Will Ukraine, like Georgia in 2008, try to goad U.S. into war with Russia?

 Will Ukraine, like Georgia in 2008, try to goad U.S. into war with Russia?  

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky wants to regain the Russian aligned breakaway provinces in the Donbass. He keeps up the pressure to get U.S. and EU support for his campaign. He lobbies endlessly to join NATO, a red line Russia has laid down as unacceptable to their national security interests. After the U.S. promised Russia they wouldn’t expand NATO further east upon the breakup of the Soviet Union, the U.S. and NATO proceeded to gobble up a dozen former Soviet republics, essentially creating a new Cold War against Russia.  

 

The U.S. also promoted a coup against the Russian leaning Ukraine president Victor Yanukovych in 2014.This prompted Russia to annex the Crimea to safeguard its Sevastopol naval base, and to support Russian separatists in the Donbass being mistreated by Kiev. That set off a now 7 year crisis in Ukraine-Russian relations which has the potential to bring the U.S. and Russia to the brink of war. Ukraine president Zelensky keeps exploiting anti-Russian congressional and administration officials to provide Ukraine with hundreds of millions in weaponry and possible NATO membership.    

Lately, Zelensky is warning of an imminent invasion of Ukraine by Russia. While this is highly unlikely, it fits Zelensky’s endless posturing to solicit endless support from Uncle Sam and the EU.  Zelensky would be wise to see what happened to fellow former Soviet satellite Georgia in 2008. Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili started military action to reclaim its breakaway province of South Ossetia, like the Donbass, also aligned with Russia. Saakashvili, was enticed to invade by the same anti-Russian clique in the U.S. that is encouraging Zelensky. But when Russia responded with overwhelming force, help from the U.S and EU evaporated, leading to a short, crushing defeat of Georgia.  

 

Ukraine, like Georgia, is not a U.S. problem, having nothing to do with U.S. national security interests. Granted Ukraine is in a dangerous neighborhood. That makes it incumbent upon Ukraine to work toward rapprochement with Russia rather than goading them with U.S. military gear and possible NATO membership.  

 

During the August, 2008 war between Georgia and Russia, presidential candidate John McCain, preposterously bellowed “We (Americans) are all Georgians”. Fortunately, the Bush administration, in their final year getting hundreds of thousands killed in Afghanistan and Iraq, demurred, letting the Georgians cave to overwhelming Russian power. Here we are 13 years later and another weak, former Soviet satellite, may misinterpret American support once again to bet we’ll come to its aid if fighting starts.  

     

Let’s hope if war breaks out, the Biden administration will have the same response as the Bush Jr. did and stay out. Better yet, Biden should unequivocally tell Zelensky, “No NATO for Ukraine, and no more murderous weapons of war”. That will stop Zelensky in his tracks so the diplomats can take over the crisis.  

That is not a certainty…but at least we can hope.