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ENEMY AT THE GATE OR ESCALATION AT THE BORDER AND THE UKRAINE-US-NATO INTERACTION

11:41, 14-го квітня 2021 · Джерело: institutedd.org

ENEMY AT THE GATE OR ESCALATION AT THE BORDER AND THE UKRAINE-US-NATO INTERACTION
In 2001, the film “Enemy at the Gate” starring Jude Law was released worldwide. The storyline was quite unpretentious: the battles for Stalingrad, the madness of war, the duel of the Soviet and German snipers.

The all-knowing Wikipedia goes on like “the film has been criticized in Russia and Germany for being too loosely interpreted… ignoring some historical facts. Some Soviet veterans of Stalingrad were “offended by the inaccuracies occurring in the film and the way the Red Army was portrayed”. Actually, some moments did seem too “far-fetched”, the distortion of facts and the director’s and screenwriter’s own perspective were too edgy.

        There is only one “director and screenwriter” of all events in Russian Federation, the one of whom the Kharkiv football fans have composed a well-known and close to the heart of every Ukrainian song consisting of two words and a chorus: “La-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la”.

It seems that the enemy has positioned itself at the gates of Ukraine, and there is a mild panic in the world about the war becoming a shooting conflict. The talks on Ukraine’s membership in NATO, or at least the provision of a MAP to our country, have intensified in Ukraine and abroad.

        Here are few points to clarify. The most important one should be the understanding that the Russian-Ukrainian war has been going on for more than 7 years. And the next concentration of the Soviet-Russian scrap metal (which, unfortunately, can kill) near the Ukrainian border does not change the fact that the war has been going on for a long time. Another important thing is that no one negates the use of information and psychological operations (IPSO) by the deceitful enemy (and the poor guy who exploded on the mine in the ORDLO is only an element of IPSO).

The hero of the song by the Kharkiv fans either took offense at Biden’s calling him a killer, or tried to blackmail the United States and the European Union so that they would eventually complete the “North Stream-2”. This is not comforting Ukraine and we need to understand what we do have and what to expect from our allies. After all, that Moscow “screenwriter” is trying to show that he is unpredictable, does not count on anything, and in general: “We as martyrs will go to heaven, and they will just die” (Putin speaking on the possibility of using the nuclear weapons, 2018, the pseudo-discussion circus tent “Valdai”).

        Ukraine has to understand that Putin as a “screenwriter” can “pull” the “facts” about the events in ORDLO that have been invented by Russian media. It still doesn’t make it any easier for us. Putin cannot take revenge directly on Biden’s phrase. It can hurt in return. However, to take it out on the nearest and such a convenient neighbor – welcome! Therefore, the confrontation with Moskovia is on and, unfortunately, it will continue for a long time.

        Another thing is that the direct duty of both the President of Ukraine and all pro-Ukrainian forces in parliament is now to enlist the support of NATO, the United States in particular. Lithuania is already proposing to discuss Ukraine’s membership in the alliance (thank you for your support!). It is obvious that other Baltic states will support us, as well as Poland. It is very important that we are supported by Washington. It seems that the United States is ready to support us more: with weapons and new sanctions for the aggressor. Next week, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin are going to Brussels. Obviously, to transform the brand “concern” of European partners into something more decisive and concrete.

        The course for membership in the North Atlantic Alliance is enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine. And there is no need to invent anything with referendums. The Baltic countries did not hold them, and they managed somehow. We will hope that public opinion will continue to drift in favor of Ukraine’s membership in NATO. Then no referendums are needed.

As cliché as this sounds: a lot depends on us. It seems that Biden is able to convince the eternally concerned Germany and France that Ukraine still has its seat in NATO. The situation is such that today Ukraine is really having the enemy at the gate. But the window of opportunity is also large; you need to be able and willing to use it.

Автор
Oleh Kozachuk
Doctor in Political Science, Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University
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