Derek H. Burney
National Post, Apr. 24, 2022
“Odessa is the ultimate prize for Putin”
The longer the war in Ukraine lasts, the more atrocities against civilians are exposed, and the murkier the prospects for victory and peace become. Western publics remain staunchly supportive of Ukraine’s valiant efforts, but they can become inured to the graphic depictions of gruesome savagery, such as the newly discovered mass grave that could hold as many as 9,000 bodies near the devastated city of Mariupol. Attention spans are inevitably domestic. The pivotal question now, however, is whether the U.S. and NATO will marshal a more muscular response to Russia’s massively superior firepower.
Stymied in his efforts to capture Kyiv and replace Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with a puppet, Vladimir Putin is now concentrating on two battles — one in the energy-rich Donbas region, the other seeking to establish a permanent land bridge to Crimea and deny Ukraine access to the Sea of Azov. Odessa is the ultimate prize. That would effectively landlock and cripple Ukraine’s economy, leaving it as a non-viable rump.
To challenge Russia for control of the Donbas, it is urgent that NATO provide Ukraine with battle tanks, tracked howitzers, multiple-launch rocket systems, infantry fighting vehicles and armoured troop carriers. Friday’s announcement that Canada has sent M777 howitzers and ammunition to Ukraine was welcome news.
If Ukraine is to win, integrated land and air operations are also vital. For weeks the U.S. and NATO prevaricated about sending MiG-29s to Ukraine lest that be seen as “escalatory’’ and could provoke Putin — pussyfooting about an enemy who has no compunctions about missile attacks on civilian apartments, hospitals, schools and train stations, the latter with at least one missile despicably labelled ”For the children.” Given Putin’s intensified attacks in Eastern and Southern Ukraine, the U.S. has belatedly approved shipments of helicopters and unspecified fighter aircraft parts.
Derek H. Burney is a former 30-year career diplomat who served as Ambassador to the United States of America from 1989 to 1993.
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