S. President Barack Obama has faced criticism from political rivals for being too cautious. But his careful, cool-headed style is just what is needed at this time. It will be important for Europe, the United States, Canada and other nations to stand together and engineer a face-saving solution. Patience and resolve are in high demand in these extraordinary times.
