Ukraine war: "Dictator Putin" appalled the international press - only Russia sees it very differently

Created: 02/25/2022, 10:37 am

War is raging again in Europe.

A man photographs a destroyed apartment building in a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kiev.

© Daniel Leal/AFP

Russia has launched a military attack on Ukraine.

The international press is shocked.

Putin has turned into a dictator, Europe could get into trouble.

Moscow/Munich – dramatic developments in the Ukraine conflict* keep the world in suspense: Russia's President Vladimir Putin* is relentless.

Russia has attacked its neighbor Ukraine, attacking airports and military bases.

The Russian military has already advanced to the capital Kiev, there are rocket attacks and fierce fighting.

The Ukraine conflict and the war that has resulted from it dominates the coverage of newspapers worldwide.

The press follows the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin with incomprehension and horror.

The Russian government

, on the other hand, spreads a completely different view - which naturally corresponds to Vladimir Putin's worldview and propaganda.

Key press comments from Friday, February 25 are summarized here.

Ukraine conflict in the international press: "New York Times" fears a new Cold War

New York Times (US):

“What is clear now is that Putin has plunged Europe into the most dangerous conflict since World War II (...).

He has launched a continuation of the Cold War, a potentially more dangerous one, because his claims and demands offer no ground for negotiation and because Russia, with its nuclear arsenal, is capable of launching a massively destructive cyber war.

(...) In his two televised addresses this week, (US President) Joe Biden displayed the determination and calm of a seasoned leader, and the Western alliance demonstrated a rare unity in the face of the Russian onslaught.

The West is strongest when it stands together for its shared values ​​and against a common enemy.

however difficult it may be,

Ukraine war: "Putin is now dependent on Beijing"

“Die Presse” (Austria):

“Putin has a clear path.

The western world has nothing to oppose, apart from words and sanctions.

Western deterrence has not worked.

(...) Psychologizations are usually an unhelpful means of political analysis.

In this case, however, the question arises as to whether Putin is suffering from distorted perceptions and an advanced stage of Caesarian delusion.

Lies, war and intimidation - these are his methods.

The international community must not let him get away with it.

But it will, because there is no international community.

The world is deeply divided.

China will not stab its ally in Moscow in the back - and then chain it to itself as a junior partner.

Putin has blocked the way to the West.

He is now completely dependent on Beijing.”

Press comments on the Ukraine conflict: West "laughs" at genocide against Russians

“Rossiyskaya” (government newspaper of Russia):

“The collective West is neither ready to recognize the eight-year killing of civilians in the Donbass* by Ukrainian nationalists as a war crime nor as a genocide.

Moreover, representatives of the Euro-Atlantic world - who over the centuries have had much experience of mass extermination of people for ethnic or other reasons (...) - still laugh at the very notion that the murder of Russians or Russian speakers people can be called genocide.”

Press comments on the Ukraine conflict: "Hope that Putin's plan will not work"

"Neue Züricher Zeitung" (Switzerland):

"Russia must be weakened and isolated as much as possible internationally - politically and economically.

It is important to make the devastating consequences of Putin's unacceptable actions clear to the Russian population and even more so to the business magnates and the rest of Moscow's elite.

This includes a long-term Western policy of reducing dependence on Russian raw materials*.

Because the income from the export of oil and gas made it possible for the Kremlin to expand its armed forces and turn them into a threat to the whole of Europe.

Economically, Russia is more dependent on the West than vice versa - and this dependence makes the Kremlin vulnerable.

Isolated from the world and deprived of part of its revenues, this regime cannot survive.

As bleak as the situation in Ukraine is at the moment, there is still hope that Putin's plan will not work.

His ruthless attack would then not be the harbinger of triumph, but the beginning of the end of his reign.”

Press comments on the Ukraine conflict: “Not such a threat since 1939”

“La Stampa” (Italy):

“Vladimir Putin has evolved from a cynical autocrat into a military dictator attacking not only Ukraine but all of Europe.

We have not faced such a threat since 1939.

The invasion, which spread across the country from Donetsk and Luhansk provinces in a matter of hours, clearly shows - for those who still have doubts - Putin's intentions.

The Russian President cares little about European security architecture, arms control or risk reduction.

He cares little about assurances that Ukraine will not join NATO for decades.”

Press comments on the Ukraine conflict: "War could spread all too easily"

"Washington Post" (USA):

"The conflict may - for the moment - be limited to the eastern areas of Europe.

But Russia's war could spread all too easily and have destabilizing effects around the world.

And once again, the United States is being called upon to respond.

