This article is reproduced by Niu Danqin (id:bullpiano) with authorization. Author: Niu Danqin
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This time, the United States is in a bit of a hurry. Russia is getting an important chip.
What chips?
American prisoners delivered to the door.
After the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis, the Ukrainian government recruited volunteers from all over the world, and many Americans went to Ukraine to participate in the war. But the battlefield is merciless. According to media reports, at least two American mercenaries have recently fallen into the hands of the Russian army.
One is alexanderdrucker, 39, from Alabama, and the other seems to be of Chinese descent. Andy Huang, 27, also from Alabama, was captured alive by the Russian army in a battle north of Kharkov.
Russia naturally will not let go of such good publicity materials.
Putin’s spokesman Peskov, in a recent interview with NBC, made it clear that the two men came to Ukraine to serve as soldiers for money and “opened fire on our soldiers on the battlefield”. Therefore, he could not guarantee that the two men would not be sentenced to death. “It depends on the investigation results, and they will face a court ruling.”
Are they prisoners of war?
Russia’s answer is very clear: No.
Because in Russia’s view, they are not the regular Ukrainian army and are not qualified to be prisoners of war.
Over there, the United States is really in a bit of a hurry, especially when it hears that the Russian side has said, “the death penalty cannot be ruled out.”.
The White House was shocked by CNN’s report. To Peskov’s words, White House officials responded: “it is shocking that a Russian public official even suggested that two American citizens in Ukraine should be sentenced to death. We will continue to work hard to understand what we can do.”
Well, Peskov said the death penalty could not be ruled out; The United States’ understanding is that these two people are likely to be sentenced to death.
What should I do?
The chips are in Russia’s hands. The United States can only contact the Russian side as soon as possible, but what makes the Americans helpless is that the Russian side refuses to pay attention.
US State Department spokesman price said on the 21st:
We have been trying to contact the Russian government about American citizens who may be captured during the fighting in Ukraine. Later last week, we also contacted our Ukrainian partners, the International Committee of the Red Cross, other countries and the families of American citizens reported missing in Ukraine. Both in public and in private, we are calling on the Russian government and its agents to fulfil their international obligations when dealing with all the people captured in the fighting in Ukraine… The only response we see is what Russian officials said in public interviews.
what do you mean?
The meaning is also very clear.
1. The United States contacted the Russian side, but the Russian side ignored it.
2. The United States has also found international institutions, but international institutions are powerless.
3. The United States can only appeal to Russia to fulfill its international obligations and recognize that they are prisoners of war.
4. The United States can only wait for Russia’s next step.
What will be the next step?
It’s probably the death penalty.
Earlier, the court of the “people’s Republic of Donetsk” (DPR) sentenced three foreign citizens who had worked for the Ukrainian army to death. Two of them are British, one is Eden aslin, one is seanpinna, and the other is Moroccan, Sutton Ibrahim.
They were accused of “serving as mercenaries” and trying to “seize power by force”.
The British mercenaries are not much better off than the Americans. Moreover, the two “people’s republics” in eastern Ukraine can make a direct judgment without Russia’s direct action.
In addition, according to the notification materials of the Russian Ministry of defense on June 17, since the outbreak of the Russian Ukrainian military conflict, a total of 6956 foreign mercenaries have entered Ukraine. They come from 64 countries, of which 1956 were killed and 1779 fled Ukraine; Of the nearly 7000 foreign mercenaries, 530 were from the United States, of which 214 were killed and 227 fled.
But there is no doubt that Drucker and Andy Huang were the first Americans captured by the Russian army.
Biden has a headache. I support Ukraine to fight against Russia, but I don’t support Americans to fight in Ukraine.
Asked by CNN a few days ago how to view the issue that “American veterans were captured by the Russian army”, Biden answered in this way:
I have listened to the briefing on this matter. We do not know their whereabouts yet… I want to reiterate that Americans should not go to Ukraine now. I repeat, Americans should not go to Ukraine now. Americans should not go to Ukraine now.
Well, he said important things three times, and Biden did it.
Finally, what do you think?
I guess we can’t rule out a few points.
First, the US prisoners lambasted Ukraine.
This is already being done.
Watching the video of Russian media, the captured Drucker complained to the camera that the Ukrainian army was disorderly organized, corrupt and incompetent. He and Andy Huang were originally sent to cover the withdrawal of a Ukrainian army, but when the Ukrainian army fled, they abandoned them and were finally captured by the Russian army
The two captives also told their own stories and advised veterans like them not to come to the Ukrainian battlefield. The story is not as you imagined.
Second, Russia sentenced two people to death.
There is no need to say more. The death penalty is very likely. There is no need for the Russian side to make a direct judgment. It is OK for the courts of the two republics to make a judgment.
Of course, the sentence does not have to be executed immediately. The purpose of giving Americans time to deal with it is to ferment things and make the United States very anxious. After all, Russia knows very well that the lives of Americans are different from those of Ukrainians.
Third, American prisoners cry for American help.
At the critical moment of life and death, the two American prisoners did not rule out appearing in the form of crying. They thought that they had been cheated and called on the US government to save people as soon as possible.
People’s lives are at stake. Their families, their relatives and friends, and even American public opinion are expected to act urgently to put pressure on American politicians and the US government to negotiate with Russia to save people.
The longer the delay, the greater the pressure on the US government, and the more headache Biden has.
Fourth, certain secret transactions are not excluded.
Let’s not rule out that the Russians fought hard. With a real click, the two Americans were executed. Anyway, there are still many Americans in the Ukrainian battlefield. Let’s catch a few more. It is said that the Russian army recently captured another US Marine veteran.
But it is more likely that the United States and Russia will trade in secret. Of course, the United States will not be able to let Russia go without paying a price. Moreover, there are some things that can only be done, and it cannot be said that Russia will not agree to exchange an American for a Russian prisoner.
With their chips in their hands, Americans can only eat Coptis in silence and have to compromise with Russia on some issues. Some compromises are very humiliating. The Americans certainly neither admit nor deny them.
But this may bring about another nightmare: the Russian army has set off an upsurge of catching American prisoners. Well, it provides a wealth of creative materials for Hollywood.
So Biden is in a hurry. He has said important things three times. Don’t go to Ukraine. This is not a Hollywood movie. Don’t go to Ukraine to be a hero. In the end, it has become a bargaining chip for Russia.