Developing

Dispatches

1) Clara Ott, “Warschau fordert Nato-„Friedensmission“ in der Ukraine,” Die Welt, den 16. März 2022 (02:05 Uhr);

Ott reports that, following the meetingnin Kviv of the

Polen hat eine „Friedensmission“ der Nato zur Unterstützung der Ukraine im Krieg gegen Russland gefordert. „Diese Mission kann keine unbewaffnete Mission sein“, zitierte die Nachrichtenagentur PAP den polnischen Vize-Regierungschef Jaroslaw Kaczynski, der am Dienstag mit den Regierungschefs von Polen, Slowenien und Tschechien nach Kiew gereist war. „Sie muss versuchen, humanitäre und friedliche Hilfe in der Ukraine zu leisten.“

Der Vorsitzende der regierenden konservativen Partei in Polen bekräftigte: „Ich glaube, wir brauchen eine Friedensmission der Nato oder möglicherweise einer breiteren internationalen Struktur.“

Diese solle „von Streitkräften geschützt“ werden und „in der Lage sein, sich selbst zu verteidigen“. Sie solle zudem „mit Zustimmung des ukrainischen Präsidenten und der ukrainischen Regierung“ auf „ukrainischem Territorium agieren“.

Revised Ebglish translation by Google

Poland has called for a NATO “peacekeeping mission” to support Ukraine in the war against Russia. “This mission cannot be an unarmed mission,” the PAP news agency quoted the Polish Deputy Prime Minister, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, as saying. Kaczynski traveled to Kyiv on Tuesday with the heads of government of Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. “(The Mission) must try to provide humanitarian and peaceful aid in Ukraine, he stated.”

The leader of the ruling conservative party in Poland reiterated: “I think we need a peacekeeping mission from NATO or possibly a broader international structure.”

This should be “protected by the armed forces” and “be able to defend itself”. It should also “act on Ukrainian territory with the consent of the Ukrainian President and the Ukrainian government”.

2) María R. Sahuquillo (Odesa, Ucrania), “Zelenski acepta que la puerta de la OTAN está cerrada para Ucrania: “Así es y debemos admitirlo”; El presidente ucranio critica a la Alianza Atlántica por parecer “hipnotizada por la agresión de Rusia” mientras su país sufre ataques cada vez más feroces de las tropas del Kremlin,” el 15 de marzo 2022 (21:00 CET);

Commentary

Poland is calling for the establishment of a NATO peacekeeping mission, to be deployed in Ukraine in support of Ukrainian efforts to defend the country against the Russian invasion.

“This Mission should not be an unarmed Mission,” the Deputy Prime Minister, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, was quoted as saying following the travel to Kviv by the government leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia and their meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Peace Mission “must attempt to provide humanitarian and peaceful assistance,” Kaczynski said.

He also reiterated, “I think we need a peacekeeping mission from NATO or possibly a broader international structure.” This should be “protected by the armed forces” and “be able to defend itself”.

This initiative is similar to the proposal by Ludovic Hood in an op-ed in the Washington Post on March 13.

See,

1) Ludovic Hood, “Send NATO Troops to Western Ukraine; A show of force inside the country would save lives and deprive Putin of the ability to dictate events,” Wall Street Journal, March 13, 2022 (5:37 pm ET);

2) “Ukraine War, March 13, 2022: World War III is already underway; Biden doesn’t understand situation, is not up to managing it, and is not preparing the nation for what lies ahead; proposal for stationing NATO troops in Western Ukraine,” The Trenchant Observer, March 13, 2022.

Coming one day before Volodymyr Zelensky’s video address to the U.S. Congress, the Polish initiative in a highly significant development in the evolution of decision making relating to the limited use of force to stop Putin.

There can be no doubt that he needs to be stopped.

Holding out the prospect of a negotiated ceasefire, as Russian forces continue to commit crimes against humanity by bombarding cities and civilians, is an old tactic aimed at dissuading NATO from intervening to stop Putin through the use of force.

Similarly, Russia’s opening and closing of humanitarian corridors to reduce pressures for outside intervention, which Putin can play like an accordion (e.g., in Mariupol cars but no buses were allowed to leave the cuty) is an old Russian tactic with which anyone who followed the Syrian civil war is deeply familiar.

The Trenchant Observer