Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Stalin’s ‘Winter War’ Offers Hope

The news from Ukraine is bad and likely to get worse. Experts say that Russia could simply decide to conquer its neighbor by inflicting untold civilian casualties. There is also a danger that the conflict will spread to neighboring countries such as Moldova or that there will be a confrontation with NATO.

But there is one scenario short of an overthrow of Vladimir Putin that isn’t as grim. Jet fighters from Poland and other NATO countries could be handed over to Ukrainian pilots and force Russia into a military quagmire as deepening Western sanctions strangle its economy. A similar situation forced the Soviet Union to withdraw from Afghanistan in the 1980s.

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John Fund

John Fund is National Review’s national-affairs reporter.

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The news from Ukraine is bad and likely to get worse. Experts say that Russia could simply decide to conquer its neighbor by inflicting untold civilian casualties. There is also a danger that the conflict will spread to neighboring countries such as Moldova or that there will be a confrontation with NATO.

But there is one scenario short of an overthrow of Vladimir Putin that isn’t as grim. Jet fighters from Poland and other NATO countries could be handed over to Ukrainian pilots and force Russia into a military quagmire as deepening Western sanctions strangle its economy. A similar situation forced the Soviet Union to withdraw from Afghanistan in the 1980s.