So what are Americans to believe about the rising tensions over Ukraine? The United States and Russia both claim their escalations are defensive, responding to threats and escalations by the other side, but the resulting spiral of escalation can only make war more likely. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is warning that "panic" by U.S. and Western leaders is already causing economic destabilization in Ukraine.
American allies do not all support the current U.S. policy. Germany is wisely refusing to funnel more weapons into Ukraine, in keeping with its longstanding policy of not sending weapons into conflict zones. Ralf Stegner, a senior Member of Parliament for Germany's ruling Social Democrats, told the BBC on Jan. 25 that the Minsk-Normandy process agreed to by France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine in 2015 is still the right framework for ending the civil war.
