The Honorable Barrack Obama President of the United States
Dear Mr. President: Best intentions do not lead always to desired results. Such is the case with sanctions that we have been imposing thus far, intended to stem Russian aggression in Ukraine. The most recent imposed against seven Russian separatists in Ukraine are a striking example. The seven sanctioned are all deserving candidates, yet while they may be part of the current problem, they are not part of the solution. These individuals are essentially hired thugs for whom killing or the likelihood of being killed is a daily proposition. Denial of entry into theUnited Statesor freezing their assets, if any, here is as irrelevant asUkraine's President's recent proposal for dialogue with them.
The major weakness of a hired thug is the deprivation of means to carry out his aggression. Sanctions should be imposed in this direction, meaning that what is needed are sectoral sanctions against the source. These sanctions, if effective, must make it so uncomfortable or costly for the means supplier and, in this case, the ultimate aggressor, to compel it to choose between its own relatively comfortable viability and its desire to be an empire. President Putin may be the director in this scenario, but even his personal financial circumstances, which in realty we can affect very little, pale by his political ambitions as the czar of a renewed Russian empire. Thus, the imperialistic rogue state of theRussian Federationmust be the object of our sanctions. Anything else will be a delusion and may result in catastrophe.
Just prior to the Ukrainian presidential election you, Mr. President, made it clear that sectoral sanctions would be imposed if Russia tried to disrupt the election. In fact, specifically, your spoke persons referred to Russia's sector targets such as Russian finance, defense and technology, utilizing a scalpel rather than a hammer which would affect the Russian economy in general. Well, the Ukrainian election took place with much democratic success despite Russian efforts to effect the contrary. However, no election took place in Crimea. More than half the election precincts in both the Donetsk and Luhansk regions were not functional.Russiastaged separatist demonstrations against the elections on election day in some of the eastern cities like Kharkiv, but the local population did not come out. In Kharkiv a city of 1.5 million less than 500 showed at the pro Russia event.
It seems that we went back on our warning of sectoral sanctions not because Russia behaved, but despite Russia's efforts. Russia tried to disrupt, but failed. Putin's rhetoric cannot be considered credible and Russia should not have been rewarded for its failure. Our reluctance to make good on our reprimands was seen by Russia as weakness or a lack of determination. Almost immediately following the election, Russia brought in its heavy artillery. Russian surrogates now are not supplied simply with Russian hand weaponry, but with tanks and armored vehicles.
Mr. President, similarly toRussia' s hired tugs inDonetskand Luhansk, the leaders inMoscowand especially, President Putin, understand only strong resolve and defer only to fear and pain. Ukraine is not asking us to fight its battles. It's merely requesting assistance in the form of nonlethal military aid and tangible sanctions which would serve as a deterrent to Russian aggression.
We, more than any other country, have listened toUkraine, but have proceeded on our own trajectory with essentially strong rhetoric, but largely meaningless sanctions. Perhaps we are being led astray by our European allies who are proceeding much more deliberately, with personal interests in mind. Our role should not be to follow Europe's example, but to lead the Europeans by our example.
Russian aggression in Ukraine has fallen short of a full scale invasion. However, that remains a very real possibility. At that point it will be too late for sectoral sanctions. Even if we dismiss the moral factor of supporting a just and democratic cause, we must be mindful of a possible direct and mass invasion of Ukraine by Russia which will compel our own boots on the ground if only to stand by our NATO allies next door. This is how global conflicts germinate. When good people fail to act, the bad ones are emboldened.
My understanding is that in conjunction with the most recent sanctions, we are talking currently with our European allies about imminent sectoral sanctions against Russia. Please expedite these talks and proceed to tangible action, not only for the sake of the Ukrainian people, but for the sake of our NATO allies and their right to live in freedom. Today's Ukrainian problem is not strictly Ukrainian. It is a global issue.
Respectfully,
Askold S. Lozynskyj a concerned Ukrainian-American
