Ukraine declared war on Russia in March, 2021, and people should stop ignoring this.
People keep saying that NATO is not an issue, and that Putin is using an imagined NATO threat as a pretext for war. But in March 2021, Zelenskyy signed an executive order (known broadly as the Crimea Platform) to “deoccupy” the Donbas, Crimea, and Sevastopol (Home of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet), by military means if necessary, and the document’s outlined strategy included obtaining NATO membership… something that Zelenskyy’s administration previously said would trigger an attack from Russia.
Putin has mentioned this executive order in his speeches, but our leaders and their talking heads keep ignoring this integral part of the war.
Zelenskyy has even gone as far as threatening to arm Ukraine with nuclear bombs if we don’t expedite Ukraine’s NATO membership. His justification for this political blackmail: Repeating the false claim that since Ukraine gave up their nuclear weapons, we are obligated to defend their territory, and if we won’t, they should nuke up. But no such agreement was made in the Budapest Memorandum. The agreement was that we would seek assistance and action, from the United Nations Security Council, if Ukraine is ever threatened with *nuclear* weapons.
https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%203007/Part/volume-3007-I-52241.pdf
Since this EO was issued, instigators, spectators, and backers of war have been doing all they can to frame Russia as the aggressor, done all they can to convince our leaders to launch a preemptive first-strike, and done all they can to provoke, dare, and double-dare Russia into launching a preemptive first-strike of their own.
Zelenskyy’s March 2021 EO was a declaration of war against Russia, and Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba doubled down on it, as he stood shoulder to shoulder with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in January, and said that the “conflict” with Russia won’t end until Russia abandons the Donbas, Crimea, and Sevastopol.
As far as why Zelenskyy would make such a bold declaration… that’s a good question, well worth exploring.
The United States should disavow Ukraine’s Crimea Platform, and condemn it as a threat to global peace.
Our leaders and their talking heads keep ignoring these provocations, on Ukraine’s part, that triggered the current war. Zelenskyy’s EO was a violation of international law, and we should not be supporting Ukraine in a war that they started. Instead of beefing up Ukraine’s military, rewarding their bad behavior with NATO membership, and further emboldening escalations, we should be encouraging Zelenskyy to negotiate for resolution and peace, and to learn to get along with Russia peaceably. We should also acknowledge and address Russia’s legitimate security concerns.
A neutral Ukraine is the only path to peace, and anything else moves us closer to a global war.
Recommended:
“Why is the Biden Administration Pushing Ukraine to Attack Russia?” By Ron Paul
UPDATE: Two days after this post was published, Russia launched an attack against Ukraine, while simultaneously conducting a military intervention in the Donbas. Russia’s president described the military operation as a preemptive measure taken to prevent having to go to war with NATO.
Zelenskyy should abandon the Crimea Platform and rescind his declaration of war, before he gets more of his people killed.