From our interview with Minister Baird it is clear that Canada intends to remain on the forefront of the international effort to help Ukraine during the ongoing war. John Baird was quite direct in saying that Russia is not complying with the demands of the global community which would allow an avoidance of the third stage of sanctions.
Even for someone who wishes to avoid the third stage at all costs, it should be abundantly clear that Russia is escalating the war. The situation is fluid, which might be deceptive: for a couple of days, it seems that Russia has abandoned the terrorists. This leads to a huge outcry from the terrorists and cheers from the Ukrainian side. But all too often, on the next day, the terrorists deploy heavy weaponry, most likely smuggled from Russia, to kill numerous Ukrainian soldiers and civilians.
Even on better days, Russia, to put it mildly, does not do anything to stop the flow of weapons and terrorists across the border. There are even reports that Russia and does not actually let terrorists back home, for whatever reason. Even if Putin has really decided not to invade Ukraine directly, in fear of the third wave of sanctions, this fear evidently does not stop him from leading a covert war.
This is exactly why the third stage has to be applied. This covert war is very short of an open, full-scale war and is already leading to huge losses of innocent life. According to Ukraine's Ministry of Health, since the beginning of the war, almost 500 Ukrainian civilians have died while military casualties have probably exceeded 200. Many cities and villages in Donbas have sustained significant destruction, there are threats to centralized electricity and water supply for the whole region – with population of more than 5 million.
This war will continue if the Western countries do not take decisive measures. Negotiations with the terrorists have proven fruitless and their only feasible outcome could be Ukraine's retreat from Donbas which, considering the thuggish nature of the opposing side (sides?), would have catastrophic results.
It is reassuring that Canada realizes the gravity of this situation and the need to address the core problem: Russian imperialism. Canada realizes the need for a joint effort against Russia. Hopefully, separate Western countries will not have to go on their own with sanctions, as Zbigniew Brzezinski has suggested the U.S. do, out of despair with the lack of will from some countries. It is imperative that Canada uses its strong international position to push for a quick joint effort to stop the war.
Share on Social Media
