{"id":1974249,"date":"2023-07-16T05:05:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-16T09:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-war-as-it-unravels\/"},"modified":"2023-07-16T05:12:39","modified_gmt":"2023-07-16T09:12:39","slug":"the-war-as-it-unravels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-war-as-it-unravels\/","title":{"rendered":"The Unraveling War"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">6<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-war-as-it-unravels%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1974249&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Putin\u2019s War\u200d on \u200cUkraine: Russia\u2019s Campaign \u200bfor\u2062 Global Counter-Revolution<\/h2>\n<h3>A\u2063 Tragic and Engaging \u200dAccount of the\ud834\udd7a Russo-Ukrainian \u200dWar<\/h3>\n<blockquote>\n<p>This war\u200d will\u200b surely \u200bgo down\ud834\udd7a as \u200cone of \u200cthe greatest \u200ctragedies of\u200c the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">21st century<\/a>.\u200c Anyone who\u200d claims to know how it\u200d will end \u200cwill\u200c be\u200b surprised.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Samuel\u200c Ramani, an Oxford expert on Russia-Syria relations, has written \u2063a strongly \u2062researched\u2063 account of the \u2063events that led to \u200cthe \u200dtragic Russo-Ukrainian war.\u2064 Ramani describes the\u2063 war at\u2062 its year-and-a-half \u200bmilepost as \u2063Ukraine was about \u2062to\u2062 launch\u2064 its counteroffensive to\ud834\udd7a take \ud834\udd7aback\u200c occupied\u200c territory.\u2062 It was \u2063written \u200cbefore the dramatic \u200b&#8221;coup&#8221; \ud834\udd7aattempt\u2063 by \u200bWagner forces \u200cin late June.<\/p>\n<p>Ramani\u2019s\u200c account brings home \u200dthat our\u200d world\u200c is divided\u200b into two competing models. The \u2064Kremlin (and Chinese) \ud834\udd7anarrative favors \u200ca\u200d non-democratic empire \u2064run\ud834\udd7a by a wise\u2063 &#8220;power vertical&#8221;\u200c that supposedly \u2062defends\u200d traditional values,\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-war-as-it-unravels\/\" title=\"The Unraveling War\">protects vast \u2063natural \ud834\udd7aresources<\/a>, \u2064and \u200cposits a &#8220;Russian World&#8221; that\u2063 the decadent \u2062West \u200bwishes \u200bto\u200b destroy. The\u200b Western\u2062 counter-narrative\u2063 is of a world order\u2064 that\u2064 offers democracy, \u2063freedom \u200cof\u2063 expression, and defends\u2062 those, such \ud834\udd7aas Ukraine, \u200bthreatened\u2063 by Russian\u200d imperial expansionism. The\ud834\udd7a Kremlin \ud834\udd7anarrative, \u200bto date, \ud834\udd7ahas been limited in\ud834\udd7a its geographical appeal.\ud834\udd7a Russia\u2019s \u2063unprovoked \u200cattack\u200c on a\u2062 sovereign\u2062 nation apparently does not\ud834\udd7a sit well, \u200beven\u2064 at\ud834\udd7a the\u200b fractious United \ud834\udd7aNations.<\/p>\n<p>Ramani raises a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/barr-calls-trump-a-narcissist-who-shouldnt-use-nation-as-a-therapy-session\/\" title=\"Barr labels Trump a 'narcissist,' warns against using nation as 'therapy session.'