The world enters the fourth year of war in Ukraine, which Donald Trump promised he would end on January 20. But that promise has been punted for 100 days because his “strong man” persona hasn’t convinced Vladimir Putin to slow down and agree to talks. Trump now realizes there’s no stopping a former KGB agent who’s busy perpetrating a full-blown genocide. Unfortunately, this miscalculation and postponement has set back the “peace” process before it began. In this war, the only “strong man” is Russian, and he kills women and children, bombs hospitals and schools, and then sends waves of young men to certain death in “meat assaults” against Ukrainian artillery. He escalates a hybrid war against Europe, involving cyberattacks, assassinations, terrorism, corruption, and sabotage of underwater power lines, cables, and internet links designed to isolate the Baltic states. And yet, Europeans don’t admit they are also at war, as is Ukraine. However, according to military expert Phillips O’Brien, these are acts of war, particularly the cutting off of power to and from Estonia. “They are not invasions,” he wrote, “but the common thread is that Russia is using force to undermine a recognized country’s independence and its ability to fight back.”
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