
Russia has announced that it will withdraw some troops from Ukraine’s borders in an attempt to deescalate tensions over Ukraine. However, it still plans to continue military exercises at the Black Sea and Belarus. This comes as Volodymyr Zelensky (Ukraine President) indicated Monday that the country might drop its bid for membership. NATOThe U.S. is still urging Americans to leave Ukraine, and warning that a Russian invasion could occur as soon as Wednesday. We speak to Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of CODEPINK. She claims that the U.S. is escalating the crisis by directing U.S. funding to weapons and loans for Ukraine. “It seems the United States is more anxious for Russia to invade than Russia is to invade,” says Benjamin.
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We begin today’s show looking at the crisis along the Russia-Ukraine border. Russia has announced it’s pulling back some troops from the border, in a possible effort to deescalate the standoff, but Russia is moving ahead with military exercises in Belarus and the Black Sea. Russian television aired footage on Monday of Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, asking Vladimir Putin to intensify diplomatic negotiations. On Monday, Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian President, stated that Ukraine may withdraw its bid to join NATO. NATOIt may have seemed like a pipe dream to be able to say that you were a member.
The United States has reportedly been warning allies Russia could invade Ukraine as soon as Wednesday — that’s tomorrow, February 16th. Ukraine’s president responded by announcing February 16th would become a “day of unity” for Ukrainians. The United States also called on all U.S. citizens not to return to Ukraine, Belarus, or parts of Moldova. Due to the Russian military buildup in Ukraine, the State Department also moved its remaining staff from Kyiv into a temporary location in western Ukraine’s city of Lviv.
To talk more about the crisis, we’re joined by Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of CodePink.
We are glad you are here Democracy Now!, Medea. Can you speak about the latest developments in Ukraine and Russia and the role played by the United States?
MEDEA BENJAMIN: Well, unfortunately, in the midst of this crisis, the United States is sending more weapons to Ukraine, and, as the secretary-general of the United Nations said without mentioning the United States, the incendiary rhetoric, saying that “Russia is ready to invade. Russia is ready to invade.” It seems the United States is more anxious for Russia to invade than Russia is to invade, and this is not helpful at all.
I think it’s a very positive development that Zelensky has basically recognized that Ukraine will not enter NATOThat is a positive thing. All the diplomatic efforts that have been made are extremely helpful and necessary. We hope for an off-ramp as war is not possible. Our members and our friends in Congress are trying tell the administration that they can’t enter any military conflict without first going through Congress. This would be a support for the administration. And so, we’re hoping that diplomacy will prevail, but we have to recognize that things continue to be extremely, extremely tense.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ:Medea, you mentioned Zelensky seems to recognize that the membership is in NATOwill need to be delayed or, as he suggests, may be a nightmare. But it was actually — it’s in the Constitution. The Ukrainian government actually amended their Constitution in 2019 to include the words “membership in”. NATOThis is the country’s goal. Is it your perception that Zelensky has to deal with more right wing elements within Ukraine that continue pushing him for the presidency? NATO membership?
MEDEA BENJAMIN:Yes, but NATOUkraine has not been willing to accept it. There are a number of different issues, including the lack of territorial integrity, as well as issues of Ukraine’s corruption, issues of the lack of a economic system that is compatible, issues about even the military. Although it was never expected that Ukraine would be able to join immediately, the Constitution has it and it had been promised. But this is a — seems to be one of the ways out of this impasse is for Ukraine not to ask for membership. This means that NATOUkraine does not have the obligation to close the door. It just means that Ukraine would stop the process.
AMY GOODMAN:Medea Benjamin, how do you feel about the mobilization of peace movement in different countries within the region? Do you have any communication with them? What are their demands?
MEDEA BENJAMIN:There have been peaceful mobilizations in Russia and Ukraine in the West European countries. There is a group called No To NATOThat has been going on for many years and communicating, with the United States being part of it. All of this is a collective effort by the people to urge our governments to take a step back.
We must continue to build this international movement, acknowledging that a war is disastrous for all countries, but especially for Ukraine, but also to recognize the economic consequences of a cutoff of energy resources. This is something that the Europeans are well aware of. We need to get more Americans involved in the peace movement. I believe people are more concerned about domestic issues that they are about foreign policies. But, as we all know, international conflicts will have an impact on us at home, especially in terms of inflation. And that’s why we have to care about these issues and try to stop this war from happening.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And in terms of now this latest announcement of a billion dollars in loan guarantees to Ukraine, seems Congress is ready and willing to shell out money despite the claims of some Republicans that there’s too much debt in the country.
MEDEA BENJAMIN: Well, we see that, Juan, time and time again when it comes to issues that relate to a military buildup, whether it’s the Pentagon budget or giving money or loans to countries: When we’re in the midst of a crisis, there is not a question of not enough money. So, I think it’s both the giving of weapons, as well as these loans, that is part of making this situation more and more tense. It is sad that Republicans and Democrats often come together in times like these to escalate the crisis and give away our tax dollars instead of stopping the flow weapons and money and focusing more on negotiations.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, Medea Benjamin, we’re going to ask you to stay with us, co-founder of CodePink. As we face the possibility of a new war, we look at a country that’s been ravaged by war for decades. President Biden is facing mounting criticism for seizing $7 billion of Afghanistan’s federal reserves frozen in the United States. Biden says he will give half of the money to September 11th victims. We’re going to speak with a mother of a young man who died in the 9/11 attacks. She believes that Afghanistan should keep the money. Stay with us.