OPINION:
President Trump must tell the Russian people about the carnage in Russia’s war with Ukraine. He must tell them about the Russian lives lost and the crushing financial cost of a five-year invasion of a sovereign nation.
President Reagan ensured that he got information into the former Soviet Union so the people knew their government was lying about the cost in lives and money of its war in Afghanistan.
After nearly 10 years, in 1989, the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, a pivotal moment in the Cold War’s closing years.
Russian ruler Vladimir Putin seemingly does not care about the Russian lives lost or the crushing financial cost of a five-year invasion of Ukraine.
There have been more than 1.4 million Russian casualties (killed, wounded, missing or captured) and hundreds of thousands killed, at a cost of more than $500 billion.
Are the Russian people aware of the magnitude of this tragedy? Are they aware of Mr. Putin’s view that Ukraine has no right to exist and that he is justified in invading a sovereign nation that gave up its nuclear weapons for security assurances?
Ukraine’s casualties have exceeded 600,000, with close to 140,000 killed, including 16,000 civilians. The cost so far is close to $600 billion, with a $1 trillion price tag for the U.S. to reconstruct the devastated country.
This is the price Ukraine is paying because of Mr. Putin’s obsession with re-creating the Russian empire.
Mr. Trump has reached out to Mr. Putin numerous times to secure a ceasefire and an eventual peace treaty. To date, those efforts have been unsuccessful. Fortunately, Mr. Trump persists. Still, until we secure a ceasefire, Ukraine will rely on the United States and the European Union for the weapons and missile defense systems needed for its survival.
The recent NATO summit of 31 allied countries reaffirmed their strong support for Ukraine, pledging $79.7 billion and announcing their intent to license Ukraine to produce Patriot missile interceptors
Still, the U.S. and our NATO allies can do more to get the truth to the Russian people. That is the truth about the hundreds of thousands of Russians killed in Ukraine and the bereaved families paying the ultimate price.
The United States Information Agency closed in October 1999 and transferred its important mission to the State Department. Hopefully, our colleagues there are working hard to get the message to the Russian people: The war must end. The Russians and Ukrainians have suffered enough. Mr. Putin and his cronies must explain why so many men and women died in a war that he created as he enriches himself.
The war has made the Russian Federation a pariah state.
This should be a whole-of-government mission: disseminating the truth about the hundreds of thousands of Russians and Ukrainians killed and maimed in a war created by an arrogant and inept Mr. Putin.
Although the audience for this important message is the Russian people, China should also be mindful of the tragedy of the war in Ukraine. After all, Beijing is aligned with a Russian pariah state, heavily sanctioned by the international community.
Is this the image China wants to share with the world?
The recent NATO meeting was clear in its support of Ukraine, the victim of a cruel and brutal Russian invasion. It is time for the Russian government to listen to the Russian people and end this bloody war.
• The author is a former associate director of national intelligence. All statements of fact, opinion or analysis expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official positions or views of the U.S. government. Nothing in the contents should be construed as asserting or implying U.S. government authentication of information or endorsement of the author’s views.
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