Four Years

Egregious betrayal of a people attacked

Photo by Jack White on Unsplash

On February 24, 2022—four years ago—Russia began a full-scale war against its neighbor Ukraine. This full scale attack followed Moscow’s invasion and illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014. Ukraine had been in a constant state of war for eight years at that point.

No one in the West was surprised. Why would they have been? Russia had been amassing thousands of troops on Ukraine’s border for months, while claiming it was not planning any attack against its neighbor.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin called the war a “special military operation” after his minions arduously denied they would stage a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He claimed that the military operation’s purpose was to protect the people of the Donbas (Russian-backed breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, whose paramilitary forces had been fighting Ukraine in the war in Donbas since the Crimea invasion in 2014). Then, he continued to accuse Ukraine of being a militarized “nazi” regime and said he would liberate the country.

The West’s reaction was relatively quick.

• Sanctions were imposed almost immediately.

• The “People’s” Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk were embargoed, prohibiting transactions with any entity or individual located there.

• Major Russian banks were ejected from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), the network for international payments used by the majority of the global financial system.

• Russian oligarchs and government officials, as well as close associates and family members used as proxies to evade sanctions were designated.

• New imports of Russian gold and other commodities were banned.

• Russian assets were frozen in the West.

I could go on, but you get the picture.

I have often criticized the slow-rolling of the Biden administration’s efforts to hold Russia accountable for its savagery.

While Ukrainian people were systematically murdered, while Russia committed unspeakable acts of barbarism, while Ukrainian children were kidnapped and sold like cattle, while prisoners were tortured, while women and children were raped (sometimes fatally), while churches, apartment buildings, stores, energy infrastructure, and other civilian targets were demolished…

While Russia violated UN and other sanctions by importing murdering scum from North Korea, as well as additional weapons, and while it trafficked clueless foreigners to fight its war in Ukraine…

The Biden administration barred Kyiv from retaliating with strikes deep inside Russia using US origin weapons and only reversed this clueless strategy at the end of Biden’s term - after thousands of Ukrainians were systematically murdered.

Limited accessibility was initially allowed for Russian banks to ensure the continued ability to pay for gas shipments, funding Russia’s continued bloodshed. Russia’s Gazprombank wasn’t fully blocked until the end of 2024, and my excitement about it was tempered by the Biden administration’s caving to several countries who screamed that the United States was making paying Russia and funding its brutality against Ukraine difficult!

As soon as Gazprombank was included on the SDN list, Türkiye, Hungary, and Slovakia began to howl, demanding waivers from the United States so they can continue purchasing Russian energy through the financial institution that was used not just to process energy payments, but also fund salaries and bonuses for Russian troops, who have been torturing, murdering, and robbing civilian populations in Ukraine, and purchase military equipment with which Moscow targets innocent people.

General licenses were issued, including GL 115, authorizing transactions that are prohibited by Executive Order (EO) 14024 involving Gazprombank Joint Stock Company or any entity in which Gazprombank owns a 50 percent or greater interest, that are related to civil nuclear energy through 12:01am EST, June 30, 2025.

Aid was slow-walked.

While Ukraine continued to fight and bleed, the EU in 2024 purchased record amounts of Russian liquefied natural gas! France and Belgium were the biggest culprits in 2024, and Russian LNG accounted for 20 percent of the EU’s overall imports—up from 15 percent from the year before—and embarrassingly, EU countries rushed to buy more LNG from Russia last year before an EU ban takes effect in 2027.

Is this what we call a “political commitment” to stopping Russia in Ukraine?

But you ain’t seen nothin’ yet…

At least the last administration gave lip service to punishing Russia and to enforcing sanctions and the G7 price cap on Russian oil imposed in late 2022.

The Trump administration embarrassingly ignored the grisly third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion after the President claimed numerous times that he would end the war between Russia in Ukraine in one day.

He then backtracked on that pledge.

No sanctions were imposed on Russia by the United States on the third anniversary of the full-scale attack. None.

