Note: I have no opinion on whether what the Russian military spokesman said in his recent remarks, discussed by Doctorow below, are true or untrue. But I think it’s important that we know what he said. – Natylie
In recent days, in what is surely a coordinated action by NATO and European authorities acting hand in glove, Russian news broadcasters have been taken off servers in Europe and effectively made inaccessible to the entire European public. This modern day “jamming” concerns not just RT or Sputnik, the best known state owned voices of Russia because they broadcast in English and other languages that we all know, but virtually every news outlet based in Russia, public and privately owned, and broadcasting in the Russian language.
In this regard, EU Member States are waging an Information War of greatest significance that is absolutely not mentioned, let alone discussed in Western media, whether mainstream or otherwise. The victim is the European public, which, if bad turns to worse, will not know what hit them and why when cruise or hypersonic missiles descend on NATO bases or infrastructure. This enforced silence prevents Western civil society from taking any steps to save its own neck in what have become wartime conditions on the Continent.
The blockage is not uniformly enforced at all times, so that some Russian print and video producers can be accessed at one moment or another before going black.
In particular, one vitally important 3.30 minute video of Russian military spokesman Igor Konoshenkov yesterday and this morning remains accessible on youtube. I will detail below what he was saying, because the messenger and the message concern whether you and I will live to see another day.
Konoshenkov’s points in this video were the following:
1) Russia has now destroyed the entire Ukrainian air force that remained within the confines of Ukraine
2) There are also Ukrainian fighter jets that left the country and are now parked in Romania and other neighboring countries. If these planes are allowed by local authorities to take off from Romania, etc. and enter Ukrainian air space, Russia will consider the country from which they took off as a co-belligerent and will take appropriate action against them. The subtext is that Russia is ready to make missile strikes against NATO airfields that transgress the rules of war.
3) Russia is now about to destroy all military industrial complex factories in Ukraine and has formally warned all employees of these factories to leave the premises and stay away
4) Russia has received documentation from Ukrainian health authorities on the production of biological weapons (anthrax, Siberian plague and much more) by Ukrainian labs in Kharkiv and elsewhere in cooperation with the United States. Stocks of such weapons were being stored in direct violation of international conventions. On 24 February, in advance of the start of Russia’s ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine, the Ukrainian health authorities destroyed these illicit biological weapons. However, Russia has obtained the official documentation certifying this destruction of what should never have been there. Moscow is now studying this documentation, which indicates United States participation in the development of the biological weapons and will publish the incriminating documents, starting from yesterday.
(Note: Victoria Nuland of the State Department testified about this yesterday before congress, acknowledging that biolabs did/do exist in Ukraine)
U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland says Washington is working with Ukraine to prevent biological research facilities from falling into Russian hands. She just confirmed every conspiracy theory about the existence of those labs. pic.twitter.com/ynkd7hW6iK
5) Russia has also obtained documentation proving that Ukraine, in cooperation with the United States, was since the presidency of Petro Petrushenko, actively developing nuclear weapons, including “dirty” nuclear devices using readily available fuel from its reactors. Such activity was going on in the Zaporozhye nuclear plants, and it is very likely that the fire reported at a ‘training unit’ adjacent to an active reactor two days ago related to destruction of incriminating papers, if it was not otherwise a ‘false flag’ operation to allege a Russian attack on the power station, in violation of international law.
From this list, the most threatening to European peace in the immediate days ahead is point 2, regarding Ukrainian aircraft based outside of Ukraine and being assigned missions to fly back into Ukrainian air space to thwart Russia’s ongoing military offensive. This bears directly on the patently insane plans of Secretary of State Blinken to allow the Poles to transfer to Kiev, its stock of Soviet era MIGs for missions into Ukraine.
As regards American involvement in the illicit production of biological weapons and of dirty or other types of nuclear arms, we may expect very heated discussions in the United Nations and other forums in coming days.
In the context of the Russian recovery of incriminating documentation that exposes foreign aiders and abetters of Ukraine’s hoped for but not yet achieved production of weapons of mass destruction, it is entirely possible that this explains the sudden and unanticipated flight to Moscow of Israel’s President Bennett two days ago for urgent consultations with President Putin. So far accusations of foreign participation are directed solely against the United States.
The link to Konoshenkov’s briefing yesterday afternoon (only in Russian language):
An article in the Jerusalem Post is reporting that sources familiar with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s recent visit with Putin say that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are more difficult for Ukraine than president Zelensky is letting on even to his western handlers. Reportedly, Zelensky has been given essentially an ultimatum from Russia and if its terms are not met soon, then an intensified military assault will proceed:
Three days after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, the details are beginning to emerge. According to people who were privy to details about the meeting, the current situation is that Russia has offered a “final” version of its offer to end the crisis, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky needs to accept or decline.
The proposal was deemed “difficult” but not “impossible,” the sources said. It is worse than what Zelensky would have gotten before the invasion but “the gaps between the sides are not great.”
Putin ordered his forces to halt – and the command for a ceasefire to be enacted was given – in order to wait for Zelensky’s decision, the sources said.
If Ukraine’s president rejects the proposal, French President Emmanuel Macron’s assumption that “the worst is before us” is prone to happen. In that scenario, Putin will order his army to put the pedal to the metal and change the face of Ukraine.
