The US Is Going All Out*

*Editor’s note: On March 4, Russia enacted a law that criminalizes public opposition to, or independent news reporting about, the war in Ukraine. The law makes it a crime to call the war a “war” rather than a “special military operation” on social media or in a news article or broadcast. The law is understood to penalize any language that “discredits” Russia’s use of its military in Ukraine, calls for sanctions or protests Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It punishes anyone found to spread “false information about the invasion” with up to 15 years in prison.

The U.S. has abandoned all pretense — if there were any left — and clearly stated its objectives: “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.” In such a way, U.S. President Joe Biden concluded last night’s keynote speech in Warsaw, billed as a “major address” regarding Ukraine.

Biden began with a quote from Pope John Paul II. Then, in the context of Poland’s Solidarity movement from 40 years ago, he recounted the history of the destruction of the Soviet bloc and the Soviet Union. The tone of the address is evident from the following remark: “Let’s remember: The hammer blow that brought down the Berlin Wall …” The impassioned speech lasted 30 minutes. Biden did not hesitate once and only made one error, having confused Mariupol with Metropol, but quickly corrected himself. Thus, the American president unleashed all the ideological fervor of the American crusade for “democracy” and “freedom” with the religious charge of a staunch Catholic.

When recounting the events of the 1980s, Biden did not mention Ronald Reagan, obligated not to by cross-party rivalry. However, in terms of acting and accusing Russia, he sounded absolutely like Reagan, famous for denouncing the “evil empire.” The Reagan administration launched economic sanctions aimed at destroying the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1982. As part of those, the U.S. prevented the construction of the second branch of the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod gas pipeline through Ukraine, which is still in operation today. Economic measures were accompanied by military and subversive actions, ideological and psychological warfare, comprising a dozen items.

Hence, it is not surprising that the first step toward Biden’s goal is to deal with the energy sector: “Europe must end its dependence on Russian fossil fuels.” To ensure Europe’s “independence” from Russia’s energy, not only must Nord Stream 2 be closed down, but the first branch of the pipeline that has been working for a long time must also cease operations. The long-standing Soviet Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod pipeline must also close. Biden is preparing the population — the European population, that is — for belt-tightening: “It will not be easy. … But it’s a price we have to pay.”

Another important remark by the American president concerns economic sanctions: “Taken together, these economic sanctions are a new kind of economic statecraft with the power to inflict damage that rivals military might.”

Biden’s speech confirms that Washington’s main objective today is “regime change” in Russia. At the same time, the military conflict in Ukraine serves as a pretext for dragging Moscow into a grueling war and accusing the Russian authorities of “war crimes.”

Biden undoubtedly explained the U.S. agenda to allies during the NATO, EU and Group of Seven summits held in Brussels on Thursday, March 24. The decisions made at those summits added further pressure on Russia militarily, economically, organizationally and propagandistically. Meanwhile, all steps to realize the objective were announced later on Saturday, March 26.

First, militarily, NATO announced the deployment of four new battle groups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, in addition to the four existing ones in the Baltic states and Poland. Thus, the alliance’s chief, Jens Stoltenberg, said that the NATO battle groups cover the entire eastern flank from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. These NATO forces are in addition to the 100,000 U.S. troops already deployed in Eastern Europe.

Another package of sanctions against Russian individuals and businesses was announced on the economic front, a new step in a strategy to inflict damage comparable to the military. Contrary to norms, the U.S. attended the EU summit to dictate its energy strategy. As such, even if Europe cannot achieve the complete substitution of Russian oil and gas before 2030, Washington will, by all means, accelerate the process.

Organizationally, the NATO summit sought to strengthen internal cohesion, as confirmed by Biden in his speech. Maintaining internal discipline will be a permanent objective for the trans-Atlantic community. In the coming months and years, it will be necessary to keep Russia as a high-level “threat” to subdue the dissent of the Western population, as the latter is forced to freeze for peace and eat less because of Vladimir Putin. Protests against high oil and gasoline prices are already underway in many European countries.

In terms of propaganda, two new strategies materialized at the summit and in the run-up to it. First, the Russian leadership was accused of “war crimes” in Ukraine. On Friday, Biden reiterated that he considered Putin a “war criminal” and that his personal opinion would not differ from the formal legal assessment.

Likewise, the White House has persistently been pursuing a propaganda line about “chemical weapons” that Russia allegedly might use in Ukraine. This is the obvious savagery inspired by American practices in the Middle East. The propaganda also intimidates the public with “biological weapons” in Moscow’s hands. This is an obvious way to cover up Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland’s gaffe about admitting the presence of U.S. biolaboratories in Ukraine. In both cases, we are talking about a possible staging of a chemical or biological incident “under a false flag” — the Russian one.

The workings of “false flag” operations are clear to experts. Still, the average Western citizen will believe their government when they point to the Russian flag. This is how the West imposes the image of Russia as a “mad killing machine,” hence imparting the only possible conclusion: Russia’s government must be changed. Along with chemical and biological attacks, the threat of a “tactical nuclear strike on Poland” is also promoted. Any mention of a nuclear strike brings back to life all the fears of a Cold War confrontation.

So far, Biden and his administration have repeatedly denied plans to send U.S. troops to Ukraine and declare a no-fly zone over the country. They have also rejected the very possibility of direct military conflict with Russia. But the propaganda on “war crimes” and the possible “use of weapons of mass destruction” suggests that the position could change. The White House may say something along the lines of “We didn’t want to, you know we said that, but now the circumstances have changed, Putin has left us no choice.”

Judging by the statements and actions of the U.S. and Europe, the Biden administration is mounting as serious a challenge against Russia as Reagan did against the Soviet Union. However, back then, the architects of the plans did not actually believe in their ability to bring down the mighty power. On the other hand, today’s strategists use the former successes and sophisticated tools to implement the plan.

Russia is indeed facing an existential threat, just as the Soviet Union did in the late 1980s. To survive today, Russia needs unconventional approaches appropriate to the 21st century, not the 19th. This will require all Russian citizens to participate in the country’s destiny. Russian people must consider the state as “their own” and have a vested interest in its victory. But what arrangement will the authorities offer to Russians?