Sanctions Against Russia: Is UK Playing Washington's 'Puppet' or Failing to Learn History Lessons?

On Sunday, a new round of threats of sanctions against Russia came from UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. Particularly, she warned that the government would consider legislation that would allow it to "hit a much wider variety of targets" with sanctions, mentioning "Putin's oligarchs" and "Russian companies involved in propping up the Russian state".

The pretext for the bravado is unlikely to surprise anyone: it is once again Russian plans to "invade" Ukraine - the same plans that Moscow has been denying for several weeks.

Given that both Russia and the West seem to agree on pursuing a diplomatic solution for the situation around Ukraine, the move by the United Kingdom to heat up the tensions with threats raises eyebrows.

"London for some unknown reason is trying to play Washington’s ingratiating puppet (despite the Biden regime attack British policy in Ireland and crippling our steel industry!)" says Rodney Atkinson, a British academic as well as a political and economic commentator. "London has gone along with all the repeated attacks on Russia and NATO’s move eastwards and is arming and training Ukraine - the most blatantly Nazi country in Europe where parades of openly fascistic symbols and the honouring of the Nazi Stepan Bandera are regarded as normal behaviour".

According to the academic, this is nothing short of being "part of a two decade long European corporatist fascist attack on Eastern Europe and Russia". The "American attack" targeting Moscow, in his view, stems from the "abysmal ignorance of Europe, the non communist political economy of modern Russia and engrained Hollywood Russophobia".

However, there is also another reason for London to take such an aggressive stance against Russia, with Moscow being labelled as an external enemy needed by UK PM Boris Johnson to draw attention away from internal crises - particularly from the infamous "Partygate" scandal.

"The weakest partner feels they need to shout the loudest. Britain was forced to follow the USA’s fatal policy of abandoning Afghanistan and now feels forced to bang the drum for aggression in eastern Europe", Atkinson explains.

There is a country, however, that seems to have taken "the most sober and rational approach", notes Atkinson, and it is Germany - it warns of the possible dangers a war could pose, also pointing at the reasons behind Russia's security concerns and the economic costs of the conflict.

"Although the economic attack on Russia is a part of the military attack the principal motivation is ideological, based on the failure to understand modern Russia and the potential for peaceful co-existence", Atkinson says. "Germany understands that an economically weak Russia would be militarily destabilising and a disaster for Germany and European business and has rightly refused to send arms to Ukraine".

Aside from Germany, the academic continues, several other countries also do not appear to be eager to stand with Ukraine, among them Belarus, Poland, Hungary, and Croatia - the latter has already said it would withdraw its troops from NATO should the alliance engage in conflict.

Looking back, Atkinson referred to some history lessons - particularly those from Croatia and the anti-Serb Ustaša movement.

"When I once warned Margaret Thatcher about the fascist nature and history of the President of Croatia she was shocked and speechless", he said. "The British Foreign Office had failed her just as it is failing now".