By John Q. Hosedrinker 
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not dictate peace terms in Ukraine, citing him as the cause of the war and the ongoing killing. Putin has threatened that foreign troops on Ukrainian soil would be targeted, but allies are discussing security guarantees for Kyiv. Carney added that allies will maintain sanctions on Russia and support Ukraine until hostilities cease. Meetings, including one in Paris with 39 countries, focused on potential security guarantees and support for Ukraine.
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Putin will not dictate terms of Ukraine peace, Canada’s Carney cautions – seems to be the crux of it. But the sentiment is met with a good deal of skepticism. Some voices say, “He’ll try,” and that’s a given. The worry is, that he might actually believe he can dictate the terms. But the hope – or perhaps the firm conviction – is that he won’t succeed.
The whole situation feels like a quagmire, doesn’t it? Russia, caught up in a conflict in Ukraine, seems to be in a position where the only way to hold onto the territory they’ve seized is to keep fighting. Many believe that Putin is headed toward a point where his country’s resources will be depleted, leading to either his removal or worse. The potential outcomes appear pretty grim for Russia if they lose this conflict.
However, it’s not guaranteed that Russia will even be in that losing position. There’s a lot of talk, and it’s easy to get bogged down in the noise. The real consequences are the casualties, and the devastating loss of life. It’s also true that Putin hasn’t been able to get the world to take him seriously on the matter. But what’s Canada, in particular, going to do about it, if anything? Send prayers? The skepticism runs deep. The belief is that, as things stand, there’s one likely outcome: Putin wins, one way or another.
There’s an argument that Ukraine is being goaded into a “last stand” situation, and the implications of that are worrying. The question is raised about the potential consequences if a country bordering the US were to make a security pact with China. Would the US react in the same way Russia has? The suggestion is that the West perhaps provoked Russia.
And yet, the overwhelming sentiment seems to be that this is Russia’s doing, plain and simple. Russia has been a source of international instability for a long time. NATO, on the other hand, is a defensive alliance. It isn’t an organization that pushes into other countries. The argument is that those countries willingly seek protection. And the assertion that giving Putin what he wants would lead to peace is a dangerous idea.
There is a feeling that making concessions to Russia now is just delaying a bigger, more costly conflict in the future. The belief is that by supporting Ukraine now, the West can avoid a more significant confrontation later on. It is also pointed out that the West has poured billions of dollars into helping Ukraine. Canada, with its substantial Ukrainian population, feels it has a stake in the outcome.
The West didn’t “poke” Russia; the former Soviet Union was the invader. NATO doesn’t “expand”; new members choose to join. The point is made that Russia doesn’t get a veto over who joins a defensive alliance. The assertion is that Russia, holding the largest number of nuclear weapons in the world, has never been under threat. The situation is presented as one of opportunistic conquest by Russia.
The alternative, some argue, is simply not realistic. It’s suggested that Western nations are pouring money, time, and resources down the drain. There’s a sense that Russia has the resources to keep fighting for longer than Ukraine does, even if it means pulling more troops from remote areas.
However, there’s a clear sense of resolve. There is a willingness to support Ukraine, and to make it clear that those who are attacking Ukrainian soil will be met with force. The hope is that Russia can be bogged down. The advantage of being Canadian is that it has the capacity to contribute in various ways, including making drones and munitions.