It's finally time for the west to stand up to Putin

Only on Wednesday did the United States and European Union announce more sanctions on Russia. But by then, it was too late. Putin had long ago decided to sow violence and discord in Ukraine, waging a proxy war against a country that had ousted a corrupt, Moscow-backed regime in favor of a Western-leaning government. Mainstream media accounts of a “civil war” fought among Ukrainians mask the reality: an old-fashioned war of aggression launched by a powerful country against a weaker one.

It is long past time that the United States and its NATO allies supply the Ukrainian military with the lethal aid it has long requested, so that it can at least defend itself and its airspace from Russia. NATO should deploy more troops to Poland and the Baltic states, which are understandably nervous about Russian designs on their territory and quietly doubt the Alliance’s Article 5 commitment stipulating that an attack on one is an attack on all. Sectoral sanctions that could cripple the Russian economy are also long overdue. And, if Russian involvement in this attack is conclusively demonstrated, Russia should be added to the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism.