News
U.S. has inescapable responsibilities for Ukraine crisis
By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily
After experiencing profound changes and a pandemic unprecedented in a century, the globe today is confronted with another major issue – the Ukraine crisis. Solving existing and future challenges and pursuing a ceasefire is a common aspiration of all peace-loving nations and peoples.
Major countries should particularly play a constructive role in this. However, the U.S., which has inescapable responsibilities for the crisis, is failing to take actions to resolve it.
The country is on the one hand portraying itself as a so-called “guardian of peace” and a “protector of rule-based international order,” while on the other hand fabricating political stories of democracy combating authoritativeness and justice fighting the evil. It is trying to foment camp confrontations and instigate ideological conflicts, in an attempt to shift responsibilities, make contradictions and contain the development of other countries.
The Ukraine crisis further exposed the essence of American hegemony and the pernicious consequences of Cold War mentality.
The eastern expansion of the U.S.-led NATO is the root cause of the crisis, and the U.S. is the initiator of the crisis. As an international expert pointed out, it’s possible to stop the war only when the background of the war is known to all.
Ukraine’s intricate historical backdrop is the consequence of the interaction of several causes. However, when it comes to the causes and development, as well as the rights and wrongs of the issue, the eastern expansion of the NATO is an inevitable topic.
According to an article recently published by Spanish media organization Rebelion, the insatiable desires of the NATO are the root cause and cancer cells of all these conflicts. It highlighted that the NATO would continue to upgrade among “Western countries” to send the orders of the fake “free world” to farther places, and wage wars against all the countries that oppose its plans.
The NATO is a Cold War hangover. As the Soviet Union dissolved and the Cold War ended in the 1990s, there was no reason left to retain the NATO. However, the alliance, led by the U.S., has been constantly expanding its sphere of influence. Under the disguise of consolidating democracy, ensuring stability and promoting common values, it has again and again broken its promise and expanded eastward five times, pushing its borders eastward by more than 1,000 kilometers. It has deployed massive advanced strategic offensive weapons and promised Ukraine and other countries NATO membership, stabbing the NATO knife to the border of Russia.
American geo-strategic theorist even claimed that an expanding and democratic Europe has to be an open-ended historical process, not subject to politically arbitrary geographic limits. However, rational American academics have long recognized the danger of NATO’s eastern expansion, with one stating that “expanding NATO would be the most fateful error of American policy in the entire post-cold-war era.”
NATO, as a military alliance, has long been used by the White House to further expand American hegemony. The U.S.-led alliance instigated “color revolutions” and has been causing havoc near Russia by repeatedly opening Pandora’s boxes.
The NATO bombed Belgrade without the approval of the U.N. Security Council, destroyed Serbia, and launched wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. All of these contributed to Russia’s feeling of being surrounded, said Academician Andrei Makine of the Institut de France. The West, especially the U.S. shall be responsible for the Ukraine crisis, noted professor John Mearsheimer at the University of Chicago.
From a historical and global point of view, the Ukraine crisis is another world security upheaval directed by the U.S. Since the end of World War II, the U.S. has always been guiding its diplomacy with geopolitics, perceiving the world as a chess board on which a looting game is played.
Incited by such a Cold War mentality, the U.S. remotely staged the Arab Spring in Sub-Saharan Africa, the color revolutions in Europe, the Monroe Doctrine in Latin America, as well as coups and assassinations in a number of countries, wrecking havoc on the international order and jeopardizing world peace.
Alice Weidel, joint leader of the Alternative for Germany party, noted that adhering to the outdated Cold War mentality and arrogantly denying Russia’s major country status, the West has made a promise to Ukraine that’ll never be fulfilled. She called it a catastrophic historical mistake. What’s needed by all parties is a realistic and clear view of geopolitics, and to make utmost efforts to establish a security mechanism for Europe that transcends the West-East camps mentality.
“Why, with all the hopeful possibilities engendered by the end of the cold war, should East-West relations become centered on the question of who would be allied with whom and, by implication, against whom in some fanciful, totally unforeseeable and most improbable future military conflict?” This question raised by former U.S. Ambassador to Soviet Union George Kennan in 1997 is still waiting for an answer from the U.S. government.
