JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Only Realistic Answer to Putin” – The Atlantic
“Russia’s unprovoked invasion is impossible to justify. Now is not the time to relent in helping Ukraine.”
“… Putin is trying to convince his public that this war is existential, but with little success. Russia’s existence as a strong, sovereign state is not dependent on … control of Ukraine …. That’s why, since Putin implemented a partial mobilization last fall, hundreds of thousands of men have fled Russia … and … why he still refuses to declare war and order a full mobilization. … The costs of letting Putin have his way in Ukraine, including the damage it would cause to the decades-old international order, are too grave to bear. If not stopped and defeated … Putin will try his luck in other countries … including Moldova and possibly even the Baltic[s] …. A Russian move against Estonia, Latvia, or Lithuania would implicate NATO’s Article 5 security guarantees …. If Putin is able to bluff his way to victory in Ukraine, on what basis can we assume that he will not attempt the same in the Baltics? This is clearly understood in Eastern and Northern Europe, and is why traditionally neutral Sweden and Finland want to join NATO. In Ukraine, the Ukrainians are the ones doing the fighting, and tragically the dying; the United States has no soldiers on the ground. But we have every interest in providing the military support Ukraine needs to win ….”