US military aid and trade tariffs might just get Putin to talk peace
Last week Russia launched a massive aerial assault on Ukraine using 728 drones and 13 missiles in the attack as Vladimir Putin ramped up his attempt to subjugate Ukraine by demoralising its civilian population in the (mistaken) belief that it will sue for peace and accept Russian conditions for ending the war.
The latest attack prompted Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, to write on Telegram that: “This is a demonstrative attack, and it comes at a time when there have been so many attempts to achieve peace and a ceasefire but Russia rejects everything. Our partners know how to apply pressure so that Russia will be forced to think about ending the war, not new strikes. Everyone who wants peace must act.”
It would appear that his appeal has not fallen on deaf ears as US Senators Lindsay Graham (Republican) and Richard Blumenthal (Democrat) are demanding swift action by the USA, urging the passage of a bipartisan bill that they’ve introduced that would impose additional sanctions. This new legislation would permit President Trump to impose a 500 per cent levy on imports to the US from countries that purchase Russian uranium, gas and oil which is gaining support in the US Senate.
It would seem that some senators are at last beginning to “wake up and smell the coffee” as Senator Lindsay Graham said. He added that: “In the coming days you’ll see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves. In the coming days and weeks, there’s going to be a massive effort to get Putin to the table.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also pledged to continue his country’s support of Ukraine although he contended that the means of diplomacy for ending the war had been “exhausted”. Backing this up, his defence minister, Boris Pistorius, landed in Washington on Monday to seek clarity on American arms supplies to Ukraine. Amongst other things they discussed Germany’s offer to pay for American Patriot air defence systems for Ukraine, which given recent events, Kyiv is in need of.
My Ukrainian relatives who moved here soon after the Russian invasion of their homeland are obviously getting increasingly anxious as Moscow escalates its aerial bombardment of Ukraine’s major cities. Whilst they are grateful that they have been granted refuge in Edinburgh their thoughts inevitably stray back to their family members who have been sitting out the war for over three years. Although they are unscathed so far they are justifiably worried about what Putin might do next, particularly if it looks like the resumption of the supply of military equipment to Kyiv tips the balance of the conflict.
Trying to second guess Putin is about as easy as trying to second guess Trump. Two power hungry, unpredictable individuals, whose egos regularly cloud their judgement. At least Trump has now realised that his brash statement that he would end the war within a day had about as much chance as a Tesco bag in hell and he has now seen fit to restore military aid to a more appropriate level. This, coupled with the imposition of punitive tariffs on countries that still trade with Russia might just do the trick!