The merchant of death, Putin, must absolutely be punished

The principle of inevitability of punishment for international crimes must be clearly observed, proving that encroachment on the sovereignty of independent nations inevitably ends in a complete political, economic and legal catastrophe for the aggressor himself.

Now, a lot of materials have appeared in the world press about the need to end the Russian-Ukrainian war. And this is not surprising. I think that most people agree that Russia’s war in Ukraine must end. But the question is how exactly. Ending the war by rewarding the aggressor is an illusion of completion, because it will only encourage him to repeat aggression in the future.

Moreover, a bad deal is worse for Ukraine and the world than the absence of any deal. Because a bad deal will only mean a «break» before a new Russian invasion. After all, dictator Putin is not going to stop until he achieves his maximalist goals. Claims to the contrary are Putin’s propaganda.

But one thing is disturbing, for some reason the authors of such calls have not proposed any real way to end the war. What do they want? For Ukraine to give up its lands, just as it did with Crimea in 2014?

But that will only encourage Putin to continue his attacks, to seize even more, perhaps even to try to attack NATO countries. Remember: Europe once used this approach with Hitler, allowing him to take Czechoslovakia. But it only pushed him to further conquests, which ultimately led to the beginning of World War II, when he invaded Poland.

Perhaps it is indeed time to end the war, but will Putin agree to conditions under which Ukraine will maintain borders that are resistant to potential attacks and remain fully armed? Of course not.

Not to mention the return of illegally occupied Ukrainian territories or the payment of reparations for destroyed infrastructure, which is now estimated at more than a trillion dollars. It is better, if possible, to wait out the current US administration – which demonstrates excessive loyalty to Putin’s course and satisfies his interests.

However, Muscovite propaganda is spreading the information with all its might that Russia has already won this war. And therefore, they say, Ukrainians should forget about the lost territories and move towards «peace». Otherwise, new destruction awaits them.

Although Ukraine is ready for a ceasefire, Putin wants nothing more than Ukraine’s surrender. This is the main problem for Ukrainians, because the Kremlin in no way wants to return the illegally occupied Ukrainian territories.

It is obvious that if the agreement on guaranteeing Ukraine’s security, adopted in 1994, had been implemented, the probability of war would have been much lower. But Russia did not adhere to it, and the West did not fulfill its obligations. If the US had provided Ukraine with the necessary support, the war would have ended long ago.

And the formula for ending the war is quite simple – Russia must leave all the territory of Ukraine and the war will end. The United States can fulfill its obligations under the 1994 treaty – and the war will end. Any of these options will suit Ukraine. But now both sides continue to try to force Ukraine to surrender to Moscow.

Today it is extremely important to remind the West of the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, since this document became a symbol of the unprecedented nuclear disarmament of Ukraine in exchange for guarantees of security, respect for its independence and existing borders, which were later brutally violated by the Russian Federation.

Which demonstrates the critical need to move from declarative assurances to providing real, legally binding military assistance and modern weapons to restore international law and order. Otherwise, there will be no stopping the merchant of death, Putin.

Since only a decisive and clearly defined rebuff from the world community is capable of destroying the expansionist plans of the Russian dictator, preventing further destruction of the global security system and forcing the aggressor to bear full responsibility for the crimes committed.

Therefore, the leading democratic states of the West should consolidate efforts to strengthen military assistance to Ukraine, introduce new, unprecedented economic sanctions and create an effective international tribunal, which will become the only reliable guarantor of the restoration of justice and lasting peace on the European continent.

Evil must be punished without fail. After all, the aggressor’s irreversible responsibility for the war crimes and destruction committed will not only restore international law and order, but will also demonstrate to any potential tyrants of the future that encroachment on the sovereignty of independent nations inevitably ends in a complete political, economic and legal catastrophe for the invader himself.