German politicians would continue to defend their collaboration with the Kremlin until Putin’s recent invasion finally forced Berlin to cancel the pipeline. This hypocritical stance was epitomized by Germany’s decision to partner with Russia on the construction of a major new gas pipeline, which was announced in 2015 despite Russia’s refusal to end the occupation of Crimea and eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region. While European leaders condemned Putin’s 2014 attack on Ukraine, they did not hesitate to forge stronger economic ties with Russia. Western leaders initially subjected Moscow to relatively modest economic sanctions and only agreed to tighten restrictions when Russia shot down a passenger airliner over the east Ukrainian combat zone in July 2014. In spring 2014, the democratic world was equally feckless in its reaction to the Russian seizure of Crimea and military intervention in eastern Ukraine. It is now painfully clear that the weak Western response to that brief war was a grave mistake.
Alarm bells first rang in 2008 when Russia invaded Georgia. Ukraine has long called on the West to engage with Russia from a position of strength, while also warning of the threat to international security posed by the Putin regime. The results of this folly can be seen in the escalating bombardment of Ukraine’s cities. These half-measures have sent a dangerous message to the Kremlin that the West remains unwilling to engage in full-scale economic warfare. The UK has been reluctant to match its rhetoric with tough steps against Russian oligarchs, for example, while Germany has blocked efforts to impose potentially game-changing sanctions on Russian energy exports. Sanctions imposed since the beginning of the war have been unexpectedly severe, but they have stopped some way short of the most extreme options available. So far, the Western response to Putin’s invasion has proved insufficient to restrain Russia. The war crimes we are now witnessing in Ukraine are in many ways the calling card of the Russian army in the Putin era. Many observers are shocked to see these tactics being applied in the heart of Europe, but there is really no reason to be surprised. His military has done this before, destroying the Chechen capital Grozny and Aleppo in Syria. Reducing entire cities to rubble does not seem to bother Vladimir Putin or Russian commanders. A humanitarian crisis unlike anything seen in twenty-first century Europe is unfolding in front of the watching world. Dead bodies lie in the streets and overstretched emergency services are close to breaking point. Many Ukrainians trapped in the country’s besieged towns and cities no longer have access to water, electricity, or heating. Civilian casualties are now mounting at an alarming rate, with major cities including Kharkiv and Mariupol in ruins. In light of these setbacks, Russia has switched to terror tactics and is increasingly focusing on missile strikes, aerial bombing, and the indiscriminate shelling of civilian targets. Instead, Russian forces have suffered heavy losses and now find themselves confronted by the prospect of a grueling war against an entire nation of over 40 million Ukrainians.
#WORLD IN CONFLICT GAME RUSSIAN INVASION INSTALL#
The Russian ruler expected to quickly defeat Ukraine’s army, capture its major cities, decapitate the country’s leadership, and install a puppet government. As we approach the two-week mark since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin’s tactics are evolving.