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| How Should the World Respond to Russia’s Assault on Ukraine? | How Should the World Respond to Russia’s Assault on Ukraine? |
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| This article is part of the Debatable newsletter. Starting next week, the newsletter will be sent once a week on Wednesdays. You can sign up here to receive it. | This article is part of the Debatable newsletter. Starting next week, the newsletter will be sent once a week on Wednesdays. You can sign up here to receive it. |
| Early Thursday morning, President Vladimir Putin of Russia declared a “special military operation” in Ukraine, beginning what could prove the most significant military conflict in Europe since World War II. | Early Thursday morning, President Vladimir Putin of Russia declared a “special military operation” in Ukraine, beginning what could prove the most significant military conflict in Europe since World War II. |
| In what Ukraine’s government called “a full-scale attack from multiple directions,” the Russian military rained fire on Ukrainian airports and cities, killing more than 40 Ukrainian soldiers and dozens of civilians in the first hours of the attack, according to Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States. | In what Ukraine’s government called “a full-scale attack from multiple directions,” the Russian military rained fire on Ukrainian airports and cities, killing more than 40 Ukrainian soldiers and dozens of civilians in the first hours of the attack, according to Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States. |
| President Biden condemned the invasion on Thursday as “a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering” and announced a “devastating packages of sanctions and other economic measures to hold Russia to account.” | President Biden condemned the invasion on Thursday as “a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering” and announced a “devastating packages of sanctions and other economic measures to hold Russia to account.” |
| But will the sanctions really be enough to stop a full-scale war and save Ukraine’s sovereignty? What other interventions, if any, should the United States and the rest of the world be considering? Here’s what people are saying. | But will the sanctions really be enough to stop a full-scale war and save Ukraine’s sovereignty? What other interventions, if any, should the United States and the rest of the world be considering? Here’s what people are saying. |
| Western leaders announced a first tranche of sanctions on Russia earlier this week, but the measures left room for further escalation. While they blocked Russia’s government from borrowing money from Western financial markets and cut off two large Russian banks from the U.S. financial system, they did not go as far as banning the purchase of Russia’s fossil fuels, by far Russia’s biggest revenue source. | Western leaders announced a first tranche of sanctions on Russia earlier this week, but the measures left room for further escalation. While they blocked Russia’s government from borrowing money from Western financial markets and cut off two large Russian banks from the U.S. financial system, they did not go as far as banning the purchase of Russia’s fossil fuels, by far Russia’s biggest revenue source. |
| Now that Russia has moved forward with its assault, European countries, Japan and South Korea have said they will join the United States in imposing even harsher sanctions. So far, these include freezing trillions of dollars in Russian assets, including the funds controlled by Russian elites and their families; severing more of the country’s banks from transactions with non-Russian entities; and imposing sweeping export controls on technologies and inputs needed by Russian industry. | Now that Russia has moved forward with its assault, European countries, Japan and South Korea have said they will join the United States in imposing even harsher sanctions. So far, these include freezing trillions of dollars in Russian assets, including the funds controlled by Russian elites and their families; severing more of the country’s banks from transactions with non-Russian entities; and imposing sweeping export controls on technologies and inputs needed by Russian industry. |
| Yet once again, the measures unveiled did not target Russia’s fossil fuel exports, reportedly because of concerns over domestic blowback to high energy prices. Nor did they exclude Russia from Swift, the payment system used for transactions between banks around the world. That omission drew criticism from Representative Adam B. Schiff, the California Democrat who leads the House Intelligence Committee, and from Ukraine’s foreign affairs minister. | Yet once again, the measures unveiled did not target Russia’s fossil fuel exports, reportedly because of concerns over domestic blowback to high energy prices. Nor did they exclude Russia from Swift, the payment system used for transactions between banks around the world. That omission drew criticism from Representative Adam B. Schiff, the California Democrat who leads the House Intelligence Committee, and from Ukraine’s foreign affairs minister. |
