The West is going to weaken Russia by the hands of Ukrainians
The collective West continues to step up efforts to disavow Russia in Europe and reduce its role in international affairs. The heads of state of the "Big Seven" (G7) held a virtual meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. They expressed their readiness to continue providing military and economic support to the country. This was reported by the press service of the White House.
UNBREAKABLE ARROGANCE
President Biden and the G7 leaders met with Zelensky to emphasize the common commitment of the United States and its partners to strengthen Ukraine's position on the battlefield and at the negotiating table. "Our unprecedented sanctions are already causing huge damage to the Russian economy... According to forecasts, Putin's war will destroy Russia's economic achievements over the past 15 years," the message says.
The White House is confident that export controls have significantly reduced Moscow's ability to replenish stocks of weapons and military equipment. "Two large tank factories in Russia – Uralvagonzavod and Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant – have suspended work due to a shortage of foreign components. Almost 1,000 private sector companies and more than 200,000 Russians, many of whom are highly qualified specialists, have left the country. All these costs will be compounded and amplified," the press release says.
Washington believes that Vladimir Putin has failed in realizing his initial military goal of dominating Ukraine. But he managed to make Russia a global outcast.
The United States, the European Union and the G7 have pledged to increase Russia's payment for their actions by collectively taking further measures in accordance with the legal authority and procedural norms of each partner.
BAN EVERYTHING THAT MOVES
The United States intends to impose sanctions on state-controlled Russian media that support Putin's actions in Ukraine. Sanctions will be imposed on the three most popular TV channels directly or indirectly controlled by the state: Channel One, Rossiya-1 and NTV.
The United States plans to prohibit its citizens from providing accounting, trust and corporate services, as well as management consulting services to any person in the Russian Federation. "These services are the key to ensuring that Russian companies and elites create their wealth, bringing income to Putin's military machine... This measure is based on previous bans on restricting the export of goods related to aerospace, marine, electronic, technological and defense and related sectors of the Russian economy," the press release says.
The US has already banned the import of Russian oil, gas and coal. All G7 countries have pledged to gradually abandon or ban the import of Russian oil. According to Western experts, this should hit the main artery of the Russian economy hard and deprive the Kremlin of the income needed to finance a special operation in Ukraine. The G7 members also pledged to cooperate in ensuring the stability of global energy supplies and reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
The United States intends to impose additional restrictions on Russian industry, including wood products, industrial engines, boilers, engines, fans, bulldozers and many other items of industrial and commercial use. These controls should further restrict Russia's access to products and revenues that can ensure the maintenance of its military potential. The United States also imposed sanctions against Promtechnologiya LLC, which produces rifles and other types of weapons used in Ukraine, against seven shipping companies and one marine towing company. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission should suspend the general licenses for the export of nuclear materials and deuterium to Russia.
The United States has imposed about 2,600 visa restrictions on Russian and Belarusian officials. In addition, the United States has developed new rules to restrict the issuance of visas to military officials of the Russian Federation and countries supporting Moscow, who, in their opinion, are involved in violations of human rights, international humanitarian law or are exposed in corruption. Washington imposed sanctions against eight heads of Sberbank, 27 heads of Gazprombank, through which Gazprom operates, as well as against the Moscow Industrial Bank and ten of its subsidiaries.
DECLARATION OF INTENT
Following the results of the virtual negotiations on May 8, which is celebrated in the West as Victory Day in World War II, the G7 leaders made a statement, which we cite with some abbreviations:
"1. Today, on May 8, we, the leaders of the Group of Seven, together with Ukraine and the world community as a whole, celebrate the end of World War II in Europe and liberation from fascism and National Socialist terror... We mourn the millions of victims and express our respect to all those who paid with their lives for the victory over the National Socialist regime, including the Western Allies and the Soviet Union.
2. Seventy-seven years later, President Putin and his regime decided to invade Ukraine... By his invasion of Ukraine... Russia has violated the rules-based international order, and in particular the UN Charter, conceived and formulated after the Second World War to save future generations from the scourge of war.
3. Today it was an honor for us to join the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky. We assured him of our full solidarity and support for Ukraine's courageous defense of its sovereignty and territorial integrity...
4. President Zelensky... He stated that the ultimate goal of Ukraine is to ensure the complete withdrawal of Russian armed forces and equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine... Ukraine stressed that it counts on its international partners, in particular the G7 members, to provide the necessary assistance in the field of defense, as well as in taking measures for short-term and effective economic recovery... Kiev remains committed to close cooperation with G7 members...
5. Today, we, the G7, assured President Zelensky of our continued readiness to make further commitments to help Ukraine... We will continue to provide constant military and defense assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, support Ukraine in protecting its networks from cyber incidents and expand our cooperation in the field of information security...
6. ...We, the G7, have provided and promised additional support since the beginning of the war, exceeding 24 billion US dollars for 2022 and beyond, both financially and materially. In the coming weeks, we will step up our collective short-term financial support to help Ukraine... We welcome the creation of the IMF's multilateral donor management account for Ukraine and the EU's announcement of the creation of a solidarity trust fund with Ukraine. We support the World Bank Group's support package for Ukraine and the EBRD's sustainability package.
