No Troops Needed: How America Can Punish Russia for a Ukraine Invasion
By
Robert Farley
Published
6 mins ago
For many Ukrainians, the question “what will the West do if Russia starts a war?” rings hollow. Since 2014 (and even before) Russia has been trying to force Kyiv to acquiesce to its regional dominance. Low-level warfare on Ukraine’s eastern border has cost hundreds of lives and disrupted the politics and economy of the rest of the country. Some analysts call this “gray zone” or “hybrid” warfare, although both of those terms suggest more novelty than Russian actions really reveal. But now of course Russia is threatening to enforce its will through more traditional military means.
The US has virtually ruled out a response using military force in the air, at sea, or on the land. US fighters will not contest Ukrainian airspace, and US warships are unlikely to attack their Russian counterparts or deliver ordnance from sea to land. The prospect of US soldiers fighting in Ukraine seems particularly remote. But of course, the United States has lots of tools in the toolbox. In a previous column, I discussed how the United States is considering using its weapons in what we might call the “financial domain.” Here, we can think about the steps that the United States might take in space and in the cyber domain.
Russia vs. Ukraine: The Intel Game
https://www.19fortyfive.com/2022/01/no-troops-needed-how-america-can-punish-russia-for-a-ukraine-invasion/