| Why haven’t Ukraine’s allies gone further? In the view of Times columnist Paul Krugman, the West’s own entanglement with Russian interests may be limiting its response. Europe, for example, is deeply dependent on Russian fossil fuels, drawing nearly 40 percent of its gas and more than a quarter of its oil from the country in recent years. Italy has sought to exclude luxury goods — a favorite purchase among the Russian elite — from any sanctions package. And while there is plenty of offshore Russian wealth that democratic governments could seize, doing so would also make life harder for the West’s own money launderers. | Why haven’t Ukraine’s allies gone further? In the view of Times columnist Paul Krugman, the West’s own entanglement with Russian interests may be limiting its response. Europe, for example, is deeply dependent on Russian fossil fuels, drawing nearly 40 percent of its gas and more than a quarter of its oil from the country in recent years. Italy has sought to exclude luxury goods — a favorite purchase among the Russian elite — from any sanctions package. And while there is plenty of offshore Russian wealth that democratic governments could seize, doing so would also make life harder for the West’s own money launderers. |
| “What this means is that taking effective action against Putin’s greatest vulnerability will require facing up to and overcoming the West’s own corruption,” Krugman writes. “Can the democratic world rise to this challenge? We’ll find out over the next few months.” | “What this means is that taking effective action against Putin’s greatest vulnerability will require facing up to and overcoming the West’s own corruption,” Krugman writes. “Can the democratic world rise to this challenge? We’ll find out over the next few months.” |
| Experts have also warned of a potential financial panic that, in addition to devastating ordinary Russian citizens, could spill over into the global economy, with “unexpected and unpredictable consequences,” according to Maria Snegovaya, a visiting scholar at George Washington University who co-wrote an Atlantic Council paper on U.S. sanctions on Russia. | Experts have also warned of a potential financial panic that, in addition to devastating ordinary Russian citizens, could spill over into the global economy, with “unexpected and unpredictable consequences,” according to Maria Snegovaya, a visiting scholar at George Washington University who co-wrote an Atlantic Council paper on U.S. sanctions on Russia. |
| As it is, though, Russia’s economy appears to be suffering. By Thursday’s close, the country's most-watched stock index was down 33 percent. If Europe and its allies do pursue sanctions on Russian fossil fuels, “Russia may well retaliate through cyberattacks or other means that could shake global energy markets,” The Times editorial board writes. But, it adds, “Any such costs should be weighed against the gravity of what Russia has done.” | As it is, though, Russia’s economy appears to be suffering. By Thursday’s close, the country's most-watched stock index was down 33 percent. If Europe and its allies do pursue sanctions on Russian fossil fuels, “Russia may well retaliate through cyberattacks or other means that could shake global energy markets,” The Times editorial board writes. But, it adds, “Any such costs should be weighed against the gravity of what Russia has done.” |
| President Biden has said that he will not send American troops to defend Ukraine. But that doesn’t mean military intervention is necessarily off the table. | President Biden has said that he will not send American troops to defend Ukraine. But that doesn’t mean military intervention is necessarily off the table. |
| One option, favored by Eliot A. Cohen, a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, is the provision of military aid to Ukrainians. “The United States and its Western partners must help nourish an insurgency that will cause the occupiers to bitterly regret, and then reverse, their attempt to crush Ukrainian independence,” he writes. “This strategy does not require sending troops, except to protect NATO allies; it does require providing weapons, training, and intelligence without stinting.” | |
