Russian media is already warning that the recently-passed House Resolution 758 could lead to “all-out” war if the U.S. Senate were to pass similar legislation. While President Barack Obama has yet to offer lethal aid and weapons to Ukraine, Canada has already announced they will provide military assistance outside the constraints of NATO.
In a related report by the Inquisitr , Ron Paul believes that a “reckless” Congress has essentially declared war on Vladimir Putin and Russia based upon Resolution 758. Fears of World War 3 were stoked when Russian fighter jets faced off against NATO jets in blitz designed to be a “show of force” by Vladimir Putin.
House Resolution 758 officially calls upon President Obama “to provide the Government of Ukraine with lethal and non-lethal defense articles, services, and training required to effectively defend its territory and sovereignty.” It’s possible that the current Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate, led by Harry Reid, will block similar legislation from passing the Senate, but John McCain has already promised to pass a similar resolution in 2015.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich claims that supplying lethal aid to Ukraine would be a direct violation of the Geneva Agreements. In addition, Russian media funded by the government has published an editorial that attempts to refute House Resolution 758. RT even goes so far as to claim that the United States is provoking World War 3 by bring the United States one step closer to an “all-out” war with Russia.
“The opening paragraph of HR 758 accuses Russia of conducting an “invasion of Ukraine” and violating its territorial sovereignty…. There are many more such preposterous claims and dangerous demands in HR 758, yet the document has been greeted with a deafening silence in the United States by the corporate-owned media,” the article from RT.com states. “Before the US Senate votes on HR758, it should ask itself these simple questions, otherwise it risks stirring up a hornet’s nest of problems the world does not need.”
Recently, Canadian Defense Minister Rob Nicholson announced this week that Canada will send Canadian soldiers into Ukraine in order to provide training, including security measures and battlefield medicine. The declaration of intent was made independent of NATO and it’s not considered a legally binding treaty under international, but it does stop short of providing lethal aid and weapons to Ukraine. Still, the Canadian declaration does resemble elements of the U.S. House Resolution 758.
“Russia has flagrantly violated the territorial integrity of Ukraine and continues its efforts to intimidate and undermine the democratically elected government in Kiev,” the declaration reads . “Canada and Ukraine are committed to continue working together to strengthen the capacity of the Ukrainian government and its security forces to defend Ukraine’s territorial integrity and its people. We declare our intent to continue working together to explore ways in which to build upon these gains, particularly as concerns defense capacity-building through the provision of general support training such as military police, medical and personal protective measures.”
The Ukrainian government in Kiev continues to seek lethal aid from NATO member countries. While both the United States and Canada have rejected calls to send lethal aid into Ukraine, both countries would be obligated by NATO treaties to respond with military force if Russia’s actions were to ever violate Article V of NATO’s Washington Treaty, which declares that “an attack on one is an attack on all.” At the same time, others feel that it’s the U.S. and NATO who are the aggressors in the Ukraine crisis, not Russia or Vladimir Putin.