No sanctions were imposed by the United States against Russia during the entire first year of the Trump presidency, despite impotent threats and capitulations to Russia.

Last February, Trump claimed—before any negotiations with Moscow took place—that it was impractical for Ukraine to join NATO or expect to get its land back, bowing to Putin before even bothering with a chat.

Then came the ambush in the Oval Office, in which JD Vance screeched like a petulant child—in front of the media the White House invited (including a reporter from Russian state media outlet TASS)—that Ukrainian President Zelensky just wasn’t grateful enough for the help Ukraine received from the United States!

“Have you said ‘thank you’ once this entire meeting?” Vance chided. “No. In this entire meeting, have you said ‘thank you’? You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October. Offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who is trying to save your country.”

Let’s remember the number of times Zelensky actually expressed his gratitude.

Let’s also remember that Trump—despite Putin being a sanctioned individual under EO 14024 and an indicted war criminal by the International Criminal Court—invited the dictator onto US soil to discuss Ukraine, tried to pressure Ukraine to give up territory using the gluttonous, clueless Steve Witkoff (who stands to profit handsomely from normalization of relations against Russia) as an envoy, invited sanctioned Russian oligarch Kirill Dmitriev to the White House, issuing a waiver for him to travel to Washington, defunded Voice of America and Radio Liberty, and rejected language in the G7 and at the UN General Assembly that rightfully identified Russia as the aggressor in the war with Ukraine.

Instead of designating additional Russian malign actors, the US Treasury in April removed Karina Rotenberg—the wife of sanctioned Russian oligarch Boris Rotenberg—from the sanctions list without offering any explanation.

Given that family members and close associates are often used by sanctioned Russians to evade sanctions and gain access to the global financial system, imagining the reason for the delisting is not difficult.

The United States last March persuaded Kyiv to accept a 30-day ceasefire. The Russians basically rejected the proposal and continued their daily attacks on Ukrainian civilians. Trump in late March said he was “very angry” with Russia.

Did he take action? Nope.

The Senate supposedly has a bipartisan, veto-proof majority supporting additional sanctions against Russia. “This bill has 85 cosponsors in the Senate and it would pass incredibly quickly,” bragged Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal in July in a joint statement.

Graham claimed last month that Trump has greenlit his sanctions bill.

Where is it?

House Republicans are becoming irritated with the leadership’s refusal to do anything about Russia, especially as the gruesome FOURTH anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion approaches. Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced a Russia sanctions bill, and retiring Congressman Don Bacon (R-NE) said it could be voted on as a discharge petition—a mechanism for forcing a vote on legislation over the objections of House majority leadership—this week.

In a bit of good news, the Trump administration extended the national emergency declared in EO 13660 after Russia invaded and illegally occupied Crimea for another year. The emergency otherwise would have expired next month.

When your “ally” sounds exactly like your invader — that’s not diplomacy. That’s a sellout. — Anna Komsa on X

At yet another meeting recently, the United States and Russia both demanded that Ukraine leave Donbas.

Repeat this to yourselves: A supposed world leader for democratic values is telling a victim that has been invaded by an aggressive, sadistic regime and that is demanding territory in return for stopping its genocide against the Ukrainian people, to give its territory to the aggressor in exchange for a cessation of murders and war crimes.

This is a betrayal.

This is not just a betrayal, but morally abhorrent and unacceptable pressure not toward the aggressor, but toward the victim!

Worse yet, two of the most corrupt, pro-Putin regimes in the EU—Hungary and Slovakia—are standing together to undermine the EU sanctions regime against Russia. Hungary is threatening to veto the latest EU sanctions bill that the bloc hopes to impose on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion unless Russian energy deliveries to Hungary resume.

"We will not consent to the adoption of the 20th package of sanctions, because we have previously made it clear that until the Ukrainians resume oil shipments to Hungary, we will not allow decisions that are important to them to be approved," [Hungarian foreign minister] Szijjártó said.