| Others, though, are less bullish about America’s ability to prop up an insurgency, and more wary of unintended consequences in the region. “To have any hope against Russian occupation forces, an insurgency will need to be supplied and supported from neighboring countries,” Robert Kagan writes in The Washington Post. “Will Poland play that role, with Russian forces directly across the border? Will the Baltics? Or Hungary? And if they do, will the Russians not feel justified in attacking the insurgents’ supply routes, even if they happen to lie in the territory of neighboring NATO members? It is wishful thinking to imagine that this conflict stops with Ukraine.” | Others, though, are less bullish about America’s ability to prop up an insurgency, and more wary of unintended consequences in the region. “To have any hope against Russian occupation forces, an insurgency will need to be supplied and supported from neighboring countries,” Robert Kagan writes in The Washington Post. “Will Poland play that role, with Russian forces directly across the border? Will the Baltics? Or Hungary? And if they do, will the Russians not feel justified in attacking the insurgents’ supply routes, even if they happen to lie in the territory of neighboring NATO members? It is wishful thinking to imagine that this conflict stops with Ukraine.” |
| Whatever action the United States takes, it must do so in accordance with international law, argues Trita Parsi, the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. In Parsi’s view, the path to Putin’s flagrant violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty was paved in part by similar transgressions on the part of the United States — most notably, the illegal invasion of Iraq — and the resulting degradation of the U.N.’s ability to mediate conflicts. | Whatever action the United States takes, it must do so in accordance with international law, argues Trita Parsi, the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. In Parsi’s view, the path to Putin’s flagrant violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty was paved in part by similar transgressions on the part of the United States — most notably, the illegal invasion of Iraq — and the resulting degradation of the U.N.’s ability to mediate conflicts. |
| One diplomatic avenue left for Biden to pursue runs through China, which has been trying to strike a delicate balance between calling for peace talks and approving imports of Russian wheat, which could soften the blow of sanctions. | One diplomatic avenue left for Biden to pursue runs through China, which has been trying to strike a delicate balance between calling for peace talks and approving imports of Russian wheat, which could soften the blow of sanctions. |
| Richard Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, argues the United States must now do what it can to build distance between Russia and China. That would require “highlighting the economic and strategic risks — including financial punishment and increasing anti-China sentiment in the West — of it being closely associated with an aggressive Russia,” he writes. “Now would also be a good time to restart a high-level strategic dialogue with China and search for issues, on Afghanistan, say, and climate change, where the two governments might cooperate.” | Richard Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, argues the United States must now do what it can to build distance between Russia and China. That would require “highlighting the economic and strategic risks — including financial punishment and increasing anti-China sentiment in the West — of it being closely associated with an aggressive Russia,” he writes. “Now would also be a good time to restart a high-level strategic dialogue with China and search for issues, on Afghanistan, say, and climate change, where the two governments might cooperate.” |
| And if neither international cooperation nor military aid is enough to get Putin to reverse course? Former Adm. Jame Stavridis, the 16th supreme allied commander at NATO, argues that the rest of the world should help Ukraine prepare for the worst-case scenarios: the fall of Kyiv and the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Ukraine. | And if neither international cooperation nor military aid is enough to get Putin to reverse course? Former Adm. Jame Stavridis, the 16th supreme allied commander at NATO, argues that the rest of the world should help Ukraine prepare for the worst-case scenarios: the fall of Kyiv and the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Ukraine. |
| In addition to providing an evacuation plan for Ukraine’s president, the country’s allies could lend financial support to Ukraine’s embassies and ambassadors to keep its diplomatic network functioning. “Much as Charles de Gaulle continued to carry the flame of France during the Nazi occupation, Ukraine should be afforded a similar opportunity,” he writes in Time. | In addition to providing an evacuation plan for Ukraine’s president, the country’s allies could lend financial support to Ukraine’s embassies and ambassadors to keep its diplomatic network functioning. “Much as Charles de Gaulle continued to carry the flame of France during the Nazi occupation, Ukraine should be afforded a similar opportunity,” he writes in Time. |
