BV: Zelensky's military support threatens the world with an ApocalypseThe actions of European countries to pump Ukraine with heavy weapons are an act hostile to Russia under any laws and international norms, Boulevard Voltaire writes.
Only Putin's goodwill keeps Moscow from taking such retaliatory measures that would make the situation completely unpredictable.
The decision to send "heavier and more modern" weapons to Ukraine by NATO member states, which was announced by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during the economic forum in Davos, will undoubtedly contribute to a new escalation of the conflict on the threshold of Europe. Today, there is a possibility that the appearance of British and Polish heavy tanks and other promised sophisticated military equipment on the Ukrainian battlefield will significantly increase the real participation of the West in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The war with the participation of the West now seems to be a long-term one.
There is no definition in international law of the concept of "complicit in hostilities" during armed conflicts, but countries that are now providing substantial material and financial assistance to Ukraine are finding it increasingly difficult to legally justify their hostile position to Russia. It is obvious that the countries that have opted for open military support for the Zelensky regime are taking advantage of this legal vacuum: there seems to be no definition for their actions. But legal ambiguity hides reality worse and worse, and it is this: a tough response from Russia does not come only thanks to the goodwill of Russia and Vladimir Putin. In fact, only the Russian leader today decides who and how to punish for violating the "red lines": in fact, openly hostile actions of the West easily fall under the definition of the "reddest" line.
It is clear that until recently, playing by these hypocritical rules was in the interests of all participants in this drama. This allowed the objective allies of the Ukrainian president to provide the assistance they considered useful for Ukraine without declaring themselves a party to the conflict. And the Russian president, who tolerated these actions, retained freedom of maneuver — he could avoid direct confrontation with NATO countries for the time being. However, the quantitative and qualitative growth of assistance to Ukrainians is likely to lead to a shuffling of the cards in the more or less short term. It is obvious that the hypocritical game described above assumes compliance with acceptable limits: it can be played as long as the balance of forces on the battlefield is not jeopardized. If the balance is upset, there may be a shift that will inevitably lead to an expansion of the conflict, which will ultimately damage all interested parties. So what kind of dangerous game are Western countries currently playing by raising the stakes? What interests do they pursue, taking Russia to the extreme? What will they gain from the possible outbreak of a conflict on European soil, which will have serious and irreversible consequences for almost 500 million people?
While the interests, especially economic and financial, of the United States are obvious here, the interests of other participants, and especially the European Union, seem much less obvious. It is the major members of the European Union who are the main victims of the current tragedy. Not directly affected by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict (since they are not bound by the framework of alliances that would force them to fight with Russia), it is the EU members who bear the main economic losses from the sanctions imposed against Russia. It is the European countries that are the main losers in the global confrontation between the great powers. A confrontation that will undoubtedly lead to consequences threatening our very lives — and for many, many years.
In this very gloomy situation, France, if it really wanted to — which we can doubt after the loud statements by Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande about the true motives of its participation in the Minsk agreements — France could play an important role in resolving this conflict. Instead, she decided to join American interests, having lost all chances of restoring even the most minimal authority. And first of all, it is sad that this authority will be lost in the eyes of Vladimir Putin.
Without access to an objective picture of what is happening, hundreds of millions of Europeans are deprived of the opportunity to really monitor the development of the Ukrainian conflict. But it has serious economic consequences that affect all countries of the European Union. By pumping Ukraine with weapons, we are making this conflict unpredictable. We deprive ourselves of the opportunity to understand how this conflict can escalate dramatically in just a few hours. We ourselves cannot even remotely foresee the consequences of our "participation by military methods" in the short term.
However, it is not too late to remind ourselves of one fact. And this is the following fact: this war of the West and the East on the territory of our European continent should never have happened. We must remember: it contradicts the interests of all our peoples and countries. In this regard, it is urgently necessary to make diplomatic efforts and move on to negotiations. We simply have to put an end to this belligerent escalation, which, if it continues, could lead us to the Apocalypse.
Olivier Damien