Zelensky is torn, the sources said. On the one hand, he is enjoying immense popularity and has become the perfect Che Guevara. On the other hand, he knows full well what the Argentinian revolutionary and guerrilla leader’s end was.
Zelensky can fortify Ukraine’s independence but will have to pay a heavy price, the sources said. Assumptions are that he will be forced to give up the contested Donbas region, officially recognize the pro-Russian dissidents in Ukraine, pledge that Ukraine will not join NATO, shrink his army and declare neutrality. If he declines the proposal, the outcome may be terrible: thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of Ukrainians will die and there is a high probability that his country will completely lose its independence.
The basic outlines of this article seem to be reinforced by a change in Zelensky’s tone about NATO membership and his willingness to engage in “compromise” as well as other developments. In an interview with ABC News, Zelensky said he’d cooled on NATO: “I have cooled over the issue a long time ago after we understood that NATO is not prepared to accept Ukraine,” Zelenskiy said.
With respect to Russia’s currently stated demands, in addition to neutrality regarding NATO, Zelensky voiced a new willingness to discuss the acceptance of Crimea in Russia and the Donbas as independent:
“I think that items regarding temporarily occupied territories and pseudo-republics not recognized by anyone but Russia, we can discuss and find a compromise on how these territories will live on… What’s important to me is how the people in those territories who want to be part of Ukraine are going to live.”
Prior to Zelensky’s interview, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had publicly reiterated that Ukraine has no prospects of NATO membership in the foreseeable future. Furthermore, some EU nations – such as Germany and the Netherlands – are balking at the idea of Ukraine even joining the economic bloc. I’m not sure what else Zelensky needs to sober up and realize that the west doesn’t see Ukraine as a good risk for them outside of throwing weapons at them to prolong the killing with no real chance of victory.
It appears that nothing substantive came out of yesterday’s third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine. However, it was reported by Reuters yesterday that the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine will be meeting on Thursday for talks hosted by Turkey.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Congress has agreed on a $14 billion aid package for Ukraine that will entail funds for both military and humanitarian assistance. Amazing how quickly they can get this out the door while Americans are still waiting on a public option for healthcare and an increase in the minimum wage that has been sitting at a measly $7.25 an hour for 13 years. Priorities.
No-Fly Zone Maniacs
Hopefully the Ukraine conflict will get resolved quickly one way or another before the crazies have their way. My earlier post regarding the consequences of a no-fly zone were the result of alarming polls coming out in recent days in which a majority of Americans support a US/NATO no-fly zone over Ukraine. I think most of these people don’t really understand what that is. The reason they are supporting it is no doubt because the mainstream media is whipping up war frenzy and not educating readers/viewers on what exactly a no-fly zone is and means. Now we have a letter from “foreign policy experts” to the Biden administration requesting a “limited” no fly zone but that qualifier is virtually meaningless. Here is the key wording in their letter:
What we seek is the deployment of American and NATO aircraft not in search of confrontation with Russia but to avert and deter Russian bombardment that would result in massive loss of Ukrainian lives. This is in addition to the request from Ukrainian leaders for A-10 and MiG-29 aircraft to help Ukrainians defend themselves, which we also strongly support.
The signatories are composed of the usual ideological extremists on foreign policy in general and Russia policy in particular: Anders Aslund, Evelyn Farkas, Melinda Haring (Atlantic Council), Ret. Gen. Phillip Breedlove, Ian Brzezinski (son of Zbig) et al. Let’s hope the Biden administration ignores these lunatics and that mainstream media refrains from giving them a platform to push their insanity.
For what it’s worth, the Pentagon seems to be showing some sense. As I mentioned last week, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ruled out a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Today Pentagon spokesman John Kirby tweeted that the US did not think Poland’s idea to send fighter jets to Ukraine via the German Rammstein air base was a good idea at this time:
The prospect of fighter jets “at the disposal of the Government of the United States of America” departing from a U.S./NATO base in Germany to fly into airspace that is contested with Russia over Ukraine raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance. (3/4)
It is simply not clear to us that there is a substantive rationale for it. We will continue to consult with Poland and our other NATO allies about this issue and the difficult logistical challenges it presents, but we do not believe Poland’s proposal is a tenable one. (4/4)
The CIA, on the other hand, may not be so cautious. According to Scott Ritter’s posting within the past few hours, fighter jets are being funneled to Ukraine from an airfield in Romania:
Ukraine has established a “safe haven” airfield in Romania, probably in concert with CIA assistance. Ukrainian SU-27’s have taken refuge here, and sortie out, entering Ukraine through radar gaps over the Carpathian Mountains. The Polish Mig-29’s will likely deploy to Romania.
…Russia already has [become aware of this], and has warned Romania accordingly.
Russia’s Economic Measures
Meanwhile, Putin has signed a decree to ban the export out of Russia of certain products and raw materials – to be specified later – until December 31st. He also signed into law the proposed legislation for dealing with sanctions that I reported on last week, which included the ability to raise pensions and minimum wages, suspension of government inspections of small/medium businesses, and the regulation of pharmaceuticals, among other provisions.
This comes as WTO members are conferring to discuss the possibility of rescinding Russia’s favored nation status in the organization.
