Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo believes that Russia is committing genocide during its war against Ukraine and that Putin will not stop if he is successful in the south and Donbas.
His words from a speech at the Hudson Institute think tank are quoted by Politico.
"Putin's unlawful, attacking war is a planned genocide, that is, the deliberate destruction of a people," he said.
Pompeo reiterated his belief that the U.S. should not go to war for another country just yet, but it is now in the U.S. interest to support Ukraine to prevent a larger continental war in Europe, when the states would already have to intervene to protect NATO member states.
Second, he notes, we need to prevent Russia from "restoring a Soviet empire that would dictate terms in the global energy market, creating economic problems for the United States and the world."
"If Russia is allowed to dominate the Donbass and the coast of Ukraine, Putin's next step will be to seize control of the energy resources of other independent countries that were once part of the USSR," Pompeo noted.
He added that if Putin is not stopped, the current uncomfortable energy prices will be "remembered as the times when gas was cheap.
Mike Pompeo believes that the Western world should work to create a "new global alliance on the values of freedom," which could be a counterweight to both Russia and China, and a new security architecture with "hubs" in Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
Pompeo rules out the suggestion that trying to appease Putin could yield any positive results.
"NATO solidarity is essential. Germany and France must not give in to any of the Kremlin's wishes," the former secretary of state stressed.
He also believes that Ukraine needs large-scale military assistance.
"The U.S. has a serious stockpile of Abrams tanks in storage, a significant number should have been immediately allocated to Ukraine," Pompeo noted. Also, in his opinion, it would be possible to agree on the transfer of Leopard 2 tanks from Spain and to think about the transfer of American Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, since the existing Soviet S-300 systems are not enough.
Mike Pompeo also stressed that the Europeans should think more seriously about their own defense and not pin all their hopes on the USA.