The armaments industry can’t believe its good fortune as its deathly goods pour into the Ukraine. To question any of this is to be derided as a Putin apologist. At the very least it’s worth reflecting on this article by Seamus Milne, which appeared in Comment is Free, well over eight years ago.

Milne begins:

The threat of war in Ukraine is growing. As the unelected government in Kiev declares itself unable to control the rebellion in the country’s east, John Kerry brands Russia a rogue state. The US and the European Union step up sanctions against the Kremlin, accusing it of destabilising Ukraine. The White House is reported to be set on a new cold war policy with the aim of turning Russia into a “pariah state”

He concludes:

The US and EU have already overplayed their hand in Ukraine. Neither Russia nor the western powers may want to intervene directly, and the Ukrainian prime minister’s conjuring up of a third world war presumably isn’t authorised by his Washington sponsors. But a century after 1914, the risk of unintended consequences should be obvious enough – as the threat of a return of big-power conflict grows. Pressure for a negotiated end to the crisis is essential.

In 2023 it is neither fanciful nor neurotic to fear an escalation into a nuclear conflict.

Today Milne’s analysis would not be offered the time of the day – least of all in the war-mongering Guardian.

Read in full at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/30/russia-ukraine-war-kiev-conflict