Vladimir Putin is running – and rather successfully, we might add – a shell game that attempts to hide the reality that nothing has changed with him. His tactics change but the goal remains – as always – gaining a free hand to subjugate Ukraine and return it as part of a new Russian empire. Allowing him to succeed would represent the greatest failure imaginable for the West – for Ukraine – and ultimately for peace in the world.
What Putin wants you to forget: - He invaded and illegally annexed Crimea, in spite of a treaty signed by his predecessors that such action would not happen;
- He had repressed the Crimean Tatars and attempted to displace their leadership and destroy their self-regulatory structures;
- He invaded eastern Ukraine and continues to support and direct a puppet regime there that could never have existed without his support;
- His government runs the most expensive and expansive propaganda campaign in world history that continues lying to the Russian people about what is going on in Ukraine;
- And his regime continues to engage in the most blatant string of lies to avoid taking responsibility for the downing of Malaysian Airline MH-17 with almost 300 people dead –
- --- this list could go on for pages…
Ukraine will not forget and neither should anyone who believes that democracy – real democracy with all the votes counted – remains the best way forward for the world. For more on this subject, access Brian Whitmore’s Daily Vertical at the link below: http://www.rferl.org/content/daily-ve ... ber-ukraine/27375035.html
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