Ukraine To Be Given an Accelerate Path to Joining the European Union. Ukraine currently has an association agreement with the EU, signed in 2014.But it is not among the five countries Turkey, Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. That are official candidates to join the EU, and which have all begun accession negotiation. Many Ukrainians wanted to be free to choose the future of their country. They believe and sovereign. This was their only crime. Today, as Putin is invading the entire territory of Ukraine, it is once again, for this crime that many Ukrainians are going to be killed. Putin has invaded Ukraine. If the West especially Germany and France had not looked away in 2014 and stop buying gas and doing business with the Putin, this war might have been averted. For now, all those who love freedom are Ukrainians. There will be bloodshed, Putin might occupy Ukraine, and Ukraine will lose many of its best sons and daughters. But President Putin will not win this war of choice. Vladimir Putin wants to return to the cold war, a time when the superpowers divided the world among themselves to dominate as a global power; however, that era has passed. Dictators do not listen to reason, which is why they often go to war. Dictators, in this case Putin, send young men to die because of a fear of losing power to a democracy, even one desired by the will of their own people. Therefore, the former KGB leader decided to declare war on Ukraine, a war waged against a brother but one he will not win. Instead, Putin is going to make Ukraine his Iraq and Afghanistan.
. Putin is repeating the same mistaken choice that President Bush made, with similarly terrible results. America spent millions of dollars and expended many American lives, yet now the nation has abandoned Iraq to Iran and Russia. With his invasion, President Putin changed the world we live in. He demonstrated the idea that the strongest nations initiate an incursion and take over the weak states as in the times of empires. Under the pretext of regional security, he is trying to redraw the borders, restore Russian power, and re-establish the territories lost with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
The international community should awake from its slumber and not let this mad man have anything to say about the free world we live in with his triggered aggression. Also, the free world should protest globally in solidarity with Ukraine by taking to the streets. The whole of Europe is facing dark days ahead. There will be no winners, only losers, if the war does not end. We are going to see China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea act in concert but on four separate fronts.
Many Georgians probably have seen this story before. A small former Soviet Republic chooses to become a member of the Euro-Atlantic organization, but Russia thwarts it. In 2008, by appropriating deception, the same disguise, and habitually staged artillery strikes by South Ossetian separatists and Georgian troops to justify its invasion of Georgia, Putin determined to show that he could rebuild the Russian Empire. It is his playbook. The whole free world is against this dream that has become a great test for the West, NATO, and the United States; thus, it is much broader than just Ukraine.
President Putin has already initiated the war game. In a long combative speech on February 21, 2022, as tensions with the US over Ukraine reached new heights, the Russian president declared two separatist areas in Ukraine as sovereign independent states thereby flying in the face of so called international law and order. As a response from the West, the US and NATO talk too much and do little, thus far imposing some sanctions while saying that many more sanctions are on the table.
The European Union and NATO have been flirting with Ukraine for years. At the 2008 Bucharest Summit in Romania, NATO members agreed that Georgia and Ukraine “will become members one day.” During that time President Bush wanted both countries to immediately join the Member Action Plan, but after a contentious debate France and Germany blocked the move. Since then, President Putin has attacked both countries.
NATO and western countries are losing their credibility, as we have seen in Afghanistan. If the western powers had agreed to their membership or had been fully committed to Ukraine’s joining either the EU or NATO, or if Germany and France had not halted Ukraine’s immediate accession into the EU, Russian troops may not have moved first on Crimea and Donetsk and now on Kyiv. According to the Director of the International Republican Institute Eurasia Division, Stephen Nix, “In the face of Russian military aggression, Ukrainians remain supportive of both NATO and EU membership.” With the IRI’s mission of “advancing democracy worldwide, he holds, “The accession into a strong community of democracies will strengthen economic opportunities and bolster defenses against foreign threats.” The Ukrainian people strongly support this international alliance.
On the other hand, Europe makes Russia very rich by its energy dependence on Moscow. According to The Economist, the continent has become over-reliant on Russian gas, setting the dependence at about forty percent. Even French President Emmanuel Macron recently visited Putin attempting for five-hours to de-escalate tensions, but the Russian leader said the West had failed to act on Moscow's demand of security guarantees including NATO's non-expansion.
Putin’s first goals are to make sure that Ukraine never, ever becomes a member of NATO and to keep some sort of foothold in the country to prevent Ukraine from becoming more allied to the West. Since Putin does not want Ukraine to become a member of NATO, Europe should expedite Ukraine’s accession into the European Union. President Putin beats his chest to keep former Soviet countries in check, but the free world should resist the aggression of Putin, whom President Biden has called “a killer.” But global leaders have made enough declaration and condemnations; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his country need some action. Putin dared to invade the Ukraine because he saw disunity among his opponents and now it is time — Ukraine to be given an accelerate path to joining the European Union. Slava Ukraine
Dr. Aland Mizell is with the MCI, SETBI and is a regular Mindanao Times columnist. You may e-mail the author at aland_mizell2@hotmail.com