Pepsi, McDonalds, and Starbucks are the latest western companies to suspend operations in Russia. It was reported by Sagaar Enjeti at Breaking Points that many western companies are suspending operations, not for moral reasons or virtue signaling, but because sanctions have made it logistically impossible to continue operating at this time.
I’m very familiar with Andrei Kortunov and Fyodor Lukyanov, and to a lesser degree Ivan Timofeev. They are part of the foreign policy elite in Russia and have served at various times as advisors to the Kremlin. They are not traditionally anti-Putin, so I would not dismiss their reactions to Putin’s “special military operation” in Ukraine. – Natylie
No consultation: Putin’s solo path to war
Vladimir Putin appears to have acted without consulting others in launching Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Long-standing assumptions and historical grievances contributed over years to that development.
As the invasion of Ukraine grinds into its second week, many in Russia’s political and foreign-policy elites are scratching their heads over why President Vladimir Putin suddenly decided to abandon a tough diplomatic poker game with the West over NATO expansion – in which he held many cards – and veer into the uncharted territory of war and national isolation.
It may not be the first time a big power has launched an unprovoked attack on another country on false pretenses. But it’s remarkable that Mr. Putin appears to have consulted with almost no one before taking that fateful decision, leaving much of his own policy elite feeling blindsided. And how Russia’s government system, which does have at least some constitutional checks and balances, got to this point, where it appears to have failed so profoundly, is a question that some Russian political experts, particularly opposition-minded ones, are already asking out loud as they try to assess what happened along the way.
Russia has been a highly centralized and militarized autocracy for 1,000 years, and has long sought to protect itself by acquiring territory to serve as a buffer between itself and its outside enemies. But there were always controls, in the form of a czarist dynasty with a traditional aristocracy, or a Communist Party with a collegial Politburo, to moderate the behavior of the person at the top. The system created by Mr. Putin seems to have no effective counterbalances or moderating forces to his decision-making.
Afghanistan and Iraq
That contrasts with more recent examples. In 2002-03, the George W. Bush administration spent months trying to convince the world that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction before invading that country. When the USSR went into Afghanistan in 1979, a collective leadership composed of powerful players in the Politburo made the call.
But when Mr. Putin announced his rationale for war on Feb. 24, he did so with a long, rambling speech that followed a clearly stage-managed meeting of his Security Council. During it, he badgered and scolded members of that powerful body as if they were schoolchildren.
Some say Mr. Putin’s singlehanded grip over the government was inevitable from the time he came to power pledging to restore the “power vertical” after the 1990s, when Russia’s global standing and economy foundered. Others blame conflict with the West, which became intense after a pro-Western street revolt in Kyiv and Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, leading to a creeping militarization of Russian politics. They add that Mr. Putin’s isolation was deeply exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and his own apparent fear of contagion, sharply limiting his contacts with anyone beyond his close inner circle.
His long tenure may also have played a role.
“Putin has been in power for too long. I would compare that to a gradual, irreversible case of drug poisoning,” says Georgi Satarov, a former adviser to President Boris Yeltsin, who heads the anticorruption InDem Foundation in Moscow. “His aides have formed an information bubble around him, and he tends to believe only reports given to him by the FSB [security service]. Gradually he has formed a very specific view of himself, the world, and his place in it. And it is, a priori, a distorted image.”
Thousands of mainly urban, educated Russians have taken to the streets in recent days and signed petitions to express their dismay over the unprovoked attack on what has always been regarded as a fraternal country. Most average Russians, however, appear to be experiencing a rally-around-the-flag moment. That may explain a poll released a few days ago by the state-funded VTsIOM agency, which found that 68% supported the “limited military operation” against Ukraine, while 22% did not support it. The impact on Mr. Putin’s vaunted personal popularity rating is murkier. One poll, by the state-owned Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) found that it has surged from 60% to 71%, while a survey by the independent Levada Center puts it at 50-50 in major cities.
Meanwhile, there is a shocked silence from Russia’s large professional foreign-policy community. A few, including people known to have Kremlin access, say they had no idea that an invasion of Ukraine was in the works. They believed the military buildup on Ukraine’s border was meant to get the West’s attention and begin a diplomatic conversation over ending NATO expansion to the east and revising the security order in Europe. Andrei Kortunov, head of the prestigious Russian International Affairs Council, which is affiliated with the Foreign Ministry, told a British TV network, in a breaking voice, that he never believed that an invasion was possible.
Another top expert, Fyodor Lukyanov, head of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, which often advises the Kremlin, told the Monitor that he did not see this coming.
“I tended to interpret signs of war preparations as signs of sophisticated escalation games,” he says. “We underestimated the commitment of the Russian leadership to change the geopolitical and security environment, which they had played no role in forming and found unacceptable for a long time. When efforts to change it failed, they took this action.”
Alexei Konduarov, a former Soviet KGB major-general-turned-political-activist, says he is also in shock. “I never thought this could happen. It is sheer madness, and a personal disaster for Putin.”
He says Mr. Putin’s “transformation” happened after the 2014 annexation of Crimea, which Russians lauded.
“He never met with opposition,” Mr. Konduarov says. “Not when he waged war in Syria, amended the Russian Constitution, or ran for re-election. He got away with everything.”
