Wolfgang Effenberger

After the recognition of the breakaway territories in the Donbass by the Russian president,
print media such as the Süddeutsche Zeitung and the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung immediately
announced on their front pages: "Putin is sending troops to Ukraine.
This had to and should probably be perceived as fact, although Putin's decree has yet to be
ratified by the Duma. In the ZDF "Morgenmagazin" on February 23, the chairwoman of the
defense committee in the Bundestag, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), clearly
rejected a resumption of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, which had been put on hold, on
behalf of her party and definitely ruled out entering into an economic deal with Russian
President Vladimir Putin; she referred to the Russian army, "which has now surrounded
Ukraine with 190,000 troops "1).

A look at the map shows that this statement is more than foolish. Russian troops are still on
Russian territory in eastern Ukraine.
Objective perception seems to have been increasingly lost on German governments in recent
decades. In all illegal wars of the USA in the 21st century, Germany has always been a
warring party, and alternately: sometimes on the side of the rebels, as in Syria or Kosovo,
sometimes on the side of the government, as now in Ukraine - but always in the wake of the
USA. International law and the peace imperative no longer even played a subordinate role. At
the end of February 2018, then German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for an end to the
"massacre" in Syria, saying Assad was killing children and destroying hospitals. Since 2014,
Ukrainian government forces have been firing heavy artillery into breakaway territories (non-
government-controlled areas - NGCA), killing children and hitting schools and hospitals as
well. But there any condemnation remained absent until today. And the media report every
death of a Ukrainian government soldier, but do not address the losses on the other side. This
one-sided view is the sure path to a larger conflict. The daily reports of the Special
Monitoring Mission (OSCE) could contribute to a more balanced assessment of the situation
in eastern Ukraine.2) Artillery duels between the two sides are accurately recorded - for
example, on February 18, an unprovoked fire by Ukrainian forces' artillery. At the same time,
radio traffic interference and deployment of troops were noted on both sides, with Kiev in
particular reinforcing troops. It is still assumed that the frontline troops of the rebels will be
able to withstand any Ukrainian attack. Thus, Russia is also not faced with the need to
intervene immediately.

A greater danger could come from current U.S./NATO activities. The shuttle traffic between
the U.S. base in Ramstein and the Polish Rzeszow near the Ukrainian border is not
decreasing. But the current troop reinforcements and arms deliveries are not an issue for the
media here.
In these emotionally charged days, the New York Times on Feb. 21 carried Thomas L.
Friedman's nuanced commentary, "This is Putin's War. But America and NATO Are Not
Innocent Bystanders," which was intended to help de-escalate the situation.
Friedman described there how on May 2, 1998, immediately after the U.S. Senate ratified
NATO expansion, he called George Kennan - the architect of the U.S.'s successful
containment of the Soviet Union. Kennan had joined the State Department in 1926 and served
as U.S. ambassador to Moscow beginning in 1952. The top Russia expert, then 94 years old,
spoke in a weak voice and was perceived by Friedman as having the presence of mind when
he asked him for his opinion on NATO expansion. In his commentary, Friedman reproduces
Kennan's answer:
“I think it is the beginning of a new cold war. I think the Russians will gradually react
quite adversely and it will affect their policies. I think it is a tragic mistake. There was
no reason for this whatsoever. No one was threatening anybody else. This expansion
would make the founding fathers of this country turn over in their graves.
“We have signed up to protect a whole series of countries, even though we have
neither the resources nor the intention to do so in any serious way. [NATO
expansion] was simply a lighthearted action by a Senate that has no real interest in
foreign affairs. What bothers me is how superficial and ill informed the whole Senate
debate was. I was particularly bothered by the references to Russia as a country dying
to attack Western Europe.
“Don’t people understand? Our differences in the Cold War were with the Soviet
Communist regime. And now we are turning our backs on the very people who
mounted the greatest bloodless revolution in history to remove that Soviet regime.
And Russia’s democracy is as far advanced, if not farther, as any of these countries
we’ve just signed up to defend from Russia. Of course there is going to be a bad
reaction from Russia, and then [the NATO expanders] will say that we always told
you that is how the Russians are — but this is just wrong.”(3)

U.S. economist and publicist Paul Craig Roberts has been following Putin's address to the
Russian people. For him, Putin expressed in it his sadness "that negotiations with the West
have taught him complete distrust of Washington"; he, Putin, had tried for eight years "to
pacify the situation in Ukraine in such a way that the breakaway republics remain part of
Ukraine, but had been frustrated by Washington. Therefore, he now has no choice but to
announce Russia's recognition of the two republics. "4)
It is unfortunate that the media did not address Putin's speech. For Paul Craig Roberts, Russia
has created a new world with the recognition. Now that the hegemon (USA) is dead, he says,
Russia and China should begin to disengage from the West. However, they should be careful
that the U.S. is still able to strike with "nuclear weapons while it is in its death throes."
According to Paul Craig Roberts, there is nothing left in the West that is really worth
anything. "Countries have already given away their most important industries to the Chinese
and surrendered the civil liberties of their citizens. As the Covid mandates prove, the West
itself no longer believes in the values it proclaims. People who exercise or attempt to exercise
their constitutional rights to freedom of expression and association are branded as "domestic
terrorists." Their voices are suppressed, they are fired from their jobs, their medical licenses
are revoked, they are arrested and imprisoned. The Western world has turned into a hellhole
of tyranny."(5)

Former U.S. President Donald Trump caused a stir with unusual praise for Russian leader
Vladimir Putin's actions. He described Putin as ingenious, smart and savvy. Moreover, Trump
said that such an escalation of the Ukraine crisis would never have occurred under his
presidency.(6)
Now it is important to initiate de-escalation as soon as possible. However, this will only be
possible if history, or at least developments since 1990, are finally reviewed without
prejudice.

To this end, Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (1858-1947), founder of quantum physics, gives
us some advice: "The greatest danger today are the people who do not want to admit that the
age now dawning is fundamentally different from the past. With the traditional concepts we
will not be able to cope with this situation now. The bankruptcy of the traditional concept of
war, attack and defense is obvious. Without rethinking, there is no way out of the danger."(7)

Notes

1) https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/russland-ukraine-konflikt-im-live-news-
ticker,SxWdozS
2) https://www.osce.org/files/2022-02-18%20Daily%20Report_ENG.pdf?itok=23379
3) https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/21/opinion/putin-ukraine-nato.html
4) https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2022/02/21/breaking-news-feb-21-4pm-us-central-time/
5) https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2022/02/22/russia-and-china-should-go-their-own-way/
6) https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article237085281/Ukraine-Konflikt-Trump-lobt-Putin-
als-genial-smart-ausgebufft.html
7) Eberhard Punsch: Das neue Zitatenbuchhandbuch, Augsburg 1997, S. 826