\">thought-provoking question<\/a> \u200dat\u200c this juncture:\u2063 Why didn&#8217;t Russia, faced \u2063with\u2062 weak Ukrainian resistance, proceed \u200dfull speed \ud834\udd7ainto\u200d Ukraine\u2019s\u200d heartland with\u200b its\u2063 regular\u2062 forces? The author\u2019s answer: The \u200dKremlin\u2063 wanted a &#8220;federalist&#8221; \u2062Ukraine\u200d that possessed \u200d&#8221;special&#8221;\u2064 privileges\u200c within\u2064 the\u2062 state, such \ud834\udd7aas veto rights\u200b over\ud834\udd7a any \u2064foreign alliance,\u2064 either military or economic. \u2064Although the Minsk \u200bNormandie partners\u200b at first \u2064failed to understand \ud834\udd7aPutin\u2019s &#8220;federalism,&#8221; \u200cUkrainians \u2063understood \u2063that \u200dit \u2063would \u2063destroy their\ud834\udd7a country from\u2062 within and \u200bwith\u2063 little blood shed \u2064by \u200cRussia. Ukraine meanwhile\u2064 garnered the support of \u200bits own people, built\u2063 up its armed\u2062 forces, and solicited the\u200c support\u200c of the &#8220;civilized West&#8221; and even \u200dinternational\u2063 organizations\u2014all\ud834\udd7a upset by\u200c the Russian invasion.<\/p>\n<p>After an almost \u2063decade of frozen warfare, \u2064Putin ordered a \u200dfull-scale \u2064invasion\u2064 from multiple directions\u200c aimed to\ud834\udd7a destroy the\u2062 Ukrainian state.\u200d The invasion, disguised by\ud834\udd7a massive\u200c military\ud834\udd7a maneuvers\u2064 along\u200d the length of Ukraine\u2019s\u2063 borders, caught Ukraine \ud834\udd7aand\u2063 the\u2063 West by surprise.\u200d But the unprovoked invasion caused\ud834\udd7a the civilized West to impose sanctions and \u2064supply weapons \u200dfar\u2063 beyond \u2063Russia\u2019s\u200d expectations as \u200dRussia became\ud834\udd7a a pariah state with\u2063 few allies and\u2064 &#8220;ally&#8221; China \u2063playing\ud834\udd7a an \u200dambiguous\u200d role.<\/p>\n<p>The\u2062 February\u2062 invasion \u200dprovided \u200da\u2062 major\u2063 surprise; \u2064namely,\u2063 the \u2064incompetence and unpreparedness\u2062 of \u2063the\u2062 vaunted Russian\u200c Army, which \u200cparalyzed into \ud834\udd7aa huge traffic \u200djam expanding\u200b from\u200b the Kyiv outskirts \u200call the way back\u2062 to Belarus. A key element\u200c in\u2064 Ukraine\u2019s defeat of\ud834\udd7a the\u200b invading Russian \u200bforces was the\u200d bravery \u2063of \u2064Ukraine\u2019s relatively new president, \ud834\udd7aVolodymyr\u200b Zelensky, \u200bas\u200c he refused to abandon \u2062the capital \u2063for \u2062the relative \u2062safety of west Ukraine or \ud834\udd7aPoland.<\/p>\n<p>Ramani\u2019s \u2062account ends \u2063in January 2023 \u200dwith \u2064a clear frustration\u200d of Kremlin\ud834\udd7a aims to \u200cdecapitate the Ukrainian state\u2063 as\u2064 the Russian army\u200c disproved its designation as \u2063the world\u2019s \u200csecond strongest military \u200band\u2062 the \u200cworld anxiously awaited Ukraine\u2019s counteroffensive.<\/p>\n<p>The \u200dwar has\u2064 seen a bunch of\u200b firsts: fierce \u200csanctions\ud834\udd7a against Russia\u2019s rulers\u2064 and\u2063 war\ud834\udd7a machine,\u2063 embargoes\u200c on\u2062 grain, the blowing\u200c up of \u2062dams and\ud834\udd7a major infrastructure (the Nord \u2064Stream\u2063 pipelines), new\u2063 age\u200c fighting with drones,\u2064 nuclear\u2062 saber-rattling, clear \u200cevidence of Russian war\u200d crimes, \u2064and\u200d Russia\u2019s isolation\ud834\udd7a from\u2062 the civilized\u2064 world.<\/p>\n<p>Ramani \u2062ends on a \u200cpessimistic note with \u200drespect\u2064 to settlement of the \u2064Russo-Ukrainian war: \u2062&#8221;It is apparent\u200d that Russia cannot\u2064 win\u200b and cannot afford to lose the war. \u2063Ukraine regards the\u200d full \u2064liberation \ud834\udd7aof\ud834\udd7a its \u200dterritory\u2064 as an\u200c existential need, even \ud834\udd7aif a complete \u200dvictory \ud834\udd7ais a\u200c multiyear \u2063process.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>We will be \ud834\udd7astudying \u2062how\u200b this\u2064 war\u2064 came\u200d to be for decades \u200cafter \u2062it \u2063is \u2063over. We\u2019ll need\u2062 to\ud834\udd7a understand how and why the \ud834\udd7apost-Soviet territorial consensus \u200dbroke down\u2063 as \ud834\udd7aa Russian-financed and supplied\ud834\udd7a invasion\u200b of \u200cEastern \u2064Ukraine got\ud834\udd7a underway.