Ukraine isn’t Russian territory, it’s Ukraine. The Ukrainian People’s Republic was declared on 23 June 1917 after a Ukrainian national movement for self-determination emerged and was recognized internationally. Before that the largest country in Europe (603,628 square kilometers) has been part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Tsardom of Russia. It’s been inhabited by people for 34,000 years and its city of Odessa, with six warm-water harbors, was occupied by Ancient Greeks from the Holy Roman Empire’s outset!

Ukraine still isn’t Russia’s, Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn’t incorporated it. Since the fall of 2021, Russia has amassed 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border. An offensive planned for this year involves 175,000 Russian troops. And, today, Russian forces surround Ukraine on three-sides.

As a result, the West sanctions Russia. U.S. President Joe Biden proposed controlling exports to damage Russian industries like quantum computing in hopes of depriving Russians of phones and crippling Chinese manufacturers.

But nothing’s happened. Not a single Russian asset left its territory and no sanctions have taken hold, including measures targeting Russia’s President personally! Russians again appear to be aggressors from isolation, absorbing the West’s objectification as the world’s mausoleum. Like bags hanging from fitness-center ceilings, whether a reason for our failure to ensure peace following World War II or a contender for greater civilization, Vladimir Putin always takes the hit and he NEVER hits back.