Turkish analyst: US, UK seek to “Palestinianize” Ukrainian crisis

In a striking commentary, the Turkish newspaper Sabah has alleged that the United States and Britain are deliberately seeking to "Palestinianize" the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, transforming it into a global issue rather than pursuing a resolution. 

According to columnist Bercan Tutar, the US and Britain are not interested in resolving the Ukrainian crisis; instead, they are attempting to “Palestinianize” it, thereby transforming it into a global issue, Caliber.Az reports citing his opinion piece.

However, he believes, Russia has managed to avoid this trap.

“Everyone can see that the US and UK do not want a resolution to the Ukrainian crisis. At the same time, the US goal is to turn it into a chronic one. The biggest risk for Europe was the 'Somalization' (or 'Afghanization') of Ukraine. This has already been done, and the next step is to 'Palestinianize' it and put it into a geopolitical coma, which will further strengthen the US military and economic hegemony over Europe. There is no doubt that the US needs to make the Ukrainian crisis perpetual to achieve its colonial goals or maintain its global ambitions. Ukraine, like Palestine, caught in a spiral of chaos, anger, destruction, poverty, violence, hunger, exile, and war, will become the main exporter of problems for Europe,” writes Tutar.

He further notes that the US and UK have actively disrupted the implementation of agreements intended for talks between Ukraine and Russia, initially prepared in Istanbul in March 2022.

“For three years, the US and UK have been trying to create a Palestinian problem out of the Ukrainian crisis. To some extent, they have succeeded, but [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, who knew about these insidious schemes from the beginning, is being cautious. He has not fallen into the trap of the US seeking to make the war global, although many red lines have already been crossed,” emphasizes Tutar.

On the evening of November 18, President Biden authorized Ukraine's use of ATACMS missiles on Russian territory for the first time. The New York Times reported that this decision came after Moscow allegedly engaged North Korean troops in combat operations in the Kursk region, prompting Washington to reconsider its earlier hesitations due to fears of escalating the conflict.

The Russian Defence Ministry reported that on the night of November 19, Ukrainian Armed Forces struck a facility in the Bryansk region with six ATACMS missiles. While the Ukrainian military acknowledged the strike on a Russian weapons depot near Karachev, it did not confirm the use of ATACMS. President Zelenskyy later confirmed the use of the missiles, stating: “We have long-range capabilities, we have long-range drones of our own production, we now have a long-range Neptun, and not just one. Now we have ATACMS. We're going to use all of that.”

The Russian military claimed that their S-400 and Pantsir missile systems shot down five of the ATACMS missiles, with one missile reportedly damaged. Fragments of the missiles allegedly fell on a military facility in Bryansk, igniting a fire, but the Defence Ministry stated there were "no casualties or damage."

As the Biden administration continues to provide Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars in aid to counter Russian aggression, the decision to strike deep inside Russian territory remains sensitive. Critics have questioned the legality and wisdom of such a decision just two months before Biden leaves office. In response, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller emphasized that Joe Biden "was elected for a four-year term, not three years and 10 months," underscoring that any decisions made during his presidency are legitimate.

By Tamilla Hasanova