We all remember axial inanity. That was Day 151ish, or 835 days ago1. Time flies!
At the time, Putin’s premature death was presaged by Ruslan Lobanov, who today is putting the final touches on his next art book, titled Confessions. Yesterday we chatted over tea.
Wartime Sketches is about optimism. If you look carefully at the photographs in the book, the message is not sexual. Even the photos of fully naked women can’t be called excessively provocative. Ruslan realized that coming up with a concept for the book addressing the war directly would not work. Playboy France did a cover story about the project.
Confessions, the theme of Lobanov’s 2022 calendar, as the title suggests, is about the repetition of sin and tug of war between remaining an accomplice of vice or a defender of morality. Or maybe both. Contact him on Facebook to pre-order. But do it the day before yesterday, because the new book will sell like hot cakes. Remember what Pope Francis said: One confession is worth more than 100 exorcisms!
In other arts news, Columbia News Service writes about an installation drawing attention to the plight of 20,000 kidnapped (by Russia) Ukrainian children. Read the article carefully, share widely and support the project.
On the war jacket, the pink blob that started growing near Ocheretyne this summer continues to grow in a westwardly direction.
Richard Haass at Foreign Affairs wrote a very long batshit op-ed yesterday about how we should seek a feasible peace with the death squad next door2. A close advisor to Secretary of State Colin Powell in the George W. Bush administration, Richard today specializes in giving bad advice about Ukraine.
If pressed, most would indeed probably define winning in a way similar to how Kyiv defines it, including in its most recent “victory plan”: ousting Russian troops from the entirety of Ukraine’s territory, Crimea included, and reestablishing control over its 1991 borders. There is good reason for adopting this definition. The most basic, if not always honored, norm of international order—one that has endured for some 400 years—is that borders are to be respected. Territory is not to be acquired through the threat or use of armed force. This was one of the main reasons why the United States and other countries rallied to defend South Korea in 1950 and Kuwait in 1990.
Yet although this definition is desirable, it is ultimately unworkable. In principle, Ukraine could liberate its lost territory if the United States and its European partners intervened with forces of their own. But this would require jettisoning the indirect strategy they chose in 2022. It would come at great human, military, and economic cost. And it would introduce far greater risk, as it would mean war between NATO and nuclear-armed Russia. For this reason, such a policy will not be adopted.
Instead of clinging to an infeasible definition of victory, Washington must grapple with the grim reality of the war and come to terms with a more plausible outcome. It should still define victory as Kyiv remaining sovereign and independent, free to join whatever alliances and associations it wants. But it should jettison the idea that, to win, Kyiv needs to liberate all its land. So as the United States and its allies continue to arm Ukraine, they must take the uncomfortable step of pushing Kyiv to negotiate with the Kremlin—and laying out a clear sense of how it should do so.
Last time I checked, fascistic Russia was waging a genocidal campaign against Ukraine. Vova in Moscow does not want to negotiate with Vova in Kyiv. About anything. Instead of thinking about ways to appease war criminals, our focus should be on o b l i t e r a t i n g them.
Axial inanity. Putin’s premature death (July 23, 2022)
The Perfect Has Become the Enemy of the Good in Ukraine. Why Washington Must Redefine Its Objectives (Foreign Affairs, November 3, 2024)