The NATO expansionism argument debunked

The hard right talking points on the Russian invasion of Ukraine have long been the NATO expansionism argument.

This is absolute NONSENSE. The last move by NATO that could be considered expansionist was in 2004 when Estonia joined the alliance. When the USSR dissolved in 1991 and Ukraine gained independence, there was no intent for it to join NATO. The only time it was put on the table was when Russia broke the Budapest Memorandum and annexed Crimea.

It was RUSSIA who broke the agreement NOT Ukraine. It is worthy of note however, the US and the UK reneged too, when they failed to come to the defense of Ukraine under the terms of the agreement. They sighted that an ‘assurance’ was not a guarantee. This was of course under the Obama administration.

It is simply not true that Putin was concerned about NATO expansionism at that time. His ambition was purely to reunite the Soviet Union. He could not do that without Ukraine. So he set about destabilizing the government with his ‘little green men’ strategy. The same strategy he has also used in Africa, Latin America and Syria.

In an essay in 2021, Putin uses it to reiterate his frequently voiced conviction that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people,” while blaming the current collapse in bilateral ties on foreign plots and anti-Russian conspiracies. Sound familiar? These were the same MAGA talking points also promoted by the new Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.

In one particularly foreboding section, he openly questions the legitimacy of Ukraine’s borders and argues that much of modern-day Ukraine occupies historically Russian lands, before stating matter of factly, “Russia was robbed.” He goes on to suggest that Ukrainian statehood itself ultimately depends on Moscow’s consent, stating, “I am confident that true sovereignty of Ukraine is possible only in partnership with Russia.” This is a link to the full essay : http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/66181

This has never been about NATO expansionism, it’s about his own imperial ambitions. Ukraine was just the next natural step. This is precisely why he simply cannot be trusted when it comes to NATO countries on his border. It is NOT fear mongering to say he will look next to the Baltic states.

Poland is very awake to the threat and has made huge investments in its military. Trump didn’t have to press Poland to increase spending, they were already ahead of him.

It is absolutely imperative that we DO NOT fall for the current Kremlin talking points. This is made all the worse because Trump has already fallen for them hook line and sinker, and this is where the real threat comes from. Putin desperately needs Trump to get him a ceasefire because his economy is on the brink of collapse and his military is bogged down against a hardened Ukrainian army.

The whole deck of cards is in the hands of the global village idiot, who has now become Putin’s useful idiot. He needs time to regroup and needs sanctions lifting too. Putin sees mineral rights as the key to get what he wants. Never in the history of the USSR did the Kremlin have an asset even near the Oval Office, let alone one sat behind the Resolute Desk. Nikita Khrushchev would be beside himself with joy right now.

It is absolutely imperative that Zelenskyy does NOT sign off on mineral rights, or agree to a ceasefire, without cast iron security GUARANTEES, not just ‘assurances’. In addition, he surely must insist on a military aid package as part of any agreement. This will then give Europe time to realign its military industrial base, and start expanding capacity to manufacture and meet the needs of any new military force.

Prime Minister Starmer’s pilgrimage to the White House is taking on a critically important role of ensuring he conveys Europe’s preparedness to do this alone if the need arises.

These are indeed challenging times.