(US President Joe) Biden can and must firmly oppose (Russian President Vladimir) Putin.

This country has an interest in the peace and stability of Europe, a continent of nearly 750 million people that is anything but insignificant: Americans share with it a long-standing commitment to democracy, countless family ties, and more than $1 trillion annual trade on which millions of jobs depend.

Preventing this continent from falling under the rule of a hostile hegemon - as it almost did in 1914, 1939 and during the Cold War - has been a vital US interest for decades.

(...) In fact, the consequences could be more damaging and lasting than any uproar resulting from the economic sanctions, limited troop deployments and other measures Biden has announced.”

Press comments on the Ukraine conflict: Putin's deceptions require a strengthening of NATO

"The Times" (UK): :

"Ukraine is not a member of NATO and cannot invoke Article 5, which obliges all members to come to the aid of a NATO country that is under attack.

However, this does not prevent Ukraine's neighboring countries from providing all possible support.

Even Germany, which has been reluctant to send arms, has admitted that it underestimated the extent of Putin's duplicity and aspirations.

Berlin is now among those pushing for the toughest measures to inflict political and economic damage on the Russian state.

(...)

If Putin believes that Ukraine is only the first step in extending Russia to its tsarist borders, including Finland, he must now be shown that NATO is as ready to reject him as it was to Stalin and his successors.

The most important consequence of Putin's cynical deceptions can only be the immediate strengthening of NATO." 

Press comments on the Ukraine conflict: "Putin fooled the West"

"De Standaard" (Belgium):

“The Russian President has fooled countless European leaders, devised ruse after ruse, and launched his war just as the UN Security Council was holding an emergency session.

A more cynical approach to the international legal system is hardly conceivable.

And yet it is all too easy to dismiss leading politicians like Emmanuel Macron* and Olaf Scholz* as gullible fools.

As the Chamberlains of the 21st Century.

The harsh reality is that Putin has never had to play by the same rules as his Western opponents.

A head of state who does not have to answer to his people, who jails his critics and has a powerful army can afford to lie, violate peace agreements and use 200,000 soldiers against a neighboring country.”

The Guardian warns Ukraine that sanctions could plunge the West into recession

Guardian (UK):

“Britain and the EU promised 'massive' sanctions, but hours after the invasion states were still squabbling over how far to go.

A further rise in energy prices could plunge countries into runaway inflation and possibly recession, with the risk of political destabilization and further division as citizens struggle to make ends meet.

Putin has reason to believe he can weather the reaction.

Although Nord Stream 2 is now on hold, construction began just a year after Russia annexed Crimea.

Friends of Ukraine must make it clear that this time is different, with a sustained and large-scale response.”

Ukraine war: "Irish Times" warns - "Europe is entering a new dark era"

The Irish Times (Ireland):

With Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine, announced in the middle of the night as Russian tanks rolled in, Europe is entering a dark new era and one of its worst security crises since World War II .

A nuclear-armed dictatorship has launched a massive and unprovoked attack on a key democratic state in Europe.

(...)

Russia's attack on Ukraine was meant to shake Europe out of its post-Cold War complacency.

It assumed that globalization would prevent wars between states.

It thought Putin was a rational actor with a limited appetite for risk.

It was wrong on both counts.

History - and ultimately the Russian people - will be harsh on Putin.

But future generations will not forgive European leaders if they failed to stand up against him - and in solidarity with Ukraine - in this dark hour."

Ukraine conflict from a Danish perspective: "Putin's primitive logic of violence must not win"

“Politiken” (Denmark):

“He who has power is right.

Vladimir Putin seems to think so simply.

Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine is the first major land offensive in Europe since World War II, and Putin's reprehensible and illegal decision has plunged both his own country and the rest of the world into a gigantic crisis.

It is impossible to stop Russia's invasion in the short term.

But it is all the more important that Putin's primitive logic of violence must not be allowed to win in the long run.

The attack on Ukraine is not just an attack on a single country.

It is an attack on the entire rules-based world order that has been painstakingly built since World War II.

Russia must be forced to stop its aggression and leave Ukrainian soil.

Will this be easy?

No.

Will this take time?

Allegedly.

It's a fight we must not lose.

The alternative would be chaos and the law of the strongest.”

France comments on Ukraine war: "You haven't seen anything like this since 1945"

“Le Parisien” (France):

“After September 11, 2001, February 24, 2022 will go down as the second most important date in the history of the 21st century: the date of the return of war in Europe.

Nothing like this has been seen since 1945.

No one wanted to believe or see that Russian President Vladimir Putin would go that far.

(...) People have forgotten how valuable and fragile peace and stability are.”