<\/p>\n<p>As to Putin\u2019s motivation, the\u200b author runs \u2062through a number\u200b of explanations\u2014NATO\u2063 expansion, \u200dan \u2063imminent\u200c invasion\u2063 threat\u200b from NATO, \u2063the \u2064threat of\u200c contagion from\u2063 a prosperous and\u200b democratic Ukraine, an \u2062irrational Putin\u2014among other explanations. Ramani argues that \u200bthe \u2064overwhelming motive\u2063 was Putin\u2019s urgent need \u200bto\u200d extinguish \u2064the contagion from Maidan. \ud834\udd7aThe author pictures Putin as &#8220;rational&#8221; and\ud834\udd7a not seriously \u2063ill, \ud834\udd7aas some\u200b claim. As \u2063to the threat \u200bof sanctions, Russia\u2019s \u200creserve \u2062funds\u2064 sitting\u2062 &#8220;safely&#8221; in Western banks gave \u200bPutin the confidence\u2064 that he\ud834\udd7a could withstand \ud834\udd7asanctions. He did \u2064not anticipate\ud834\udd7a that Western \u2064central banks \u200cwould freeze his war \u200cchest. \u200dPutin, moreover, \u2063counted\u200c on the\u200c fact that\u200c Angela\u2063 Merkel\u2019s Germany would stand behind \u200dthe Nord \u2064Stream pipeline that \u2063would\u2062 continue \u200ddependence on Russian gas.<\/p>\n<p>Ramani \u2062raises the\u200b inevitable \u2063question of whether we\u200d can write good history \u2064as \u2063that \u200dhistory is \ud834\udd7abeing \u200dmade. With the\ud834\udd7a outbreak \ud834\udd7aof the \ud834\udd7afirst\ud834\udd7a European war of \u2064the postwar \u2062era, we\u200b have \u200ca monumental event that will\u2062 dictate the \u200ccourse of Europe\u2019s history for the \u2063next \u200cfew decades.\u200c The \u200dquestion\u200b is whether\u2063 we \u200dshould \u200cwait for history to\ud834\udd7a become\ud834\udd7a history \u200bor whether we\u2062 should \u200bplunge in \u200cas\u200b the \u200cauthor has. \u200bRamani\u2062 has indeed\ud834\udd7a laid\u2063 the foundations \u200bfor future histories of the Russo-Ukrainian war.\u200d He \u2062largely leaves predictions to future scholars.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Putin\u2019s\u200d War on\u2064 Ukraine:\ud834\udd7a Russia\u2019s Campaign\u2064 for \u200cGlobal Counter-Revolution<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>by Samuel \u2062Ramani<\/p>\n<p>Hurst,\u200d 592\u2063 pp., \u2062$29.95<\/p>\n<p><em>Paul \u2062Gregory\u200c is a research\u200b fellow at\u2062 Stanford\u200c University\u2019s Hoover Institution and the\u2063 author, most \u200crecently,\u2062 of<\/em>\u200c The\u2064 Oswalds: An\u2064 Untold Account \u2064of \u200bMarina\u2062 and Lee \u200b<em>(Diversion Books).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oxford expert Samuel Ramani provides a well-researched account of the Russo-Ukrainian war, focusing on the events leading up to Ukraine&#8217;s counteroffensive. Written prior to the dramatic &#8220;coup&#8221; attempt by Wagner, the book highlights the war&#8217;s year-and-a-half milestone and sheds light on Russia-Syria relations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":1974250,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1974249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1974249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2209"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1974249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1974249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1974250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1974249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1974249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1974249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}