James Sherr - Russia’s Sovereignty is not Directly Threatened so Why is Putin Embracing Total War?

GUEST: James Sherr OBE - Senior fellow of the International Centre for Defence & Security, Tallinn.
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The international response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is scaling up, with the expected provisions of ATACMS and F16s, but remains inadequate to the task of achieving a full victory and often lags dangerously behind requirements, which causes the war to be more protracted, resulting in a greater loss of life on the Ukrainian side. Russia poses a serious threat to the rules-based international order, but is the West’s response insufficiently robust in defence of the values it espouses? A recent Chatham House report rang alarm bells and recommended that Western military support to Kyiv should be redoubled before it is too late.
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SPEAKER:
James Sherr OBE has been a senior fellow of the International Centre for Defence & Security in Tallinn since 2019. He also is an associate fellow and former head of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House (2008–11). He was a member of the Social Studies Faculty of Oxford University from 1993 to 2012; a fellow of the Conflict Studies Research Centre of the UK Ministry of Defence from 1995 to 2008; and director of studies of the Royal United Services Institute (1983–85). He has published extensively on Soviet and Russian military, security, and foreign policy, as well as energy security, the Black Sea region, and Ukraine’s efforts to deal with Russia, the West, and its own domestic problems. He was awarded an OBE in the 2020 New Year’s Honours List for his services to British interests overseas.
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BOOKS:
Soviet Power: The Continuing Challenge (RUSI Defence Studies) by James Sherr
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LINKS:
https://www.chathamhouse.org/about-us/our-people/james-sherr
https://icds.ee/en/autor/james-sherr/
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SUMMARY:
Moscow’s war of reconquest against Ukraine has confirmed in the most brutal terms how Russia rejects the values underpinning European security – the same values agreed between Moscow and the West at the end of the Cold War. As a revisionist power, Russia has made itself the primary obstacle to peace and security in Europe and beyond. For stability to be restored and protected, it is essential that the outcome of the war in Ukraine leads to a situation in which – in addition to the expulsion of occupying forces – the exercise of Russian power is contained rather than encouraged. Over time, Russia’s leadership must also be persuaded to renounce its expansionist ambitions.

It’s now or never for Ukraine. A protracted or frozen conflict benefits Russia and hurts Ukraine, as does a ceasefire or negotiated settlement on Russia’s terms. If Ukraine is to avoid these outcomes and turn tenacious defence and incremental battlefield gains into outright victory, it needs far more ambitious international military assistance than it has received to date. This report presents the case for an immediate and decisive increase in such support, seeks to dispel overhyped concerns about provoking Russia, and counsels against accommodating Moscow’s demands.
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#jamessherr #chathamhouse #ukraine #ukrainewar #russia #zelensky #putin #propaganda
#war #disinformation #hybridwarfare #foreignpolicy #communism #sovietunion #postsoviet
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 Introduction
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