World
Beyond the warning •
The price of Putin’s impunity
The Russian president’s attacks on Europe and Europeans are becoming increasingly brazen because, thanks to Trump, he has become convinced that his licence to kill is broader. The agreement on refineries and those who never keep their word
Photo: LaPresse
Russian drones struck a Ukrainian train two kilometres from the Polish border; they missed the European leaders and officials who were returning from Kyiv after the YES Conference solely because their train had departed slightly earlier than scheduled. The Russians want to “scare the West”, said the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas; the Russians have issued “a warning”, according to many media outlets; the Russians are “desperate”, said the NATO Secretary-General: all partly true, but all inaccurate.
It is inaccurate to interpret Vladimir Putin’s ‘hybrid’ war against Europe as being more harmless; it is inaccurate to describe Russian aircraft entering NATO airspace – where they strike, kill and gather intelligence – as mere ‘incursions’: we are beyond fear, warnings and the ‘hybrid’ label. The Russian president’s brazenness – targeting a train carrying Ukraine’s allies – stems from a sense of impunity. Ever since Donald Trump has been in the White House, Putin has become convinced not only that, by persevering and intensifying his attacks on Ukraine, he will prevail on the battlefield, but also that a strong Europe is not in the interests of this America, and that the collective defence of Western countries is not, after all, a foregone conclusion. Trump has left Ukrainian airspace defenceless, has jeopardised NATO, has positioned himself as a ‘neutral’ mediator (neutrality goes hand in hand with impunity and brazenness) and has thus fuelled Putin’s impunity.
The latest example is from just a few days ago: Putin is trying to target the Europeans’ train, and Trump, without even mentioning the attempted attack, tells Volodymyr Zelensky that he must stop attacking Russian refineries. On the same day, the American president announced, with visible satisfaction, that he had brokered an agreement: Ukraine would no longer strike Russian energy targets and Russia would refrain from hitting Ukrainian ones. Trump is reported to be concerned about the soaring price of oil, while he remains unable to secure the Strait of Hormuz and has not come to the aid of Saudi allies under attack. We already know that Ukraine always honours agreements, but Putin does not – never: he believes he has no need to, not whilst Trump is there to foster his impunity.
