The war against Ukraine in the moral maze
Where does western responsibility start and end in this terrible conflict?
On BBC Radio’s Moral Maze this week, we discussed the responsibilities arising from Vladimir Putin’s onslaught against Ukraine. Putin launched the unprovoked attack and is responsible for the ensuing carnage. But how far was he encouraged or even incentivised to do so by the west’s own behaviour?
Russia built up its military strength while the European democracies made every effort to disarm. NATO might have trained Ukrainian troops and sent supplies right up to the invasion, but repeatedly said it wouldn’t get directly involved. And now we have sanctions that could take years to have any effect.
If Putin takes Kyiv and installs a puppet government, there is likely to be a Ukrainian resistance lasting many years. How far should the west assist that resistance? When, if ever, is assassination a moral option to get rid of a monstrous killer? And will this crisis create a new world order in which the west realises it can no longer appease and benefit from tyrants, or will comfortable democracies continue to put their own short-term self-interest first?
My co-panellists were Tim Stanley, Mona Siddiqui and Matthew Taylor. Our witnesses were Alan Mendoza, director of the Henry Jackson Society; political scientist Professor Yascha Mounk; former MI6 officer Christopher Steele; and Professor Janina Dill, co-director of the Oxford University Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict.
If you can access BBC iPlayer, you can listen to the programme here.
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