Vladimir Putin: West is the “enemy”
What are we waiting for?
Russian President Vladimir Putin labeled the West as Russia’s “enemy” and suggested that Russia’s involvement in Ukraine is aimed at countering the West. In response to a query from a Russian serviceman about Western aid to Ukraine during a meeting at a military hospital in Moscow Oblast on January 1, Putin stated that Russia’s issue is not necessarily that the West is aiding Ukraine, but rather that the West is Russia’s “enemy.”
Putin added a boat load of twisties in his response. Let us break it down one by one.
Putin’s First Twist: Ukraine is “completely destroyed,” There is “nothing left” of the country, and that it “exists only on handouts.”
Reality: Trading Economics’ global macro models and analysts project that Ukraine’s GDP will likely reach 166.28 USD billion by the end of 2024. Looking ahead, econometric models suggest a trend of approximately 176.25 USD billion in 2025 and 186.83 USD billion in 2026 for Ukraine’s GDP.
Unlike the Russian economy that is cracking at the seams after being short of 4.8 million workers in 2023, Ukraine’s economy is growing. Inflation in Russia is so hot that you cannot buy as many eggs as you wish.
I will let the Moscow Times tell you how strong the Russian economy is today: “In a scene reminiscent of the Soviet Union, videos on social media showed people queueing in the snow in the hope of getting cheaper-priced eggs at an agricultural fair”.
Since August 2023, more than ten million tons of Ukrainian grains successfully navigated the Black Sea grain corridor, boldly defying the blockade imposed by the Russian Navy. Every cargo ship that travels through the Black Sea corridor will improve Ukraine’s economy.
Putin’s Second Twist: Framing the Conflict in Ukraine as an Existential War
Reality: Georgia did not invade Russia in 2008. Crimea did not invade Russia in 2014. Ukraine did not invade Russia in 2022. Even in February 2022, Putin was out there promising the entire world that he was amassing troops in the border for training.
So, where did the term ‘existential’ war against West come from?
Putin created this mess.
Finland was not dreaming about joining the NATO before Putin kicked off his special military operation and started sending hundreds of thousands of soldiers every year to fight in Ukraine. Sweden did not join NATO before Putin started to threaten every state that shares its borders with Russia.
Statista’s data reveals a substantial and noteworthy shift in the opinions of both the Finns and Swedes: “Shortly before the conflict erupted, only 24 percent of Finns and 37 percent of Swedes supported their countries seeking NATO membership. In July/October 2022 though, a majority of the population now supports joining. A dramatic increase has been observed in Finland especially, where 85 percent said that they view their country’s membership application positively”.
One after another, neighboring states are queuing up to join the NATO as Putin persists in invading countries at his whim every few years.
24% to 85%, because of Mr. Vladimir Putin’s actions.
Let’s refrain from discussing how Russia, Iran, and Al Bashar transformed Syria into a hub for exporting terror and Captagon pills, often referred to as the “poor man’s cocaine.” This gift to the Middle East, if left unaddressed, could potentially spread its consequences to every corner of the globe.
The Recruitment Drive:
The Russian President’s escalating rhetoric against the West is a military recruitment strategy that is inline with the warning late Senator John McCain gave us.
“There’s nothing that provokes Vladimir Putin more than weakness,” he told the BBC on September 10, 2014. McCain told BBC that Putin’s strategy was to separate eastern Ukraine and create a land bridge between Russia and Crimea.
“Not to provoke Putin is to show weakness, which will 100% provoke Putin. A developing and democratic Ukraine is a threat to Putin’s power. He will try to cut more Ukraine and then Baltics” — John McCain in 2014
The Kremlin’s stance transformed from ridiculing the United States’ assertion of Russia’s war preparations in January 2022 to launching a special military operation in February 2022 to framing the conflict as an existential battle against the West in January 2024.
The Russians presumed a swift victory in Ukraine, yet the military operation evolved into a vortex, drawing in hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers to perish in the conflict. With the Russian economy grappling with a severe labor shortage, ordinary Russians show little enthusiasm for sacrificing their lives in Ukraine.
For Putin, avoiding defeat is crucial to maintaining his dictatorial rule. He cannot lose this war and hold on to his Russian throne. By framing the conflict as a battle against the West, he sustains fear among the Russian population, aids military recruitment, and pursues his ambition to resurrect the Soviet Union.
Putin is on a bet the state project
At 72 years old, perhaps he thinks this is his last chance to dismantle democracies and rebuild the Soviet Union on ruins.
The West is repeating the same mistake it did with Hitler. The Nazi lunatic did not become the leader of a mechanized killing machine in two nights and three days.
He grew into one.
He was allowed to grow into one.
Hitler dismantled every internal power balance structure, eroding the checks and balances that would have restrained him. Freed of all the restraints by methodically working the system from the inside, he started moving his good, bad, and evil plans forward. Supported by sycophants standing by to catch whatever he dropped, a group of individuals transformed into an evil version of themselves.
Granting unchecked power to one person results in paying the price for their true nature, often unknown even to themselves.
The only power structure that could have stopped Hitler was obviously not inside the Nazi state.
It was outside the Nazi state.
But the world ….barely moved even after Hitler started broadcasting his intentions. I am sorry, but what in the f*** were they doing when Hitler passed the Reich Citizenship Law and the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor in 1935, that included provisions restricting or prohibiting sexual relations and marriages between Jews and non-Jews.
Right there…… he dehumanized a community, estimated to be half a million at that point. The entire world watched this non-sense from the sidelines.
Could they have stopped him in 1935?
When presented the chance to do what’s right, to halt the rise of the monstrous force dehumanizing a community, why the reluctance?
What became of those who opted not to act?
The Poles were defeated. The French were defeated. England almost went under. How did it feel when nearly half a million allied forces were trapped in Dunkirk? Wasn’t a great feeling, was it?
The second world war took more than 80 million lives with it. It happened because the world chose to look away when Hitler went after Jews in broad day light.
I do not find a lot of difference between the way the allies responded to Hitler in 1935 to what they are doing in response to Putin in 2024. They asked Zelensky to flee when the invasion began. Had he listened to the worst advice of the millennia, we would have paved the path for the third world war. The invaders would have gobbled up Ukraine, took full control of the Black sea and then continued their expansionist policies.
In July last year, the Russian President told Poland that its western territories are a gift from Stalin. So, what will he do when he takes full control the Black Sea? There is no need to guess because according to the new Russian curriculum, Russia is a civilization unto itself and it has no borders.
Wonderful!
‘The Russian world cannot be contained by state borders’ a required college course will teach Russia’s students that their country is a civilization unto itself,” Meduza, an independent media outlet focused on Russia, reported in August 2023.
Now, let us add all of this together: West is the “enemy” + Russia is a borderless state + Ukraine has no right to exist + Poland’s western territories are a gift by Stalin = ???????
Ukrainian people are the only thing that is standing in Kremlin’s path from achieving its maximalist objectives. Arming Ukraine is not about the money, it is about stopping a dictator from choosing who’s human and who is not. From deciding who gets live and who gets to die.
The lessons from World War II are crystal clear, act now or brace for a future smeared with fear.
