And stop Putin before other dictators follow his lead.
It is not often that criminals declare the date and place of the future crime. Only the boldest crooks behave that way. Earlier today, though, Russia followed through on its publicly announced intention to close on its neighbor’s property. At an event in the Kremlin, it declared that it had annexed the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.
If the world fails to react, evil will prevail. Brute force will override the rule of law. The rules-based world order is crumbling, and we have to act to prevent it from collapsing.
Yesterday, the Russians held fake referendums in sovereign territories of Ukraine. Tomorrow, they can do it elsewhere. Russia has weaponized its diasporas, its language, and its culture itself, using them to attack the integrity and sovereignty of its neighbors.
What’s more, Russia has started threatening Ukraine with nuclear strikes, to intimidate us into giving up the fight for our people and our land. The Russians now realize that they are losing the war they started. That’s why they are resorting to annexation and nuclear blackmail.
From the July/August 2022 issue: We have no nuclear strategy
We know they are not bluffing. But we are not afraid. Nothing can scare us anymore. Ukrainians have seen large cities reduced to ruins. We’ve absorbed many forms of conventional and some forms of unconventional enemy fire. We’ve survived all kinds of torture. We’ve discovered mass graves everywhere the Russians put their boots.