Stanislav Shushkevich, the former president of Belarus who was replaced 26 years ago by Alexander Lukashenko, shares that perception. “Power is a drug,” he told the Monitor. “Just like [Mr. Lukashenko], he’s been in power too long, and with no democratic constraints, they forget about their state responsibilities.”
All roads now lead to Putin
Mr. Putin came to power in 2000, pledging to restore order after a disastrous post-Soviet decade and build a durable Russian-style democracy. In one of his recent speeches, he even revealed that he once asked United States President Bill Clinton if Russia could join NATO. (He said he did not get an encouraging response.)
In early years, Russia’s political system resembled a big, sprawling corporation with many influential players, and Mr. Putin was like the chairman of the board, says Nikolai Petrov, an expert with Chatham House in London. But that shifted over time.
“We gradually witnessed the construction of one single power pyramid to replace multiple ones, now directly subordinated to Putin,” he says. “The degree of personalization increased in a very direct way. Putin became the single source of legitimacy. He was increasingly less dependent on other players, whether they were regional leaders, corporate heads, government officials, politicians, or even security elites.”
Then came the pandemic, which Mr. Petrov says made things worse. “So, instead of people who might have given him useful advice, he became surrounded by close aides, bodyguards, and such. … Putin is a capable person, but he is the enemy of the internet, and his isolation has become extreme.”
History, too, looms large in Mr. Putin’s mind.
The Russian president has become obsessed with righting what he sees as historical wrongs, says Gleb Pavlovsky, a former Putin adviser-turned-critic, arguing that he has turned away from his earlier interest in state-building to drag Russia into a confrontation with the West that it cannot win.
***
Why Experts Believed an Armed Conflict with Ukraine Would Never Happen
Ivan Timofeev is a PhD in Political Science, RIAC Director of Programs, RIAC Member, Head of “Contemporary State” program at Valdai Discussion Club
Most experts, both in Russia and abroad, thought it was extremely unlikely and implausible that Russia would launch a full-scale military operation in Ukraine. Allegations that Moscow was preparing for something like this were laughed off, with this being labeled as another Russophobic campaign pushed by propagandists and radicals. However, it turned out on February 24 that the Russophobes had been right all along, while what the many analysts claimed, regardless of the side of the barricades, turned out to be wrong. How could this have happened?
Well, the experts were clearly aware of the would-be consequences that such a conflict could bear. They were wrong in what they were trying to forecast—still, they were correct in their assessments of these consequences. Even before the special operation was launched, it was clear that it would incur enormous damage to both Ukraine and Russia. Analysts took it as a given that understanding the immensity of this damage would be an argument good enough to thwart any demilitarization of Ukraine. However, while political analysts were correct in assessing the amplitude of possible consequences, they misjudged the attitudes of decision-makers. We made a mistake because we never made a mistake.
Let’s take, for example, a forecast I made on November 25, 2021, which is three months before Russia’s special operation was commenced. There were clear prerequisites for such a decision to be made, including: Russia’s experience of resorting to force, with the first incidence occurring in 2008; rather painless consequences of those campaigns; a growing dissatisfaction with the status quo under the Minsk agreements; and the fears that it was only a matter of time before military infrastructure of Western nations turned up on Ukrainian soil.
Yet, it seemed improbable and unlikely that Russia would resort to force, even after Moscow officially recognized the Lugansk and the Donetsk People’s Republics. In the article published on November 25, I outlined seven likely implications that a decision of this kind may have, with all of them becoming a reality in one form or another.
Implication 1. Prolonged conflict. The Russian Army has inflicted huge losses on the Armed Forces of Ukraine (the AFU). However, the AFU are concentrated in large cities, and entering them would entail significant military and civilian losses. In an urban setting, Russia’s technological and aerial superiority is neutralized. It is obvious that the Ukrainian leadership has recovered from the shock of the first few days of the operation, and any negotiations will give respite to the country’s Armed Forces. That is, Russia faces a difficult choice: 1) to sit down at the negotiating table, knowing that this will give the enemy a much-needed breather; or 2) to continue with the military action, which may well involve fighting in urban locales and, for that matter, entailing more losses.
Implication 2. The West is rallying around the cause of assisting Ukraine, with such assistance having been increased manyfold. Currently, the West is ruling out the option of an armed confrontation, but it will continue to provide substantial financial and military support to Ukraine. Russian troops are not in control of Ukraine’s western border, which means that weapons and military equipment can technically be delivered. These weapons may feature Soviet-era models from countries that used to be part of the Warsaw Pact—these weapons are more or less compatible with Ukrainian equipment—as well as those “Western” weapons that do not take much training (these could include man-portable air-defense systems and anti-tank guided missile complexes). The ranks of the AFU may be supplemented by volunteers from abroad. A respite would give Ukraine time to remilitarize, and moving on with the special operation would bring the same result, delaying its final success and increasing losses.
Implication 3. Russia’s diplomatic isolation. Moscow’s actions are clearly—and by default—branded as an act of aggression against a sovereign nation. The West’s stance on this issue is unequivocal and consolidated. Non-Western countries following suit or refraining from commenting on the situation. Few are willing to voice their support for Russia—doing so would far from alter the global narrative of the “Russian aggression”. Such countries are either isolated themselves or remain critically dependent on Russia. Global public opinion, as well as the media, are on Kiev’s side. And we are not talking exclusively about Western countries here.