Russian oil shipments to Hungary and Slovakia ceased a month ago after likely Russian drone attacks that damaged the Druzhba pipeline, which carries Russian crude across Ukrainian territory and into Central Europe.

So both Slovakia and Hungary, which have actually increased their imports of Russian energy while everyone else in the EU is either reducing or cutting imports altogether, are demanding that Ukraine fix the pipeline that was damaged by Russian attacks and begin shipments of oil that will fund further attacks by Russia.

Talk about your betrayals!

And speaking of betrayals, let’s not forget Marco Rubio who went over to Hungary last week to cuddle with the corrupt dictator Orban, promising the Russian puppet US tax dollars and other financial support in a public and repugnant betrayal of Ukraine.

“If you face financial struggles, if you face things that are impediments to growth, if you face things that threaten the stability of your country, I know that President Trump will be very interested … to finding ways to provide assistance if that moment ever were to arise, and obviously with regards to finances and the like,” Rubio said.

The offer of financial support – and a nod toward extending Hungary’s exemption from sanctions on purchasing Russian oil and gas – came just two months before Orbán’s Fidesz party faces a punishing parliamentary election that marks the greatest threat to his control of Hungary in 16 years.

It’s incredible to me that Ukraine has continued to ship Russian oil through its country even after the full-scale invasion began!

But they did, and now, Hungary and Slovakia who are obviously addicted to cheap Russian energy, are threatening Ukraine aid and further efforts to keep Russia accountable for its atrocities, with the Trump administration standing behind them and offering them overt support!

The betrayal is clear, and Europe needs to act.

It’s not just Ukraine that Europe is defending, it’s also EU members. I’ve written numerous articles about Russia’s hybrid warfare against our European allies.

Disinformation.

Attacks on EU interests, including underwater infrastructure. Arson. Assassinations—both attempted and successful.

Election interference, including in Romania, where an election was nullified because of significant Russian meddling, Moldova, and Georgia.

Although the EU has no formal mechanism to eject a rogue member that is obviously acting on behalf of a malign power, there are measures the bloc can take.

It can make membership so miserable for both Hungary and Slovakia, that the two Kremlin sycophants can voluntarily exit.

I’ve often spoken about Article 7, which suspends membership rights for these malicious members - any member that seriously and persistently breaches the principles on which the EU is founded. These values can include:

• respect for human dignity

• freedom

• democracy

• equality

• the rule of law

• respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities

The EU, which usually requires unanimous consent to pass significant policy, can also change its voting procedures without amending the EU treaties. But these passerelle clauses are difficult. They can allow the Council of Ministers to act on the basis of qualified majority in areas where they used to have to act on the basis of unanimity (defense doesn’t count), or they can allow for legislation to be adopted on the basis of the ordinary legislative procedure where it previously was to be adopted on the basis of a special legislative procedure.

The European Council can use these passerelle clauses only if all national parliaments, after being notified of the decision to use these provisions, do not object after six months.

So what now?

I don’t have an answer about how to counter these betrayals.

I’ve made a couple of recommendations in this article, but they require actual courage on the part of those who still honor justice and fairness.

I don’t see the Trump administration changing its tack and holding Russia accountable. I will be ecstatic and surprised if we see additional sanctions against Russia after a year of silence and appeasement.

I’m not sure how the EU would handle the Putin puppets in its midst. Hopefully, Orban and his Fidesz monkeys lose big in April, but polls appear to be split, and Russia is already sticking its proboscis in the country’s election process.

Fico, who won election in 2023, gaining more votes than expected, has the seat until next year. I’d love to see Orban finally booted and Fico hanging out there on his own with no support other than his Kremlin buddies.

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently said that the UK and its European allies should immediately deploy noncombat troops to Ukraine to show Russian President Putin that Western nations are truly committed to the nation’s freedom and independence.

My hopes are close to zero on chances of this happening, but I’ll be pleasantly surprised if it does.

Enough is enough!