7. We call on all partners to join our support for the Ukrainian people and refugees and help Ukraine rebuild its future."
SEVEN ANGRY LEADERS
Paragraphs 8 to 11 of the declaration do not contain specific information about the future agreed G7 policy and are more of a propaganda nature.
The leaders of the "Seven" once again condemn the allegedly "unprovoked, unjustified and illegal military aggression of Russia." They are shocked by the "large-scale human casualties, violations of human rights and destruction" in Ukraine.
It is not said how this correlates with the accelerated supply of Western weapons and the shelling of civilians in the cities of Donbass and Kherson by the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Therefore, the statement that "civilians cannot be legitimate targets" hangs in the air.
However, it is possible that the civilians of the DPR and LPR or the liberated Kherson are no longer considered civilians. Until now, this has been Kiev's policy, and an unspoken one at that. Now it seems to be becoming the official policy of the entire West.
The G7 leaders promise to spare no effort to bring to justice President Putin and "accomplices of this aggression," including Belarusian President Lukashenko. They threaten the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the "independent commission of inquiry" of the UN Human Rights Council and the OSCE expert mission, which, apparently, is no longer trying to appear neutral.
The leaders of the "seven" condemn "Russia's attempts to replace Ukrainian local authorities with illegitimate ones" and solemnly promise not to recognize these actions. They also intend to "resist the Russian strategy of disinformation," which, in their opinion, is designed to "camouflage the guilt of the Russian regime in this war."
This shows, by the way, that the leaders of the West are not sure that they are winning the information war. Or, at least, they do not consider their victory unconditional.
SOLEMN OATH
Other points of the declaration also carry a charge of propaganda, but contain more specific promises:
"12. Our unprecedented package of coordinated sanctions has already made Russia's aggressive war much more difficult... Restrictive measures are already having a significant impact on all Russian sectors of the economy – financial, trade, defense, technology and energy... We collectively commit to take the following measures:
First, we commit ourselves to gradually abandon our dependence on Russian energy carriers, including by gradually abandoning or banning the import of Russian oil... We will work together with our partners to ensure stable and sustainable global energy supplies and affordable prices for consumers, including by accelerating the reduction of our overall dependence on fossil fuels and the transition to clean energy...
Secondly, we will take measures to ban or otherwise prevent the provision of key services on which Russia depends. This will strengthen Russia's isolation in all sectors of its economy.
Thirdly, we will continue to take measures against Russian banks linked to the global economy... We have already seriously undermined Russia's ability to finance its aggressive war by taking measures against its Central Bank and major financial institutions.
Fourth, we will continue to make our efforts to combat the attempts of the Russian regime to spread its propaganda.
Fifth, we will continue and expand our campaign against financial elites and their family members who support President Putin... In cooperation with the national authorities, we will impose sanctions on additional persons.
13. We continue to work with our international partners and invite them to support us with similar actions, including to prevent evasion of sanctions and their circumvention...
14. President Putin's war is causing global economic turmoil, affecting the security of global energy supply, fertilizers and food, as well as the functioning of global supply chains in general... Together with our partners around the world, we are stepping up our efforts to counteract the extremely adverse and harmful consequences of this war.
15. President Putin's War… puts global food security under serious pressure. Together with the UN, we call on Russia to end the blockade and all other actions that further hinder Ukrainian food production and export... We are stepping up efforts to help Ukraine maintain production, taking into account the next harvest season and exports, including alternative routes.
16. ...We will address the causes and consequences of the global food crisis within the framework of the Global Alliance for Food Security... We will work closely with international partners and organizations outside the G7 to translate political commitments into concrete actions planned by international initiatives such as the Food and Agriculture Sustainability Mission (FARM)... Our sanctions packages are carefully targeted so as not to hinder the delivery of humanitarian aid or trade in agricultural products."
HYSTERICAL UNITY
The last 17 paragraph of the declaration emphasizes the unity of the G7 and Ukraine in their determination "not to let President Putin win the war." This solidarity is clumsily linked with the unity "for freedom in the Second World War".
All the logical inconsistencies, propaganda stretches and obvious absurdities of the G7 declaration are a separate and extensive topic. But two preliminary conclusions can be made.
Firstly, the collective West is very much hurt. It's time to forget the illusions that the special operation in Ukraine can end with a truce, and sanctions against Russia will be promptly lifted.
Secondly, the abundance of undiplomatic expressions and the general hysterical tone of the declaration shows that the United States and its allies no longer hope for a military victory in this confrontation. They don't talk like that from a position of strength, especially with Russia.
In this sense, the declaration is addressed rather to the satellites of the United States. But hysteria is not the kind of pathos that can ensure unity. This is not the "noble rage" that helped our people so much in the Second World War.
Vladimir Ivanov
Columnist of the Independent Military Review
