It has been a long time since I studied International Politics as a college course, the mid-1970s to be more precise.  I had the same professor for Political Theory and International Relations.  He was a very good prof and I learned a lot in his classes.

One important concept embedded in me by those classes had to do with how one deals with an adversary.  To start, you must understand the other side.  What are their interests and what do they want?

Looking at today’s Russia, and the history of Russia that goes back hundreds of years, Russia feels surrounded.  The Russians were double-crossed by the Nazis in World War II and have had this paranoia about being attacked again.

It appears Russian autocratic leader Vladimir Putin is using that feeling of paranoia to invade Ukraine with the goal of occupying and ruling that democratic nation.  Ukraine became independent following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.  Ukraine was a part of Soviet Russia until the Soviet empire ended.

I recall an interesting television interview between an American journalist and an editor of a major newspaper in Ukraine a few weeks ago.  The Ukraine journalist said if you took a poll in his country before 2014, residents would have said they felt closer to Russia than the West.  After Russia’s occupation of Crimea, public opinion has shifted, the newspaper editor in Ukraine said.

So, Putin is partly responsible for the people of Ukraine moving away from Russia in general.  But a major reason Russia is making this radical move is tied to fears about Russia’s own security.

Public opinion in Ukraine favors membership in NATO.  Ukraine is not yet eligible for NATO membership and would not likely have that opportunity for several years.  But the mere possibility of that happening, and the general public support in Ukraine to join NATO, has triggered alarm bells for Putin and his small circle of advisors.

I am making no excuses for Putin and what he has done, but the West does need to find a way to deal with Russia’s security concerns.  But, Putin will soon see his concerns will not be addressed by an invasion of a European country for the first time since World War II.

The people of Ukraine have shown amazing grit and courage.  They face one of the largest, best-equipped armies in the world.  Yet, it is clear that most Ukrainians do not want to be ruled by Vladimir Putin.  They are willing to fight a much superior military power in order to prevent that.

We do not fully understand why Russia chose this invasion of Ukraine.  But the world needs to send a clear message to Vladimir Putin that invading a free, democratic nation will not achieve his goal of  Russian security.