Ritter Says Banderism Must Be Eradicated in Ukraine or the War Will Never Really End

Sept. 4, 2023 (EIRNS)—In a [op-ed] published in RT yesterday, Scott Ritter puts the burden for ending the war on Kiev in the way that Gen. Douglas MacArthur put the burden on Tokyo at the end of World War II (though he never actually names MacArthur). “First and foremost, Ukraine must reflect honestly about the causes of this conflict, and which side bears the burden of responsibility for the fighting. ‘Denazification’ is a term that the Russian government has used in describing one of its stated goals and objectives,” Ritter writes. This means outlawing Bandera-ism the way Bushido militarism was outlawed in Japan’s post-war constitution. “Any failure to do so only allows the cancer of Banderism to survive, festering inside the defeated body of post-conflict Ukraine until some future time when it can metastasize once again to bring harm.”

“This is precisely the message that was being sent by Putin when, during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum this past July, he showed a video where the crimes of the Banderists during the Second World War were put on public display,” Ritter goes on. “‘How can you not fight it?’ Putin said. ‘And if this is not neo-Nazism in its current manifestation, then what is it?’ he asked. ‘We have every right,’ the Russian President declared, ‘to believe that the task of the denazification of Ukraine set by us is one of the key ones.’”

Beyond that, Ritter argues that the war is unwinnable for Kiev and its NATO sponsor. “The harsh reality is that neither Ukraine nor its Western allies can sustain the operational losses in manpower and equipment that the conflict with Russia is inflicting,” he writes. "Russia, on the other hand, is not only able to absorb its losses, but increase its strength over time, given the large number of volunteers that are being recruited into the military and the high rate of armament production. At some point in the not-so-distant future, the balance of power between Russia and Ukraine in the theater of operations will reach a point in which Kiev is unable to maintain adequate coverage along the line of contact, allowing gaps to open up in the defensive line which Russia, able to employ fresh reserves, will exploit. This will lead to the collapse of cohesion among Ukrainian troops, more than likely resulting in a precipitous withdrawal to more defensive positions that could be established west of the Dnieper River….

“Russia is working to achieve its stated goals and objectives. As things stand, there is little Ukraine or its partners in the U.S., NATO, and the EU (the so-called ‘collective West’) can do to prevent it from accomplishing these aims,” Ritter concludes. “The timeline is not calendar-driven, but rather determined by results. The longer Kiev—and its Western partners—drag out this conflict, the greater the harm that will accrue for Ukraine.”