By Thomas R Hastings
THIS is a dangerous moment for freedom-loving people around the world.
By launching his brutal assault on the people of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has also committed an assault on the principles that uphold global peace and democracy.
But the people of Ukraine are resilient. They have had a democracy for decades, and their bravery inspires the world.
The United States, together with our allies and partners across the globe, will continue to support the Ukrainian people as they defend their country against Russian colonialism.
By choosing to pay for a war instead of investing in the needs of Russians, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine will be a strategic failure for the Kremlin and will ravage the future of the Russian people.
When the history of this era is written, it will show that Putin’s choice to launch an unprovoked, unjust and premeditated attack left the democracies more unified and Russia exponentially weaker.
United in our response
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This war will not end well for Putin. Together, the United States and our allies and partners are taking action to hold Russia accountable.
As a result of unprecedented global sanctions co-ordination, the US, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Japan and Canada have removed selected Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system and imposed restrictive measures on the Russian central bank.
President Joe Biden announced sweeping financial sanctions and stringent export controls that will damage Russia’s economy, financial system and access to cutting-edge technology.
After Putin began his invasion, the Russian currency hit its weakest point in history and the Russian stock market plunged.
Along with the UK and EU, US imposed sanctions on the architects of this war, including Putin himself.
By moving in close co-ordination with a powerful coalition of allies and partners representing more than half of the global economy, we have magnified the impact of our actions to impose maximum costs on Putin and his regime.
In response to Putin’s war of choice, we will limit Russia’s ability to do business in dollars. We will stunt Russia’s ability to finance and grow its military. We will impair Russia’s ability to compete in the global economy. And we are prepared to do more.
The US has also coordinated with major oil-producing and consuming countries to underscore our common interest in securing global energy supplies.
We are working with energy companies to surge their capacity to supply energy to the market, particularly as prices increase.
Putin’s unprovoked and premeditated war
This was an attack that Vladimir Putin had planned for a long time. He methodically moved more than 150 000 troops and military equipment to Ukraine’s border.
He moved blood supplies into position and built field hospitals, demonstrating his intentions all along. He rejected every good-faith effort by the US and our allies and partners to address his fabricated security concerns and to avoid needless conflict and human suffering by engaging in diplomacy and dialogue.
Putin executed his playbook exactly as we had warned he would do.
We saw Russia’s proxies increase their shelling in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. We saw the Russian government launch cyber-operations against Ukraine.
We saw staged political theatre in Moscow and heard outlandish and baseless claims made about Ukraine to justify Russia’s aggression.
Russia continues to justify its military aggression by falsely claiming the need to stop “genocide” in Ukraine — despite there being no evidence that genocide was occurring there.
We saw Russia use these same tactics before when it invaded Ukraine in 2014 and Georgia in 2008.
And then, at almost the very same moment the United Nations Security Council was meeting to stand up for Ukraine’s sovereignty and forestall disaster, Putin launched his invasion in violation of international law.
Missiles began to rain down, striking historic cities across Ukraine. Then came air raids, columns of tanks, and battalions of troops, all riding a renewed wave of disinformation and outright lies.
We have been transparent with the world. We declassified our intelligence about Russia’s plans so there could be no confusion and no cover up.
Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now his people will bear the consequences of his decision to invest in war rather than in them.
Transatlantic unity and resolve stronger than ever
Putin has failed to undermine our shared belief in the fundamental right of sovereign nations to choose their destiny and their allies.
And, as the world has witnessed in stunning videos, Putin will fail to erase the brave, proud nation of Ukraine.
The next few days, weeks, and months will be incredibly difficult for the people of Ukraine.
Putin has unleashed great suffering on them. But the Ukrainian people have known 30 years of independence, and they have repeatedly shown they will not tolerate anyone who tries to take their country backwards.
The world is watching this conflict closely, and if Russian forces commit atrocities, we will explore all international mechanisms to bring those responsible — whether members of the military or their civilian leadership — to account.
Putin’s desire to subjugate and colonise Ukraine will cost Russia profoundly, both economically and strategically.
The Russian people deserve better from their government than the immense cost to their future that this invasion has precipitated.
Liberty, democracy, and human dignity are forces far more powerful than fear and oppression. In the contest between democracy and autocracy, between sovereignty and subjugation, make no mistake: Freedom will prevail.
- Thomas R Hastings is chargé d’Affaires a.i. at US embassy in Zimbabwe
