How far will Putin's most vocal opponents go?


Just about everyone is appalled by Russia's actions in Ukraine, even many of those political writers and entertainers who've foolishly praised the toughness and perspicacity of Russian President Vladimir Putin over the past few years.
But some have gone farther than expressing outrage toward Russia and solidarity with the victims of its aggression. I'm thinking of statements that take the form of absolute moral imperatives: Ukraine must not be allowed to fall. It must come out on top in its battle with Putin. Russia must lose because its president's disgraceful deeds must be fully undone.
Such sweeping declarations imply that NATO powers should commit to fighting a war with Russia. Yet those issuing these clarion calls also tend to stop short of advocating outright military intervention by the West, proposing instead that we should "do everything short of war." That might sound like restraint, but it really isn't.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It is a truism in moral reasoning: To will the end is to will the means. One cannot have a duty to perform an act one lacks the capacity fulfill. Can Ukraine prevail without more direct military support from the West? It's possible, but most analysts consider it very unlikely. Would Ukraine prevail with full NATO backing? Almost certainly. That implies NATO must be prepared to take up arms on Ukraine's side, to ensure the supposed moral commandment is fulfilled. To hold otherwise — to claim the West should stop short of joining the fight, when that might be the only thing compatible with fulfilling the commandment — sounds appalling.
What is leading analysts to end up lost in this moral thicket? The counsels of prudence, mainly, which tell them that war between nuclear-armed powers could be catastrophic and so should definitely be avoided. This is, in part, what led President Biden to clarify long before Russia's invasion of Ukraine that the United States would not become directly involved in any military conflict.
Yet some observers combine this prudence with moral proclamations that imply the need for much less prudent deeds. Why? I can only speculate that it follows from expectations set by the decisive conclusion of the Second World War, when the Axis powers unconditionally surrendered to the Allies. That brought the conflict to a maximally satisfying end. But of course such a resolution was made possible by the Allies' overwhelming military victory and would have been impossible without it.
I fear some of my fellow pundits have come to expect equally decisive outcomes without willing the means to achieve them.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
As a corrective, they might opt to start outrightly advocating for war. But it would be far more reasonable for them to begin moving in the opposite direction, moderating their hopes for a morally satisfying conclusion to the current conflagration. Such a conclusion could well prove far more elusive than some people seem prepared to accept.
Damon Linker is a senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also a former contributing editor at The New Republic and the author of The Theocons and The Religious Test.
-
Kim Ju Ae: North Korea’s next leader?
The Explainer Kim Jong Un’s young daughter is being seen as his ‘recognised heir’ following a high-profile public appearance at China summit
-
Is the UK government getting too close to Big Tech?
Today’s Big Question US-UK tech pact, supported by Nvidia and OpenAI, is part of Silicon Valley drive to ‘lock in’ American AI with US allies
-
Russia’s war games and the threat to Nato
In depth Incursion into Poland and Zapad 2025 exercises seen as a test for Europe
-
Russian drone tests Romania as Trump spins
Speed Read Trump is ‘resisting congressional plans to impose newer and tougher penalties on Russia’s energy sector’
-
Kim Jong Un’s triumph: the rise and rise of North Korea’s dictator
In the Spotlight North Korean leader has strengthened ties with Russia and China, and recently revealed his ‘respected child’ to the world
-
Graphic videos of Charlie Kirk’s death renew debate over online censorship
Talking Points Social media ‘promises unfiltered access, but without guarantees of truth and without protection from harm’
-
‘Peak consumption has become the Holy Grail of the energy debate’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump's drug war is now a real shooting war
Talking Points The Venezuela boat strike was 'not a mere law enforcement action'
-
Burkina Faso's misinformation war
Under The Radar The president of the West African country has quickly become the face of a viral, AI-powered propaganda campaign
-
Truck drivers are questioning the Trump administration's English mandate
Talking Points Some have praised the rules, others are concerned they could lead to profiling
-
Pomp but little progress at Trump's Ukraine talks
Feature Trump's red carpet welcoming for Putin did little to advance a peace deal with Ukraine