Time for Ukraine to negotiate with Russia

DEAR EDITOR:

Returning the turbines to Germany angered the Kyiv government and the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada.

Do we let Germany fall?

Those turbines, sent to Canada for repair before the Russian invasion, were frozen in limbo when Canada announced trade sanctions on all things Russian. As the war wore on and sanctions escalated, Germany’s energy stockpile dwindled, winter is coming and Germany faces energy rationing, scheduled industry shut downs and a severe economic downturn.

The American-led economic sanctions by NATO against Russian oil and gas have actually hurt EU countries. Were Europe to replace its dependency on Russia with Canadian energy and permanently partner with Canadian agriculture to preserve global food security, Canada would of course benefit. But building ports in eastern Canada and refitting European ports to receive the LNG is estimated to take a couple of years; meanwhile, Germany is firing up coal plants and nuclear power reactors – but it will not be quick enough to avoid bone-crushing energy prices, which is fueling a grinding inflation that will collapse the economy.

Pentagon officials warn that Ukraine has not adjusted its strategy to fight a sustained war of attrition. They say, Ukrainian forces are outgunned, largely outranged in artillery and they have been “mauled.” The Pentagon worries Ukraine will run out of soldiers and munitions – the West can not replace losses fast enough and this makes Ukraine’s victory elusive at best. Events on the ground change faster than the West’s assumptions about them and as a result the actions we take are usually, too little too late.

A protracted Ukrainian conflict will test the resolve of NATO allies. Sanctions have backfired, it is western prices for food and fuel that soar, inflation riles voters and western consumers are starting to grumble. It is time for allies to convince President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to negotiate with Russia, even if it means the eastern Donbass region and Crimea are lost. Nothing will be gained by continuing to fight. The Ukrainians are getting pummeled and the military and political strategy of fighting to the last man standing, is a futile fanatical gesture of a few and totally ruinous for ordinary Ukrainians.

Russia says it remains open to negotiations – the Kyiv government foolishly remains against negotiations.

Jon Peter Christoff, West Kelowna