I was unaware of, or had forgotten about, the Russian ultimatum of December 2021, but the Americans would have no choice but to reject it. NATO is a defensive alliance, and the US by itself has no authority to effect “NATO’s withdrawal from Eastern Europe.” What happened is this: in the 1990s, given a window of opportunity, nearly every nation in eastern Europe, the Baltics, and the Balkans clamored to qualify for and join Western institutions -- namely, the EU and NATO. They did this not to threaten Russia, but to seek guarantees against any future Russian aggression. As it turns out, they were quite right to do so, as Russia proceeded to attack and occupy parts of Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine, none of them NATO members. So, for any member state to leave NATO would not be a matter for the US to decide. The ultimatum you refer to was likely illogical. Again, nobody in NATO -- whether long-standing member states or new members -- has ever had any desire to threaten Russia; in fact, in the 1990s, there was substantial cooperation between NATO and Russia. Remember, in different eras both Napoleon and General Guderian, despite having superior forces, failed to take Moscow. The last person to try, Yevgeny Prigozhin, ended up getting thrown out of an airplane. Why would NATO seek to threaten Russia? On the other hand, all of eastern Europe has been subjected to Russian imperialism at different periods of time for centuries. Why would Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have “started anyway”? The Donetsk People’s Republic you refer to is an invented puppet state propped up by the Russian military. I would be in favor of a fair referendum in Donetsk and Luhansk (and Crimea) asking the resident populations whether they preferred to remain in Ukraine or join Russia, conducted by objective international agencies and with all Russian troops withdrawn to ensure that people felt free to vote honestly. And please don’t tell me that there have already been referendums, with 99.9% of the people choosing to leave Ukraine and join Russia. These were obviously fabrications. Yes, Russia has a very good alternative -- withdraw all forces from Ukraine and cooperate internationally to rebuild Ukraine (and those parts of Russia that have been damaged). When you say you support the actions of your “heroes” in Ukraine and “wish them victory,” I hate to tell you, but there will be no victory for Russia, any more than there will be a US victory over Iran. What you are saying is, you wish the bloodshed to continue: you wish for thousands more Russians and Ukrainians to die needlessly. And for this, well, I have no response.
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