| Some U.S. politicians, such as Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have also called for countries to open their doors to Ukrainian refugees. | Some U.S. politicians, such as Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have also called for countries to open their doors to Ukrainian refugees. |
| Dire as the situation has become for the people of Ukraine, it remains an open question just how involved the American public wants the United States to be in their affairs. | Dire as the situation has become for the people of Ukraine, it remains an open question just how involved the American public wants the United States to be in their affairs. |
| “While Putin and Russia are illiberal, as of yet none of these actions are anti-American,” Micah Meadowcroft writes in The American Conservative. “It is not our border that is under dispute, and it is, crucially, not a NATO member state that has been intervened in. While he demands to negotiate with us directly, because for now the Europeans still fall in line, Putin is not testing the United States of America here, but arrangements we presided over only decades old.” | “While Putin and Russia are illiberal, as of yet none of these actions are anti-American,” Micah Meadowcroft writes in The American Conservative. “It is not our border that is under dispute, and it is, crucially, not a NATO member state that has been intervened in. While he demands to negotiate with us directly, because for now the Europeans still fall in line, Putin is not testing the United States of America here, but arrangements we presided over only decades old.” |
| This view has found a prominent exponent in Tucker Carlson, who on his Fox News show has called Ukraine “strategically irrelevant to the United States,” wondered why the United States should support Ukraine over Russia, and asked why there was such a focus “on Ukraine’s borders and not ours?” | This view has found a prominent exponent in Tucker Carlson, who on his Fox News show has called Ukraine “strategically irrelevant to the United States,” wondered why the United States should support Ukraine over Russia, and asked why there was such a focus “on Ukraine’s borders and not ours?” |
| But the argument for restraint has champions across the political spectrum. “There’s only so many insurgencies for democracy and freedom that we can realistically support around the world,” Farah Stockman, a member of The Times editorial board, said on a recent episode of “The Argument” podcast. “We need to do a better job picking our battles. We really do, because we have to protect ourselves and our own democracy first, because we cannot help anyone else if we are in disarray. And guess what? We’re in disarray right now. We really are.” | |
| Do you have a point of view we missed? Email us at debatable@nytimes.com. Please note your name, age and location in your response, which may be included in the next newsletter. | Do you have a point of view we missed? Email us at debatable@nytimes.com. Please note your name, age and location in your response, which may be included in the next newsletter. |
| “This Is Putin’s War. But America and NATO Aren’t Innocent Bystanders.” [The New York Times] | “This Is Putin’s War. But America and NATO Aren’t Innocent Bystanders.” [The New York Times] |
| “‘A Knife to the Throat’: Putin’s Logic for Invading Ukraine” [The New York Times] | “‘A Knife to the Throat’: Putin’s Logic for Invading Ukraine” [The New York Times] |
| “Putin’s Invasion Has Begun” [Slate] | “Putin’s Invasion Has Begun” [Slate] |
| “How the Russia-Ukraine Crisis Is Turning Poland Into a Strategic Player” [Foreign Policy] | “How the Russia-Ukraine Crisis Is Turning Poland Into a Strategic Player” [Foreign Policy] |
| “The Invasion of Ukraine: How Russia Attacked and What Happens Next” [The New York Times] | “The Invasion of Ukraine: How Russia Attacked and What Happens Next” [The New York Times] |
| Here’s what a reader had to say about the last debate: Should we be concerned about the gambling gold rush? | Here’s what a reader had to say about the last debate: Should we be concerned about the gambling gold rush? |
| Tim Wirth, former U.S. senator of Colorado and former president of the United Nations Foundation: “Why not require the revenue from sports betting be allocated to the sports themselves, as is done in Norway? New funds went into their athletic associations, gold medals were reaped in the last Games, and the athletes benefited, not the gambling companies. The N.C.A.A. and other could develop such a requirement.” | Tim Wirth, former U.S. senator of Colorado and former president of the United Nations Foundation: “Why not require the revenue from sports betting be allocated to the sports themselves, as is done in Norway? New funds went into their athletic associations, gold medals were reaped in the last Games, and the athletes benefited, not the gambling companies. The N.C.A.A. and other could develop such a requirement.” |