Commentary The recent example of Russian barbarism and medieval sieges of Ukrainian cities is a stark reminder that we still live with dictators who believe in blood and soil, despise any notions of constitutional self-governance, and do not observe any fictional “red lines” that third parties project onto them. Ukraine Is Not About NATO, It’s About Russian Domination of the West Vladimir Putin has never acknowledged the existence of Ukraine as an independent country, and is willing to go to extremes to realize his lifelong goal on conquering it and subjugating its people. Many people around the world, and particularly in the West, have deluded themselves into believing that the catastrophic events of the World Wars and the human enslavement within the USSR during the Cold War belong permanently in the past. They do not. Refusal to acknowledge this has resulted in a failure of deterrence thereby resulting in Putin …