Weird take on some suggesting sanctions should be reduced. I’d make two points:
- The way the world works today, there is not only one way to respond to force (being by applying force back). Times are different. For the average Joe sanctions don’t sound like much, but with the right ones and the right pressure, they are devastating. The objective here isn’t to blow away Russia with force, although that option must remain as a final resort. It’s to end this thing with as little force as possible, to spare as many lives as possible. That includes on both sides because the fact is Russians caught in this mess are by and large also innocent.
- We have long gone past an end game now where Russia pulling back is sufficient. That simply can’t be the end game anymore. If we all thought about invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan could be debated as improper, then this is on another level. There is no justification for it. Ukraine aligning with NATO, whilst a reasonable concern for Putin, isn’t worthy of this. Not even in the slightest. Therefore to my mind, the end game now has to be to neutralise Russia. Either economically, or by forcing an end to the Putin era such that this cannot happen. It’s a travesty that ordinary Russians will suffer from this, but it’s better than a) escalating with force which could genuinely cost lives and b) allowing this to go to end by some agreement which sees normal business resumed as before this invasion. And it’s worth noting that in the longer term, Russia progressing from this dictator would be beneficial for all Russians. I am of course cognisant that financial difficulty does cost lives too, I’m not ignorant to that. But sadly there is life going to be lost given where we are and I see this as the better option.
To that end, the west and east must continue to slap the hardest possible sanctions on Russia. And the threshold for removing them can’t just be an “I’m sorry”.