Implication 4. Unprecedented sanctions against Russia. All the bravado concerning the sanctions and statements claiming that that they are barely affecting the country belie the reality. The economic blow has been swift and devastating—unlike, for example, the case of Iran, where restrictive measures were introduced gradually over a period of time. The goal is to destabilize the economy as quickly as possible. Over the past few years, the economic wing of the government has managed to put in place a sovereign financial infrastructure, which is resilient to external shocks. In the very least, electronic banking has not collapsed, while the Central Bank controls the situation with liquidity. However, the consequences of the sanctions will be severe, both in the short term and in long run, and these may include: inflation, rising import prices, possible interruptions in the import of goods, growing unemployment. In the medium-to-long run, Russia may well be ousted from the global markets for raw materials, weapons and food. This could be a drawn-out process, and those who initiated it would have to pay a hefty price themselves. In any case, politics has engulfed any economic rationality right now. Russia’s opponents are all too happy to exclude it from supply chains, even if it means taking a financial hit. Another issue is that foreign businesses are boycotting Russia and Russian products or suspending transactions with the country, which is going a step further than their own governments. What is more, many Western and non-Western companies have to abide by the requirements of U.S. sanctions, even if they do not operate in the U.S. jurisdiction. The long and short of this is that many commercial projects involving Russian companies have been suspended, whether partially or completely. What these factors mainly suggest is a reduction in the resource base of Russia’s economy as well as a drop in incomes and quality of life for ordinary citizens.
Implication 5. It is still difficult to say whether the Russian forces would be able to establish control over the Ukrainian territory, even if large contingents of the AFU are defeated. In fact, the current situation suggests how complicated the things are. Surrounding cities is tantamount to inviting humanitarian crises, as storming them would bring even more civilian casualties. Establishing control in these areas will be difficult even if Kiev surrenders, which is becoming less and less likely. Keeping a large country with a mostly hostile population in check is an incredibly difficult task.
Implication 6. The Ukrainian society appears to be banding together in the fight against Russia, regardless of the regional differences. While radical nationalism and Russophobia were once fringe views, they are now becoming ingrained in the country’s national identity. Civilian losses serve to encourage this process, too. Ordinary Ukrainians are actively involved in the resistance, getting their hands on weapons and ammunition. Armed civilians can play a decisive role in urban battles, as the case of Aleppo in Syria and similar confrontations has shown. No matter how Russia’s special operation ends, the Ukrainian society will continue to regard Russia as an enemy for decades to come.
Implication 7. The actions against Ukraine have revealed a division within Russia itself. The population is split into two camps—those who oppose the special operation and those who endorse it. The former protest Russia’s actions, feeing a sense of hopelessness and trying to deny what is taking place. However, we currently have no reliable sociological data on the real level of concern among the Russian population, nor the ratio of those in favor of the special operation to those who are against it. Simple surveys are of little use here, as we need an understanding of what stands behind people’s answers. This is where in-depth interviews and focus groups are useful. With all that said, there is no denying that people in Russia are deeply concerned about what is happening. On the other side, there are calls for “traitors” to be flushed out. This is extremely dangerous, as this could lead to an unchecked “witch hunt”—or, in extreme cases, show trials set up according to the “martial law.” All of this is unlikely to promote social cohesion. All the more so, as history has taught us, those who denounce the so-called “traitors” later become victims of the vigilante justice. The society may become even more divided, as economic consequences of the restrictive measures imposed against Russia are starting to make themselves felt. Historically, it has been unprotected social groups and the middle class who have suffered from sanctions—rather than the “oligarchs” or the “authorities.”
The consequences of a potential conflict that I predicted three months ago can now be supplemented with another two.
Afterthought 1. Moving towards a significant increase in NATO’s military presence in Eastern Europe. With a number of Western states blocking the airspace, the Kaliningrad Region can successfully be isolated from the rest of Russia. NATO is currently avoiding active engagement in the crisis. However, tensions between Russia and NATO will continue to grow regardless, including the issues pertaining to strategic deterrence. The threat of incidents and escalation to a full-fledged military conflict with NATO is growing, even though neither side wants this. The unfolding events would lead to a radical militarization of Eastern Europe. Russia will be dragged into another extremely costly arms race. As for the West, we can expect a significant increase in defense spending, initializing the modernization of the armed forces, and adopting other decisions that had previously been postponed until later. Another consequence is a possible remilitarization of Germany, with the country overcoming its post-war aversion to pursuing an active military policy, which would mean an emergence of a military powerhouse in proximity to the Russian border, one that has been fine-tuned to contain Moscow. An EU Army would appear, and it would specifically be focused to counter Russia.
Afterthought 2. Bullying and persecution of Russians abroad, especially in the nations of the West. The events have given rise to a high level of aggression, something that will be taken out on ordinary Russians—just because they are Russian.
