Months ago, US President Joe Biden warned that Ukraine’s allies would have to show “stamina” in the fight against Russia. Are you running out of breath?
In a week, the Russian campaign against the Ukraine will last 100 days. Since then, the western alliance has been trying to contain and, at best, end the warmongering with united and resolute action. So far in vain. Neither far-reaching sanctions nor arms sales worth billions to Ukraine were able to dissuade Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin from his war course.
Joe Biden saw this coming. In the fight for freedom and democracy, one thing is therefore crucial: “staying power.”
Where the cohesion of the West begins to crack
Against the historic backdrop of Warsaw’s Royal Castle in Poland, Biden appealed to Ukraine’s allies: “We must now commit ourselves to staying power in this fight. We must remain united – today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow and in the years and decades to come. ” According to the US President, it will not be easy, and the efforts will be associated with costs. “But that’s a price we have to pay.”
However, there are already indications that unity is beginning to crumble and the front against Russia is beginning to crack:
- There are different opinions about the war aim. There is agreement that Russia must not win. But where does Russia’s defeat begin – and where does Ukraine’s victory begin? The answers vary: Russia must be ousted “from the whole of Ukraine”. That Russia “is being weakened to the point of not being able to do anything like invading Ukraine.” And: “Russia must not win, Ukraine must survive,” said Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
- There are different opinions about the EU accession of Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war, President Volodymyr Zelenksyj has been pushing for fast-track membership and is currently hoping for candidate status for his country. , Germany and France were less energetic: French President Emmanuel Macron dampened expectations, said accession could take “decades” and , Chancellor Scholz warned.
- There are different opinions about the expansion of NATO. After decades of neutrality, Sweden and Finland want to join the western defense alliance, and are supported by all member states – except for one: Turkey is opposed, blocking a fast accession process, since all 30 NATO states have to agree to the application.
- There are different opinions about one oil embargo against Russia. The measure is said to be part of the sixth EU package of sanctions, which several countries see critically – especially Hungary. Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck, however, the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has so far stuck to his blockade of the planned oil embargo. It is “very unlikely that a comprehensive solution can be found before the special summit of the European Council on May 30th and 31st”. The sanctions proposed by the EU Commission would lead to “serious disruptions to the energy supply” in Hungary. Recently, the Ukrainian President Zelenskyj complained about the .
- There are different opinions among the Arms deliveries to Ukraine. Lithuania recently requested . Meanwhile, there are upsets in the western alliance: Poland accuses Germany of . “Militarily, Ukraine is simply being let down by Berlin”, Andrj Melnyk, the federal government. In addition, one caused a stir, according to which some weapons should not be delivered to Ukraine for fear of a further escalation. This also includes weapons that are urgently needed in the fight against Russia.
Putin provokes the next issue
And another point of contention could arise, calculatedly placed by the Russian President: Putin hinted to his Italian counterpart Mario Draghi in a telephone call that the Grain exports from Ukraine can no longer be blocked – if in return the West lifts its sanctions against Russia.
Background: Russia and Ukraine are large grain exporters with an important role in world nutrition. Kyiv accuses Russia of blockading the Black Sea ports with warships and thus preventing wheat exports, which are important for world nutrition.
The . “It is Russia that is actively blocking food exports from Ukrainian ports and increasing world hunger,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said in Washington on Thursday. There would be tons of grain stored in silos in Ukraine and on ships that could not be shipped because of the Russian naval blockade. The sanctions would prevent neither the export nor the necessary monetary transactions. There is currently no discussion about lifting sanctions, said Jean-Pierre.
It is obvious what goal Russia is pursuing with the latest castling. The Russian president repeatedly tests the western alliance’s pain threshold, trying to undermine its determination with threatening gestures () and arousing covetousness (food ) and thus driving a wedge between the supporters of Ukraine.
In other words, “Russia is waging its brutal war not only with tanks, missiles and bombs. Russia is waging this war with another terrible and quieter weapon: hunger and deprivation”, .
It was also Baerbock who, even before Russia invaded Ukraine, named the decisive weapon in the Western arsenal against the aggressor: “Our strongest weapon is and will remain our unity,” she said in January when Russian troops formed up in front of Ukraine .
It was a turning point now. The war will soon be in its 100th day, and the attacks on Ukraine continue. But unity remains the strongest weapon in the fight against the Kremlin ruler’s warmongering. “He had thought that if he ordered war, the Western Allies would fall out and fall apart. That didn’t happen”, . But that obviously doesn’t stop Putin from trying again and again.
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Source: Stern
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