As the starter and the biggest driving force of the Ukraine crisis, the U.S. should have some moments of introspection on its dishonorable roles, completely abandon the Cold War mentality and hegemonic practices, and make some meaningful contributions to maintaining global and regional peacekeeping.
Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
Barely a month after empowering no fewer than 70 members at the headquarters of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church Worldwide in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, the Oluwole Foundation has extended the noble gesture to 24 branches of the Church within Ilorin metropolis and Oke-Oyi.
In the new dispensation, the Oluwole Foundation provided material and financial support to additional 70 beneficiaries, costing the Foundation about N37m.
Fielding questions from journalists on the sideline of the programme, the Chairman of the Foundation, Pastor Moses Ademola Popoola, said the extension of the empowerment programme this year to the branches of the Church was in obedience to divine instruction and as a means to tackle poverty within the Church community.
“We have 62 branches under our Church, but this is the first time we are going beyond our headquarters. For now, we have covered 24 Churches and empowered 70 people, spending close to N37 million. This is not just charity; it’s also evangelism. Some people will not be converted through preaching but through welfare,” Pastor Popoola explained.
He urged beneficiaries to take the gesture seriously, work hard, and extend help to others, assuring the congregants of further expansion of the empowerment programme to cover more beneficiaries in the coming years.
“They should not see this as a national cake. Be prudent, save, grow your business, and from what you have, help someone else. That way, we help the family, society, and the nation,” he cautioned.
Pastor Popoola also called on other foundations, especially those owned by Christians, to carry out their work with sincerity, rather than for personal gain. “This service is first to God, then to society. When we help people genuinely, we reduce poverty, crime, and unemployment.”
The cleric, however, stressed the need for the government to prioritise agriculture and rural development in order to tackle poverty and unemployment ravaging the nation.
He added: “Every wealthy nation built its economy on agriculture. So, government should secure our farmlands, provide tractors, and support our farmers holistically. Let each region focus on its strength, like cocoa in the West and groundnut in the North. We must also develop rural areas with electricity, motorable roads, hospitals, and jobs to curb rural-urban migration.”
One of the beneficiaries, Mrs Janet Shaba, who expressed gratitude to the Oluwole Foundation for the kind gesture, promised that they would make judicious use of the items received.
End
Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has expressed sadness over the death of former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh.
Governor AbdulRazaq said the death of Chief Audu Ogbeh is a big loss to the North Central Region, calling him a statesman, thoughts leader, and nationalist.
“Chief Audu Ogbeh was a dependable leader of our region. He earned the respect of all on account of his outstanding leadership and service to the nation at different times, especially during his time as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,” the Governor said in a statement on Sunday.
Governor AbdulRazaq has, however, sent his heartfelt condolences to the people and government of Benue State and to his family and associates.
He prayed to God to give the family the strength to bear the huge loss.
End
• Dismisses claims of gubernatorial ambition under ADC.
Former Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has publicly reaffirmed his unwavering loyalty to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, pledging full commitment to the President’s 2027 re-election campaign.
In a strongly worded statement, Ambode dismissed recent speculations linking him to a governorship ambition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), describing the reports as “false publications” aimed at causing distractions.
“I wish to publicly reaffirm my absolute and unshakable loyalty to the APC, the party under which I had the privilege of serving Lagos State as governor in 2015, and to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, my leader, mentor, and a tireless champion for Nigeria’s progress,” Ambode said.
The former governor praised President Tinubu’s leadership style, describing him as a “proven achiever and result-oriented leader” whose administration has delivered significant reforms in pensions, student loan accessibility, youth empowerment, and national economic growth.
Highlighting key achievements of the Tinubu administration, Ambode pointed to the elimination of fuel scarcity, improved security measures, and policies designed to improve the lives of ordinary Nigerians.
“His focus, determination, and inclusive governance style are restoring hope and delivering tangible results. I am convinced that, given another four years, Nigerians will have even greater reason to celebrate,” Ambode stated.
He urged party faithful and Nigerians at large to ignore political distractions, pledging to work tirelessly to strengthen the APC and ensure President Tinubu’s victory in 2027.
“Let it be clear: I stand solidly with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress. We will work together to ensure victory in 2027 to continue delivering the dividends of democracy to all Nigerians,” Ambode concluded.
Ambode’s declaration comes amid growing political realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the former governor making it clear that his political loyalty remains firmly with the APC and its leader.
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