To think that some left news sites were mocking Biden for saying that Putin was preparing to invade Ukraine as if it was the furthest thing from his mind. What they failed to understand is that Putin isn’t so much a defensive and reactive actor as a bullying and power aggrandizing one. He aim is to restore a greater Russia to its former “glory.” Neither working class internationalism nor Lenin’s right to national self determination are in his vocabulary nor inform his practice. Perhaps long ago and far away they were, but not now. In his mind, they are relics of a different era. The new Putin is disdainful of national boundaries and is comfortable threatening the world with nuclear war.

There’s a lot of soft opposition to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in the name of marxism, class politics, and inter-imperalist rivalries. It’s a fight among oligarchies – Russian, U.S. Ukrainian – we are told. U.S. imperialism has done far worse. NATO set the table here. Seldom, if at all, do Ukraine’s people appear – fighting, dying, fleeing, hoping – in such analyses. Nor does Ukraine’s fledgling democracy merit a word. Nor does Ukraine’s sovereignty get a nod. Even Putin’s order putting Russia’s nuclear forces on alert doesn’t register much in their reflexive scheme. Am I surprised? Not really.

Even if the U.S. and other NATO countries were pressing to admit Ukraine to Nato – which isn’t the case – does it follow that such an action gives Putin the green light to invade the Ukraine. I don’t think so, but more than a few people on the left make this argument either explicitly or by inference.

Sustained opposition and meaured sanctions against Russia should be coupled a sustained search for diplomatic-political solutions to the tragic and unnecessary outbreak of war in Ukraine. The immediate cessation of fighting, speedy withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, and a recognition of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as an acknowlegement of the legitimate security concerns of the Russian people – not just Putin – to the expansion of Nato should constitute the framework of a settlement.

Such a settlement will likely give the autocratic and imperal minded Putin some bounce within Russia and enhance his reputation among autocrats world wide in the near term. But it could also limit his room for maneuver and territorial aggression going forward.

In the longer term, this crisis brings to the surface once again the imperative of constructing a new security architecture in Europe and worldwide, resting on peaceful coexistence, multi-level cooperation, and a scaling back of competing blocs and the weapons of war – chief among them nuclear missiles.

In both cases, the success of these efforts will depend not solely on political leaders, but also the invention of peoples here and across the globe demanding a peaceful and liveable world.

I just read Putin’s speech announcing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Like any good demagogue, Trump comes to mind, he utilizes real as well as imagined grievences and patriotic allusions to legitimize his exceeding dangerous decision to invade a sovereign country, while concealing his own empire buidling desires and autocratic disposition. He also made reference to nuclear weapons.

We are living through a very dangerous moment.