Thursday, September 21, 2023
No Result
View All Result
  • Media
Support Us
Macdonald-Laurier Institute
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Energy Policy
      • Energy
      • Environment
    • Foreign Policy
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs
  • Projects
    • The Great Energy Crisis
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
    • Dragon at the Door
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • Competition Policy in Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Justice Report Card
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Provincial COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
      • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Past Projects
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
      • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
      • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
      • Straight Talk
      • Labour Market Report
      • Leading Economic Indicator
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy
    • Papers
    • Commentary
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Video
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Energy Policy
      • Energy
      • Environment
    • Foreign Policy
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs
  • Projects
    • The Great Energy Crisis
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
    • Dragon at the Door
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • Competition Policy in Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Justice Report Card
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Provincial COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
      • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Past Projects
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
      • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
      • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
      • Straight Talk
      • Labour Market Report
      • Leading Economic Indicator
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy
    • Papers
    • Commentary
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Video
No Result
View All Result
Macdonald-Laurier Institute

The UN and NATO have failed Ukraine. But it’s not too late for them to step up now: Chris Alexander in the Globe and Mail

As when Belgium was invaded in 1914 and Poland in 1939, Ukraine’s fight is our fight, writes Chris Alexander

February 28, 2022
in Chris Alexander, Columns, Europe and Russia, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy Program, In the Media, Latest News
Reading Time: 4 mins read
A A

This article was originally published in the Globe and Mail.

By Chris Alexander, February 28, 2022

There were at least eight uprisings, battles and offensives around Kyiv in the 20th century. The most dramatic, by far, was the Battle of Kyiv in 1941, when German Nazi forces took the city in what is considered the largest troop encirclement in the history of warfare.

Now Kyiv is again at the centre of the world’s attention, as Russian forces attack.

But while Russian President Vladimir Putin and his generals may have thought this would be a cakewalk, Ukraine’s resistance has packed more punch than Russia’s military planners expected.

Ukrainians are armed, defiant and highly motivated. On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky vowed to remain in Kyiv to defend the country. Former president Petro Poroshenko has also appeared with a unit of armed defenders, as has Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, a three-time heavyweight boxing world champion. They are determined to repel a military onslaught by Russia, which has started a war of unprovoked aggression.

Mr. Putin made clear, in a July essay and in recent speeches, that he is intent on wiping out Ukraine’s democratic institutions and independent political identity. By pursuing this goal, he joins the ranks of Kyiv’s previous aggressors, Adolf Hitler – who was motivated by hideous ideologies – as well as Joseph Stalin, Hitler’s ally in the dark years of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact from 1939 to 1941, when Europe was last torn apart.

But how could this have happened again?

Part of the answer lies in the failure of the international system, the rules-based multilateral institutions that Canada has long considered a linchpin of our security.

Despite a brilliant speech by the Kenyan ambassador, the United Nations has been an utter disappointment. In a scene worthy of Orwell, Russia was chairing a meeting of the UN Security Council about the Ukraine situation when Mr. Putin announced his invasion, in severe breach of the principles of the UN Charter.

Ukraine’s ambassador had strong words for his Russian counterpart – “There is no purgatory for war criminals. They go straight to hell, ambassador.” But that was all that the UN was really able to do. Even the UN Human Rights Council has failed to deplore Russia’s violence.

To its credit, the Council of Europe has suspended Russia’s representation. But they have to know that even their rebukes are likely to glance off Mr. Putin.

As a result, even as Kyiv faces destruction, as the lives of 44 million Ukrainians are put at risk, and as Mr. Putin makes clear his genocidal intent toward the country, the response of our usually valued international institutions – including those that seek to prevent war crimes or champion the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) – has been underwhelming, to put it mildly.

Mr. Putin is bent on using force to subjugate a country larger than France. At this point, the only hope of stopping him lies with Ukraine’s brave defenders, who themselves know they will not succeed alone. How is this fair?

At least 10 per cent of Ukraine’s current army was trained to some degree by Canada. We and a dozen other NATO members, notably the U.S. and U.K., have provided ammunition, light arms and other weapons systems.

But since Mr. Putin launched his war, NATO has been focused on its own security, reinforcing its Eastern flank – a necessary step, but one that does nothing to help the Ukrainians now preparing to defend the country.

The statement after the latest meeting of NATO heads of state only contained an anodyne message of support for a country defending our shared values: “We will continue to provide political and practical support to Ukraine as it continues to defend itself and call on others to do the same.”

This is disgracefully insufficient. Ukraine needs and deserves much more. They have asked for a no-fly zone, which should be provided. They need enhanced arms and weapons systems, as well as full intelligence-sharing. Mr. Putin’s hints at nuclear retaliation can be safely dismissed as a fear-mongering bluff: NATO’s members include nuclear powers, with far greater economic weight and institutional depth.

As when Belgium was invaded in 1914 and Poland in 1939, Ukraine’s fight is our fight. Today’s horrific siege of Kyiv is part of a war in Europe, started by a demented dictator – the exact kind of crisis for which these multilateral institutions were created. Now, they need to give Ukrainians the tools to prevail.

Chris Alexander is a former diplomat and Canadian cabinet minister who is currently a distinguished fellow of the Canadian International Council and the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. He has previously served as deputy head of mission of the Canadian embassy in Moscow.

Share this:
Tags: Chris AlexanderNATOPutinsanctionsUkraine
Previous Post

Expelling all Russian banks from SWIFT must be done now: Eugene Czolij in the Kyiv Independent

Next Post

Canada enables Russia by opposing pipelines and protecting money launderers: Christian Leuprecht in the National Post

Related Posts

Romanian Energy Minister, Sebastian Burduja, talks energy security with Jonathan Berkshire Miller
Video

Romanian Energy Minister, Sebastian Burduja, talks energy security with Jonathan Berkshire Miller

September 21, 2023
Canada-Japan cooperation to counter China’s disinformation campaigns: Charles Burton for Inside Policy
Columns

It’s time for Canada to implement a foreign policy reset: Stephen Nagy in the Japan Times

September 21, 2023
Covid-19, the test bioethics failed: Tom Koch for Inside Policy
Inside Policy

Covid-19, the test bioethics failed: Tom Koch for Inside Policy

September 21, 2023
Next Post
Ottawa should suspend passage of C-69: Stephen Buffalo in The Hill Times

Canada enables Russia by opposing pipelines and protecting money launderers: Christian Leuprecht in the National Post

Newsletter Signup

Follow us on

Macdonald-Laurier Institute

323 Chapel Street, Suite #300
Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 7Z2 Canada

613.482.8327

info@macdonaldlaurier.ca
MLI directory

Support Us

Support the Macdonald-Laurier Institute to help ensure that Canada is one of the best governed countries in the world. Click below to learn more or become a sponsor.

Support Us

  • Inside Policy Magazine
  • Annual Reports
  • Jobs
  • Privacy Policy

© 2021 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Energy Policy
      • Energy
      • Environment
    • Foreign Policy
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs
  • Projects
    • The Great Energy Crisis
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
    • Dragon at the Door
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • Competition Policy in Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Justice Report Card
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Provincial COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
      • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Past Projects
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
      • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
      • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
      • Straight Talk
      • Labour Market Report
      • Leading Economic Indicator
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy
    • Papers
    • Commentary
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Video

© 2021 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.

IDEAS CHANGE THE WORLD!Have the latest Canadian thought leadership delivered straight to your inbox.
First Name
Last Name
Email address

No thanks, I’m not interested.