Russia Demands that the West Stop Arming Ukraine
On July 11-July 12, 2023, NATO and G7 countries published new formal security guarantees for Ukraine. However, these guarantees did not fulfill Ukraine’s much-coveted desire of receiving full-blown NATO membership.
These declarations were issued at the Vilnius summit, and included promises to establish “a sustainable force capable of defending Ukraine now and deterring Russian aggression in the future” by continuing to supply modern military equipment, training for Ukrainian forces, and intelligence sharing.
The G7 further promised “to create the conditions conducive to promoting Ukraine’s economic prosperity” including via recovery efforts, which requires “the need for the establishment of an international mechanism for reparation of damages, loss or injury caused by Russian aggression.”
However, Ukraine must undergo “necessary reforms” toward establishing democracy in the meantime.
The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had the most decisive and optimistic rhetoric about security guarantees for Ukraine, labeling them as a “significant international framework for Ukraine’s long-term security,” which would “set out how allies will support Ukraine over the coming years to end the war and deter and respond to any future attack.”
“Supporting their progress on the pathway to NATO membership, coupled with formal, multilateral, and bilateral agreements and the overwhelming support of NATO members will send a strong signal to President Putin and return peace to Europe,” Sunak added.
Russian authorities replied by warning that Ukraine will pay a “high price” for these kinds of security guarantees.
“The price of security guarantees from the Group of Seven (G7) is a Ukraine cleared of Ukrainians by Western weapons,” Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova declared on July 12.
Previously, Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov was concerned about the G7’s security guarantees, declaring that Ukraine “will not believe in them until it finds out what their price is.”
“The price is not a secret: a Ukraine cleared of Ukrainians by Western weapons but with enough population left to serve NATO troops. There is no need to deport anyone to Western Europe any more because people have moved there themselves,” Zakharova posted on Telegram.
Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the guarantees as “erroneous and dangerous” due to the breach of Russia’s security interests. He subsequently criticized NATO as an “offensive alliance” that is aggressive in nature.
Indeed, Ukraine is a mere pawn for the Collective West. It’s being used as a vehicle to destabilize Russia by drawing it into a protracted struggle with the Collective West.
However, there are limits to this strategy. Russia is a nuclear power after all. Should it feel that it’s being existentially threatened, it will go nuclear — a horrifying prospect if there ever was one.
The best way to avoid such a fate is to stop military aid to Ukraine.
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