Putin is not at war with Ukraine, he is at war with the West

Josep Borrell, the EU's chief diplomat, recently said that without Western assistance Ukraine would last a couple of days at most, but that is not the main thing, the main thing is that Ukraine is supported because otherwise it will be captured and become like Belarus. This statement is another indication of our great communication failure, namely, to convey to the West that Putin is not at war with Ukraine, he is at war with the West.

Every six months, I should probably remind the basics of this war.

In December 2021, Putin sent a letter with an ultimatum to NATO to violate its charter and deny potential accession to Ukraine, Georgia and others, and to remove weapons and troops from countries that joined the bloc after 1997. Again: Putin did not write anything to Ukraine, and did not demand anything from Ukraine. It was only after he was officially rejected at the end of January that he decided to take military action.

“Putin sent a letter with an ultimatum to NATO to violate its charter and deny potential accession to Ukraine, Georgia and others, and to remove weapons and troops from countries that joined the bloc after 1997. Again: Putin did not write anything to Ukraine”

From the very beginning of the war, Putin's goal, and he has constantly emphasized this, was not just to capture Ukraine, but to revise the "monopoly" world into a "multipolar" one. The seizure of Ukraine was supposed to be proof that the West is weak and that new players like Russia and China are on par with it. Therefore, if it had succeeded in capturing us, the first thing it would have done was to issue a new ultimatum, the failure to fulfill which would have posed a military threat to the Baltic states, Poland, and other former members of the socialist bloc.

“The great task of our communication in the international arena should be to counter the narrative that this is a war between Ukraine and Russia”

The great task of our communication in the international arena should be to counter the narrative that this is a war between Ukraine and Russia. This deadly narrative may result in support for a freeze on the war if the West starts to get "tired." Instead, it is the belief that this is a war with the West that should keep the latter in the mood to help us.

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About the author. Viktor Andrusiv, political and public figure, analyst and publicist.

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