Shane R. Reeves (USMA): To Russia with Love: How Moral Arguments for a Humanitarian Intervention in Syria Opened the Door for an Invasion of the Ukraine. From NYRB, Tim Judah on Ukraine: The Phony War? (and more); and Anatol Lieven on Ukraine: The only way to peace. If the West really wants to save Ukraine, it has to stop thinking in terms of "beating" Russia. Leading Ukrainian and Russian writers clash over Crimea. Kimberly Marten on Ukraine and the problem of local warlords. Lenin v. Stalin in Kiev: Slavoj Zizek on barbarism with a human face, and on what Europe can learn from Ukraine. Timothy Snyder on Europe and Ukraine, past and future: The history of Ukraine has revealed the turning points in the history of Europe — on 25 May both Ukrainians and EU citizens can decide which way things will turn this time. Come May 26, Ukraine could be in an even worse position than it is now. What would make Southeast Ukrainians take up arms? It's personal more than political. “What is happening in Ukraine is dangerous for Russia”: Ukrainian opposition leader Vitali Klitschko on what his country really needs from the West and why Putin's politics just don't make sense. Is Vladimir Putin a rational actor? John Cassidy wonders. Steven Mufson on why the sanctions against Russia probably won’t work. The International Monetary Fund estimates that Russia’s economy has already entered recession. Russia after Putin doesn't need to be Putinist, and driving a wedge between the craven president and his inner circle is the first step. President Obama’s response to the Ukraine crisis, while derided by critics as slow and weak, has reinvigorated a 15-year global hunt for the Russian leader’s hidden wealth.