What has Russia achieved with its Ukrainian campaign? It could postpone the issue of Ukraine formally joining NATO. This, however, will come at the cost of a complete militarization of Ukraine against Russia or having to control a country hostile to Russia and the Russians. The scale of NATO’s military build-up on Russia’s western borders is likely to devalue any control that Russia may be able to gain over Ukraine. We will be dealing with these consequences for decades to come.
Perhaps, one achievement of the special operation is the removal of a direct military threat to Donetsk and Lugansk, which have been on the front line for the past eight years, suffering huge civilian losses. But this has come at a price—death of many ordinary Ukrainians and a colossal damage to the country’s infrastructure. What is more, Moscow will fail in refuting the claims that the conflict began with its explicit or covert support. This means that legitimizing the operation will make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for Moscow to lay the blame for the eight-year-long conflict exclusively on the nationalists and Kiev.
The bottom line is that the costs far outweigh the benefits, which is what underlies our bleak assessment of the current scenario. This is why our original forecasts were wrong. After all, we were not wrong in our understanding of its consequences.
First of all, I would like to congratulate you all on the upcoming International Women’s Day and to wish you and your colleagues all the best. I will be able to address all women of Russia a bit later.
But I would like to say that the sector which we are talking about and where you work and with which you are affiliated employs over 70,000 women, including over 200 pilots and co-pilots, as well as flight attendants, of course, who are a special category and caste.
The people in Russia have always treated aviation with great respect and interest, especially for ladies in aviation. I think the first female Russian aviators emerged in the early 20th century, and they won a reputation for themselves during the Great Patriotic War. We know all those famous names of female aviation regiments and their combat record. Today, women work in all positions, including flight controllers, engineers, technicians, and I repeat once again, flight attendants and pilots. On the whole, this is a substantial female force that supplements the aviation sector’s male section.
I think that is all for opening remarks since it would be more useful and to the point if I answer your questions. So, let’s go over to that part now.
Once again, congratulations on the upcoming International Women’s Day.
Remark: Thank you.
Do you have any questions? Or shall we just have some tea?
Maria Kotova: We have questions.
Good afternoon, Mr President,
My name is Maria Kotova. I am the co-pilot of the Airbus A320 airliner operated by Aeroflot.
My question concerns the current situation in Ukraine. We all support your actions and the special operation underway there. Of course, the most important question that, one way or another, each of us has been asking ourselves lately is: why did this special operation begin? Could it not have been avoided?
In our minds, we understand and strongly support your actions, but as women we worry about our families and loved ones who live in Ukraine. We are aware that the civilians are not impacted. But still, we would like you to reassure us: what is in store for us at the end of this road? What is the military operation in Ukraine supposed to end with?
Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: I will provide a brief overview and start, as they say in such cases, from the “centre of the field.” I mentioned this at the beginning of the operation and even before this decision was made, which was undoubtedly a difficult decision to make.
What is this about? The fact of the matter is that after the anti-constitutional coup in Ukraine, which was, unfortunately, strongly supported by Western countries… Let us face it. They are not hiding the fact that they spent US$5 billion on it, handing out cookies on Maidan and so on. And then, instead of bringing the situation back on track, even if it spiralled out of control, even if it was what is known as an excessive act – there is such a legal concept, that is, they planned one thing, but did another. Anyway, they could and should have brought this situation back onto the political track. Moreover, right before the coup, three foreign ministers came to Kiev in 2014, signed an agreement with the incumbent authorities and acted as guarantors of these agreements to the effect that the situation would remain within the political track.
Nothing of the kind. They carried out a coup d’état and supported the perpetrators. Then followed the well-known events related to Crimea and southeastern Ukraine, Donbass, whose residents refused to support the coup.
As you know, Crimea made a decision, people came to the referendum and voted to once again become part of the Russian Federation. Naturally, we could not but support this, all the more so since they were threatened by nationalists and neo-Nazis. There is a great deal of evidence that they were right.
Later on, or practically in parallel, events started in Donbass. What was the outcome? People who began to resist these developments were persecuted. The Kiev authorities started conducting military operations on that territory. They conducted two large-scale punitive operations with the use of heavy weapons and combat aircraft. They attacked Donetsk directly with tanks and bombed its squares from aircraft.
Both military campaigns failed. They sustained defeat. This was followed by the emergence of the so-called Minsk Agreements or the Package of Measures, to use its official name. They showed the way to a peaceful settlement of this conflict. And we did everything we could to let the developments follow in this vein to restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity and protect the interests of the people who live on these territories.
And what did they demand? Basic things: the right to speak their mother tongue, this is the Russian language, and follow their traditions and culture. There were no special demands. Nothing special.
But no. These territories were put under siege and switched off from the banking system, food supplies and payments of pensions and other benefits. Sometimes, some handouts were thrown in. But to receive those benefits and pensions people had to cross the delimitation line.
Now listen carefully. Maybe this will sound rough but the situation compels me to say such things. You see yourselves that stray dogs attack people in different regions. They injure and even kill people (this is a separate problem and the local authorities must deal with it). Then we see how these dogs are poisoned and shot dead. But, look, people in Donbass are not stray dogs. From 13,000 to 14,000 people have been killed over these years. Over 500 children were killed or mutilated.
But what is most intolerable is that the so-called civilised West preferred to turn a blind eye to these events during all these years. Over eight years!
