The conflict in Ukraine: this is «America’s war against Russia». Deconstruction of a fake

Is it possible to be a supporter of Putin and Russia on the 334th day of the war between Ukraine and Russia, after all the war crimes and bloody terrorist attacks against the civilian population?

In fact, there are supporters of the Putin regime all over the world who not only support Russia’s crimes but also publicly declare that the war in Ukraine is America’s war against Russia.

Let’s play the game «Guess who owns direct speech».

«I believe in both Russians and Putin.»

«I am glad that President Putin has now taken legal protection of traditional values.»

«This is first and foremost America’s war against Russia.»

These are the words of an ordinary Russian, to whom propaganda has instilled «patriotic» views in recent years. These are the words of the doctor of political sciences, professor, and diplomat Tomislav Sunic in the Serbian edition «Pechat. Lyst slobodne Srbije» (ed. — a free political weekly in Serbia. Pro-Russian. The authors do not hesitate to call the Ukrainian authorities Nazis and call Ukraine a piece of detached Russian land).

Tomislav Sunic is a doctor of political science, a former professor at prestigious universities in California, Pennsylvania and the Czech Republic. Served in diplomatic service in London, Brussels and Copenhagen. Belongs to the European New Right.

Let’s go back to his statement in the article entitled «I believe in the mystical power of Russia!» from December 22, 2022. He says that a full-scale invasion of Russia is not a war between Ukraine and Russia. This is primarily America’s war against Russia, and because of American players in Ukraine. In addition, it is a war of America, partly of Russia, against all of Europe. The war could have been avoided if America had put diplomatic pressure on Zelenskyi’s government to meet with President Putin and Minister Lavrov.

 

Did America start a war?

Let’s try to understand why his opinion is engaged and directed to mislead readers.

First, let’s recall the terrible beginning of the war on February 24, 2022.

«I have taken the decision to carry out a special military operation. For this we will aim for demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine». Under these words of Putin, a full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.

«Early this morning in Ukraine, Russian troops poured over the border, and Russian planes and missile launchers attacked Ukrainian cities and airports.» David Leonhardt wrote in The New York Times on February 24, 2022.

Do we see in this news that America has attacked Russia or is threatening its sovereignty? No. The aggressor country started hostilities on the territory of the independent democratic state of Ukraine.

Secondly, let’s consider the versions of how America could start or influence the start of the war with Russia on the territory of Ukraine. And is it true that the expansion of NATO is responsible for the start of the war in 2022.

 

Opinions of experts

John M. Owen IV is a Miller Center faculty senior fellow and a professor in UVA’s Department of Politics.

“Whose fault is the Russo-Ukrainian war, then? It is a difficult business assigning blame for such a large and complex event. But if we are going to assign blame, we should begin with Putin. Not because he fears NATO, for that is a rational fear; his power and possibly his life are indeed at stake as the alliance comes toward Russia’s border. Rather, Russia’s president-for-life stands condemned simply for being a tyrant. Over the past two decades he has steadily dragged Russia back into despotism. He did not have to do that. But he did, and that is why today the approach of democracy has driven him to brutalize Ukraine. In the end, Putin’s tyranny caused him to start this war. The fault lies not in the West, but in himself.”

 

Zofia Stemplowska is a Polish-British Professor of Political Theory at the University of Oxford’s Department of Politics and International Relations.

“However, blaming someone does not merely mean attributing to them causal responsibility for an outcome. It involves suggesting that things should have been done differently and that there are things to answer for. The reality is that western states do hold some blame for making the invasion possible, but not because of NATO enlargement. By buying Russian energy on Russian terms, western states have effectively facilitated corruption and authoritarianism inside Russia, strengthening Vladimir Putin’s regime despite its treatment of its neighbours.“

 

Ted Galen Carpenter* is senior fellow for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute.

«Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch a full‐scale invasion of Ukraine is a monstrous act of aggression that has plunged the world into a perilous situation. By any reasonable standard, his move was an over‐the‐top response to any Ukrainian or NATO provocations. However, that conclusion is different from saying that there were no provocations, as far too many policymakers and pundits in the West are doing now».

* Ted Galen Carpenter criticizes Ukraine as a country steeped in corruption, and the US government as a country that does not want to do everything to sit down at the negotiating table. Nevertheless, even he admits that this war is a monstrous act of aggression on the part of Russia.

 

Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš is Latvian Prime Minister.

«Putin was not driven by NATO but by the fact that Ukrainians had rejected a pro-Russian leader and demanded an end to corruption and a vibrant democracy that would integrate more closely with the Euro-Atlantic community. If Ukrainians succeeded in realizing those goals, Putin worried, Russians might demand the same. So he sought to upend the revolution, starting with Crimea’s annexation and then moving into the Donbas region, where Russian aggression is responsible for more than 14,000 deaths.»

 

Svante E. Cornell is a Swedish scholar specializing on politics and security issues in Eurasia, especially the South Caucasus, Turkey, and Central Asia.

«After Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, that NATO returned to its original focus on collective defense. The real reason for the deteriorating security situation in Europe — and most blatantly the Russian invasion of Ukraine — can be found in changes that have taken place within Russia itself, and most directly the increasingly imperialist worldview of the Russian leadership.

If a kindred Slavic and Orthodox country like Ukraine developed into a functioning democracy, this could pull the rug out from under Putin’s project. If Ukraine showed that something better was possible, why should Russians be content with living under an authoritarian and corrupt regime? Putin needs to bring Belarus and Ukraine into the “Russian world,” by force if necessary. This, rather than NATO enlargement, is what the war in Ukraine is about.»

 

Conclusions

NATO and America should not be blamed for the war with Russia on the territory of Ukraine. It is clear that each country acts to achieve its own external goals. But in the situation with the Russian-Ukrainian war, the culprit is obvious: the annexation of Crimea and parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, almost a year of full-scale war, terrorist attacks targeting the civilian population, murders and torture, intentional damage to the civilian electricity infrastructure.

Russia, with narratives in the style of Tomislav Sunic, is looking for supporters of the regime within the Balkan Peninsula. But is this pro-Russian propaganda successful?

On January 17, 2023, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic commented on attempts to recruit his citizens through social networks for the war in Ukraine in a broadcast by the Belgrade-based Happy TV:

«Why do you, from Wagner, call anyone from Serbia when you know that it is against our regulations?».

Therefore, the government of Serbia and the people remain on the side of the Ukrainians. In a war that was definitely not started by America by attacking Russia.

P.S. In the article «I believe in the mystical power of Russia!» Tomislav Sunic emphasized his preference for «traditional» values: «I am glad that President Putin has now taken traditional values under legal protection. I am not in favor of repression against anyone, but we must protect the family and traditions.» It is worth noting that the head of the Russian State Duma Committee on Family, Women and Children, Nina Ostanina, announced the cancellation of the postponement of mobilization for parents with three children. In this way, Putin «protects» family values in Russia. This shows that his main goal is to conquer Ukraine at any cost, and the immediate future of Russia, filled with orphans and incomplete families, does not bother him.

 

Viktoriia Riepka