Ukraine’s receipt of US anti-tank missiles over the weekend is just the latest in a large package of lethal US arms they intend to acquire. Getting the missiles means staying on the Trump Administration’s good side, and that’s informing seemingly unrelated policies.
Most specifically, Ukraine’s chief prosecutor has frozen all cooperation with Robert Mueller’s investigation of President Trump. Officials readily confirm this is policy, saying that they want to avoid “irritating” Trump Administration leaders who would have a say in arms deals.
It is more than just avoiding irritation though. In reality, the Ukrainian government believes, likely correctly, that they can curry favor with President Trump by backing him on the internal morass of the Mueller investigation.
Ukraine’s involvement at all in such an investigation is relatively peripheral, relating to investigations of Paul Manafort’s ties to Ukraine’s pro-Russian opposition. Still, the whole investigation is providing an opportunity for Ukraine to offer a “pro-Trump” stance by obstructing this aspect of the inquiry.
Most worryingly is what Ukraine is liable to do with the US arms they’re securing. The near term goal is clearly to restart the civil war against the breakaway eastern oblasts, with US anti-tank missiles and the like turning the tide of the battle.
Beyond that, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko and other top officials have been very clear that they envision a full-scale war with Russia erupting very soon. They are anticipating a Russian invasion starting World War 3. As they get bolder with their US-provided arms, Ukraine is liable to take bigger chances along the tense border with Russia, risking sparking such a war themselves.
To reunite Kosovo with Serbia is not similar or the same as reuniting Crimea with Ukraine, nor S. Ossetia [home of the ancient Scythians] being reunited with ancient Georgia.
In fact, Kosovan’s case, history, demographics are so hugely different from that, say, of Bosnian Serbs wish to join Serbia or that of Quebec, Catalonia, Novorossiya of Ukraine, Idlb of Syria, Rojava of Syria, Chechnya, Dagestan, Tibet, Xinjian, Kashmir, Turkish Kurdistan……
Eg, ‘legally’ [by conquests of Kosovo, subjugation of its people] Kosovo belongs to Serbia.
But that has happened also to Crimea, Bosnia, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Hawaii, Ossetia, Dagestan, N. Ireland, Alsace, Czechia, Tibet, Chinese Turkestan [Xinjian], Palestina, Syria…
But i am against interethnic solutions by wars] or use of past conquests as a justification in keeping land grabbed from other peoples.
Most countries are the result of grab and re-grab, then re,re, re-grab of territories. Or amalgamation of formerly independent feudal possessions, that were independent only as far as snyone’s span of control allowed. Then whole countries and territories were sold and bought, colonized and appropriated, or kept in debt dependency. Ukraine is a debt dependency now, and its domestic and foreign policies are not their own. If US wants a war with Russia, there will be war between Ukraine and Russia. US does not care how Ukrainians live or die, they are a far away colony with no authority of their own. Twice before Ukrainian Army was on a brik of collapse, and twice EU jumped in to save their hide. Minsk I and II.
All the examples you mentioned are a random collection of the disorder in global relations. Hence, evrryone is entitled to their own truth, collective enforcement of internstional law — however weak — abandoned by the strong. Kosovo is the canary in the mine. Its fate, predicting the future of mankind under imperial West design. There is nothing right or wrong in any piece of earth belonging to a formally recognized sovereign country. Right or wrong are only considered when it comes to the quality of life. Kidovo was, for example an entity with full rights and equality within common country. That did not mean being priviedged. Kosovo became powder keg when it became clear that NATO countries would support armed secession. In my view, anybody that takes up arms against their neighbors, is not entitled to independence. Sovereignty has to mean something, so does territorial integrity. In the case of Ukraine, rogue street armed gangs took control of the Parliament, and started passing laws that took fights away from their citizens. In such cases, when a revolutionary government takes power by force, any region is entitled to claim independence, as the revolution means rejection of existing laws or international treaties. To pretend that Ukraine was a legitimate state with legitimate borders, was a theater. Also, all subsequent elections never had ballot boxes in areas where the coup rulers knew they would lose. So, Crimea — that was taken by an administrative decree, was by referendum returned to Russia. Both Ossetia and Abkhazia were invorporated into Georgia illegaly, as Georgia took entities that in the case of secession had the right of self-determination. Laws, principles, history, justice to all people — all abandoned by the West in the pursuit of barbaric instincts of self-pleasing and the rush of andrenaline that comes with “winning”. If we were to trash international law, let’s not then pretend we are protectkng it when it suits our interests. The West has lost its reputation by not being principled, and only suporting law when its interests are involved. While Kosovo never had a referendum held — it is OK to ditch jnternational law and declare independence. Crimea voted in a referendum, it was only restoring its rights violated by Ukraine, and under conditions of a coup, and in seeking security. No violence took place. But this is not OK. The problem is -/ destruction of international law, and selective enforcement. Decades of post-war understandings have been lost. And by countries who claim to protect that order.