The Patriot Post® · Ukraine Cease-Fire Ignored. What Now?

The separatists battling Ukrainian troops barely paused as they rolled over last week’s cease-fire agreement to rout the Ukrainian army at Debaltseve. This is the second time the major countries of NATO have met with Ukraine and Russia to try to halt the Russian aggression in its neighboring country. It’s clear diplomatic efforts have failed, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has once again outfoxed the West to wage his proxy war for Russian honor. Perhaps it’s time to take off the white gloves. “It is time for the west to get serious about Russian infringement of Ukrainian sovereignty,” writes Mathew Rolfes, a research assistant at the Heritage Foundation. “By providing Kyiv with defensive weapons, the west would force Putin to change his calculus. A failure to do so … would only prolong the status quo, which at this point is decidedly in Moscow’s favor.” It’s a risky strategy, one that might enrage Russia, but it’s one of the few options left. More…