In 1999, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin blamed Chechnya for an attack on a Russian apartment building. Putin followed up with a military invasion of Chechnya. The matter of actual Chechnyan involvement in the terrorist attack is still unresolved.
In 2008, Putin accused Georgia of genocide and other crimes. Putin followed up with a military invasion of Georgia.
In 2014, Putin claimed that Ukrainian extremists were harming ethnic Russians in Crimea. Putin followed up by using a covert military operation to annex Crimea.
In 2022, Putin claimed that the Ukrainian government was rife with radical Nazis. Putin followed up with a military invasion of Ukraine. The fighting in Ukraine is still ongoing with the help of military aid from the U.S. and other NATO countries.
Now, Putin is accusing Latvia of mistreating ethnic Russians living in Latvia. Putin is following up his claims against Latvia with extra troop movements near the Latvian border, reminiscent of troop movements near the Ukraine border before the Russian invasion.
The pattern is clear: Putin is using fake claims and military power to bring former Soviet republics back under Russian control. With Putin’s arguably illegal attacks on sovereign nations, this is not the time to cut off military aid to Ukraine. If we want to avoid a full-blown European war, the pattern of Putin’s military-style diplomacy must be broken.
Peter Konieczko
Scarborough
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