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The Media and US Policy Are Contributing to a ‘Looming Civil War’ in Ukraine

The new cold war with Russia may create a real war in Ukraine.

Stephen F. Cohen

May 1, 2014

A rally participant waves a Russian flag in Crimea. (Reuters/Sergei Karpukhin)

“We’re losing Russia, we’re creating a new cold war, we’re rushing toward hot war,” is how Nation contributing editor Stephen Cohen summed up the effect of current US foreign policy in Ukraine and Russia. Appearing on the John Batchelor Show to discuss his latest piece for The Nation, co-written with editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel, Cohen cited the major media outlets as complicit in this rush to war, acting as “cheerleaders” for US policy. Cohen says there is a need for debate, but that debate isn’t possible unless there is agreement that, by virtually every measure, “Ukraine is profoundly divided.” —Corinne Grinapol

Stephen F. CohenStephen F. Cohen is a professor emeritus of Russian studies and politics at New York University and Princeton University. A Nation contributing editor, his most recent book, War With Russia? From Putin & Ukraine to Trump & Russiagate, is available in paperback and in an ebook edition. His weekly conversations with the host of The John Batchelor Show, now in their seventh year, are available at www.thenation.com.


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