On February 24th Russia invaded Ukraine firing missiles and bombs on peaceful Ukrainian cities. Russia targets civilian objects – residential areas, kindergartens, schools, hospitals – and critical infrastructure such as dams and power stations. Russia already captured Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the world faces the specter of another nuclear disaster. The death toll is soaring: during the first three days of war Russia killed 210 civilians, many of them are children. Millions of civilians flee the war.
Have no doubt – Russia wants to destroy Ukraine, a democratic country in the middle of Europe. Russians say on the highest forums including the United Nations Security Council that they are protecting Ukrainians. This is a blatant lie. Ukrainians are free people and do not need protection from Russia.
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The battle front for liberty is in Ukraine. It fights for the whole free world. And if the free world wants to exist, it must help Ukraine immediately.
The EU, USA and other countries seeking peace should:
- Raise the economic cost of funding war for Putin – freeze assets of the Russian government, government-owned companies and oligarchs, limit access to financial markets, ban holding of all the Russian securities in portfolios of US or EU financial institutions, cut trade ties with Russia wherever possible;
- Turn off Russian media that distribute propaganda and debunk fake narratives waging aggression;
- Exclude Russia from all the international organizations ranging from the IMF and to sport federations. The aggressor should not be a member of any club in the civilized world;
- Putin’s henchmen (including Belarussia’s Lukashenko) should face sanctions. Cancel visas and resident permits to all Russian officials and their relatives. No one who works for the Russian state should be allowed to enjoy life in countries which this state threatens to destroy.
Because of these steps, our citizens will experience inconveniences. But freedom does not come cheap. And think about millions of Ukrainian women, children and elderly who are hiding in basements and subway stations from Russian artillery and missiles. Think of millions of Ukrainian men who join the army and the volunteer territorial defense units to fight off the aggressor. They put their lives on the line to protect not only the freedom of Ukraine but also the freedom for all of us.
The Russian aggression must be stopped!
Yuriy Gorodnichenko, Quantedge Presidential Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley
Ilona Sologoub, VoxUkraine scientific editor
Attention
The authors do not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have no relevant affiliations
