Ian Bremmer’s Post

Transcript

(sirens blaring) - [Reporter] It started early this morning. (explosions booming) (Putin speaking in Russian) - [Interpreter] We will strive for the demilitarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine. (plane engines roaring) (weapons firing) - [Translator] They came on our land. - Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war and now he and his country will bear the consequences. (ominous music) - [Ian] "Wars in Europe rarely start on a Wednesday." That flip remark came from a top Russian diplomat. Earlier this month, he dismissed reports that his country would invade Ukraine on Wednesday, February 16th. As we know now that may have been the wrong date, but the day for war came soon thereafter. (sirens blaring) - The war in Ukraine has begun. - Peace on our continent has been shattered. - [Ian] Ironic considering what Vladimir Putin himself said at this very conference back in 2007. - What a difference 15 years make. For the first time in decades, there was no Russian delegation at the security conference and tension on the European continent is at levels we haven't seen since the Cold War. We're also witnessing a rebirth of the Trans-Atlantic Alliance as the United States and Europe come together in this crisis. As recently as last month, there was no guarantee that NATO would respond to Russian aggression with anything like a united front. President Biden said as much during a press conference. - And there are differences. There are differences in NATO as to what countries are willing to do depending on what happens and the degree to which they're able to go. - Biden quickly walked back those remarks, but some damage had been done. That Putin won to discord among NATO nations, that was music to his ears. But in trying to exploit divisions in the west, President Putin has actually brought his adversaries much closer together. - At every step, we have shown the United States and our allies and partners are working in unison, which he hasn't been counting on, Mr. Putin. - [Ian] They've also responded with one voice to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and are set to impose unprecedented sanctions. And here in Munich, the message was clear. - And if President Putin believes that by these actions he can drive NATO back or intimidate NATO, he will find that the opposite is the case. - Dark days are ahead, but this newfound unity among Western allies gives me hope and not just for the Russia Ukraine crisis.