As Russia has started another round of artillery warfare in the Ukrainian Donbas on 29 January 2017 with more destruction and death in Ukraine, the reactions in Europe and the US only support Russian falcons ready for more warfare in other European countries.
First, there is no significant political reaction from Germany– now considered the de facto leader of the EU after the Brexit. In particular, there has been no official statement from the foreign ministry one week after the Russian occupation army started actions, deliberately targeting infrastructure (cutting energy/water supply) and civilian housings (destroying/damaging a few hundred houses). Also the new US president has shown that his teams has “bigger” plans, all actions underlining the US will side with Russia against China; leaving Europe to deal with its problems alone.
Second, EU-elites continue to ignore and downplay Russian attacks on their countries. This mainly concerns cyberwarfe – only this week, the Czech Republic, Poland, the Netherlands and Norway claimed larger Russian attacks. The problem has been recognized quite some time ago, but European politicians see only the problem of elections being “hacked” (as it endangers their power). They also still pretend that single Islamist attacks pose a greater threat than a Russian cyberattack with the potential to destroy power stations, crash banking transactions or telecommunications (besides there also remains the possibly of a false flag “terrorist” attack orchestrated by Russian intelligence agencies and befriended services). At this point it has to be stated clearly: The European establishment is trading European peace for their convenience, cowardice and personal interests.
Third, “ordinary” citizens grasp that their representatives are absorbed with their personal affairs and increasingly turn to “alternatives” – open to serve Russian interests. They would not if they would not take peace for granted: Either they do not realize that they have no means to defend themselves against an organized and determined enemy, a well percentage does not feel like defending even if being attacked. Just a few days ago it was announced that even Finnish reservists were trying to switch to civilian service. Also the British army complained recruitment could not be taken for granted. Both will be front-line states in case of enhanced Russian aggressions.
Fourth, three years after Russia distrupted the post-war order in Europe, European decision-makers still ignore the lessons Ukraine has to offer in regard to Russia (disinformation/propaganda, corrupting politicians/businessmen, cyberwarfare etc.). The Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia also could offer a nice lesson to ordinary citizens not willing to defend their values and living standards.
eastern europe in a nutshell 