Moreover, recently the Kiev authorities began to say bluntly that they are not going to fulfil these agreements. They are saying this from TV screens and online. They are saying on the record: “We don’t like them, we won’t do anything.”
Meanwhile, Russia continued to be accused of failing to fulfil these agreements. This is simply nonsense, the theatre of the absurd: the white is called black and the black is called white.
It has been getting worse lately. Suddenly, there has been renewed talk about admitting Ukraine to NATO. Actually, it has been on for a long time, but has intensified lately. Do you understand what this could lead to or even can still lead to? If Ukraine is a NATO country, then in accordance with the North Atlantic Treaty, all other members must support that country in the event of a military conflict.
No one is recognising Crimea as a part of Russia, except for you and me. They carry out military operations in Donbass, and they will also move into Crimea, and we will have to fight with the entire NATO organisation. Do you see what that means?
Are the consequences clear enough? I think that everyone understands.
Now they are talking about gaining a nuclear status, that is, acquiring nuclear weapons. We cannot ignore such things either, especially because we know how the so-called West acts with regard to Russia. First, Ukraine has had nuclear competencies since the Soviet times. As far as enrichment and nuclear materials are concerned, they are capable of launching such projects. They have missile competencies. Suffice it to mention Yuzhmash – it created intercontinental ballistic missile equipment for the Soviet Union. They can boost it and do it. And they will also receive help with that from across the ocean. And then they will say that we do not recognise their nuclear status, that they did it themselves, and they will put these systems under control, and from that moment, from that very second, Russia’s future will change dramatically. From then on, our strategic adversaries would not even need to have intercontinental ballistic missiles. They would be able to keep us at the nuclear gunpoint, and that would be it.
But how can we let this go unnoticed? These are absolutely real threats, not some far-fetched nonsense. And our young men who are fighting there now are giving their lives, they are giving their lives to fight for our future, for the future of our children. This is a completely obvious thing.
People who do not want to understand this, especially among today’s leadership, must understand that if they continue to do what they are doing – I have already said this too – they will call into question the very future of Ukrainian statehood. And if this happens, it will be entirely on them.
What is happening now? I have already spoken about the goals we have identified.
The first is to protect the people who live in Donbass, of course. How? By demilitarising and denazifying Ukraine and giving it a neutral status. Why? Because a neutral country will not be planning on joining NATO. Right now, their Constitution says they are planning to join NATO. You understand, they included this in the Constitution.
What is meant by denazification? I have spoken with my Western colleagues about this: “So what? You also have radical nationalists.” Yes, we do, but we do not have people with extreme views in the Government. And everyone admits that they have them. Yes, maybe we have some idiots who are running around with the swastika, but do we support this at the government level? Do we have thousands of people parading with torches in Moscow or in our other regional capitals, with the swastika and with torches, like in the 1930s in Germany? Do we have this? But they do, and they support it. Do we support those who killed Russians, Jews, and Poles during the war? Do we hail them as heroes? But they do.
What is happening now is also very important. Look, foreign citizens have been taken hostage in Sumy and Kharkov – over 6,000 young people, students. They were driven to a railway station and have been kept there for three days. We told everyone about this and sent this information to the current leadership of Ukraine. “Yes, yes, of course, we will deal with it now.” We informed the leaders of major European countries about this. I spoke to them personally. “Yes, yes, we will influence them right now.” We told the UN Secretary-General about this: “Yes, yes, we will settle this problem now.” But nobody is doing anything about it.
They treat even worse those people whom they consider their own citizens. They are simply using them as a human shield.
This is taking place in Mariupol now as we are talking with you. They called us from the government, from Kiev and spoke with our military: “Provide humanitarian corridors so that people can leave.” Of course, our people responded instantly and even suspended hostilities. They looked at what was happening. Nobody was allowed out. Do you understand what they are doing? They do not let anyone leave but are using people as a human shield. Who are they? The neo-Nazis, of course.
We note the presence of militants from the Middle East and some European countries there. We know about them, we hear them in the air. They are using so-called Jihad mobiles – they stuff cars with explosives and drive them towards the troops. But they fail to achieve anything and they won’t reach their aims.
Who are they if not neo-Nazis? It is by these actions that they are destroying their own country and their statehood.
Therefore, one of our key demands is demilitarisation. In other words, we are helping people, residents of Donbass to achieve a neutral status and demilitarisation of the country because we must understand clearly what weapons are there, where they are deployed and who controls them.
Different options are possible here. We are discussing them now, in particular, with representatives of the Kiev government during the talks in Belarus. We are grateful to President Lukashenko for organising this work and helping us conduct them. Our proposals are on the negotiating table. We hope a group of negotiators from Kiev will respond positively to them. This is more or less what I wanted to say. Let’s go on.
Yulia Shvidkaya: Yulia Shvidkaya, co-pilot with Aeroflot Airlines.
Good afternoon, Mr President.
I have a question about the current situation. The thing is that there are so many rumours about the possibility of martial law, the enlistment of volunteers, the call-up of reservists, and that the new conscripts will be sent to Ukraine.
Can you tell us precisely if martial law will be declared and if conscripts will be sent to Ukraine?
Vladimir Putin: Much of what is taking place now, of what we can see and what we come up against are methods of fighting Russia. Incidentally, the sanctions that are imposed on us are like a war. Thankfully, it has not got to that yet.
I think that our so-called partners understand what this can lead to and how much is at stake, despite their reckless statements, for example, like the statement made by the UK Foreign Secretary, when she blurted out that NATO could get involved in the conflict. And we immediately had to take a decision to put our deterrence forces on high alert.
Their reaction was instantaneous: they said that it was a misunderstanding. But nobody rebuffed her (the UK Foreign Secretary is a woman), and nobody has disavowed those statements. They could have told us something like, “You know, it’s her personal opinion, take no notice.” But nobody uttered a single word! What should we think about this? How should we regard it? Of course, we took that statement as a warning and acted accordingly.
And now I will answer your question about volunteers, conscripts, martial law and the like. Under the law, martial law is declared by a Presidential executive order, which should be approved by the Federation Council, in case of foreign aggression, in particular, in the zones of hostilities.
This is not the case now, and I hope it will not come to that. This is the first point.
Second, about the state of alert. There are several options: martial law or the state of alert, which is also declared by a presidential executive order and approved by the Federation Council in case of large-scale internal threats.
There is also the state of emergency. It is usually declared in a specific region or throughout the country in the event of manmade disasters, natural disasters, etc. Thankfully, this is not the case either.
We are not planning to declare a state of alert on the territory of the Russian Federation. There are no such plans and no necessity for this now.
Yes, we see that attempts are being made to stir up our society. Incidentally, this is further proof of what I have said – that we are dealing not with ordinary radicals but with neo-Nazis. Our people can freely express their opinions of what they like or do not like about our actions in Ukraine. But in Ukraine those who express views such as members of the so-called liberal part of our society do are grabbed on the street and shot. We have proof of that. Our security services are collecting this information and will provide it later on. They are simply shot dead. In our country, some of our liberal intellectuals hold protest rallies, but those who say similar things about Russia in Ukraine are simply executed straightaway, without charge or trial.
Now, about the martial law. To reiterate, it is usually imposed in case of an external aggression, a military threat. I hope this will not happen, despite irresponsible statements by certain officials.
We are hearing voices that a no-fly zone should be imposed over Ukraine. It is impossible to do this in Ukraine. It can only be done from the territory of neighbouring states. However, we will consider any move in this direction as participation in the armed conflict of the country from whose territory a threat to our servicemen is created. We will consider them participants in hostilities that very second. Their membership in any organisation will not matter then. So, I hope the understanding of this is there and it will not come to this, either.
Only professional servicemen – officers and contract soldiers – are taking part in this operation. There are no conscripts, and we are not planning to get them involved. To reiterate, only men who made a very responsible voluntary choice to take part in this operation and to defend their Motherland are participating in this operation. They are carrying out this mission honourably. In my answer to your first question, I provided the reason why this is so and why we are entitled to say this.
The same applies to those who are called up to the training camps. We do not plan to do this with this category, either. They are regularly called up to training camps. They were called up before and they will be called up afterwards. But we are not going to have this category participate in this conflict, in this operation. We have enough forces and means to address the tasks that we have set for ourselves with the use of the professional army.
By the way, speaking of the operation itself I know there are many speculations about it. Frankly, I have no time to get into that, but they report to me that there is much chitchat about what is going on. All analysts are seeing what is happening, so I will not reveal any secret to you. We could have acted in a variety of ways. We could simply (by the way, this answers your question, in part) help the republics of Donbass right on the line of contact, at the frontline, so to say, and simply reinforce them with our army. But in this case, the other side, I mean reckless support for nationalists and radicals coming from the West, would have provided endless support with the material resources, ammunition, equipment, and so on.
Therefore, our General Staff and the Defence Ministry took a different road. The first thing they did was destroy all the military infrastructure. Not completely but most of it: arms and ammunition depots, aircraft and air defence systems. Destroying air defence systems takes some time (you are civilians, yet you are connected with aviation) – they must be identified and then hit. This work has been practically finished. Hence the demand to impose a no-fly zone. However, doing so would have tremendous and disastrous consequences not only for Europe but also globally. I think those on the other side who are not completely at sea understand that.
That is why we chose that road, and it turned out to be absolutely correct. Our servicemen are working without haste and are doing everything to ensure the safety of civilians. Unfortunately, those bandits, neo-Nazis do not spare people. They shoot dead even their own service personnel who do not want to offer armed resistance. We know about such facts, too. Nationalists, Banderites, neo-Nazis – it is hard to call them anything else – shoot their own servicemen. These nationalists were put in nearly every military unit, up to several dozen in each, and they act in exactly that cruel way.
But I repeat that we are not engaging and are not going to engage conscripts or reservists in this military operation. I presume that our army will fulfil all the tasks it is facing, and I do not have the slightest doubt about that. The very course of the operation proves that. It is going according to schedule, and everything is being done according to the General Staff’s plan.
As for volunteers and those young people who come to military recruiting stations, we are grateful to them for this patriotic impulse and the desire to support the country and the Armed Forces. The very fact of their coming does matters, for sure. However, their assistance is not needed for now, and I believe it will not be needed.
I am turning to the cameras so that they will see and hear me say, “Thank you.”
