Recent events in Ukraine reflect a struggle for control by international powers, the likes of which history has often seen before. Though we reside in one of those powers, we dare not choose a favorite. The United States (U.S.) and Russia are playing the devil’s game in Ukraine. As citizens of a Kingdom inaugurated by the life and death of Jesus, we must stand instead with the Ukrainian people, who are suffering horribly through all of this.

Not taking sides is difficult. Since July 17, when Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH 17) fell from overcast skies over eastern Ukraine, we in the U.S. have been inundated by our government’s point of view. It has been shamefully amplified by mainstream media, most of which have a recent history of encouraging U.S. wars. To stay off this band-wagon, we must seek out Ukrainian and Russian perspectives and understand how instability in Eastern Europe benefits the U.S., not Russia or the Ukrainian people.

What is Russia’s agenda? It seeks the fall of the pro-Western government that took control of Ukraine in late February when the elected president fled the country in fear for his life. It seeks instead a neighbor that honors the Russian heritage shared by many Ukrainian people, buys Russian instead of European products, and denies NATO access to Russia’s borders. Its broader geo-political goals include economic integration with Germany and an end to what it calls “a unipolar world” dominated by the U.S.

What is the U.S. agenda? It wants NATO to expand into Ukraine and thus reach Russia’s borders, Ukraine’s labor force to be available to Western-owned corporations, and Europe to buy natural gas and oil from the U.S. instead of Russia. It wants to Russia to pay a high price for its refusal to cooperate with U.S. policies in Syria and Iran, its bold annexation of the Crimea, and its plans with Brazil, India, China and South Africa to develop global financial institutions outside of U.S. control.

This is not a struggle over ideology, human rights or “freedom.” Instead, Russia and the U.S. are competing for turf and control of wealth, much like the European powers just before World War I. The overthrow of the Ukrainian government in late February was a “win” for the U.S. and a “loss” for Russia. Ever since, the Ukrainian people have been pawns in an increasingly violent struggle.

Thus, the Russian government has done little-to-nothing to stop the flow of weapons and experienced fighters across the border from Russia to Ukraine. In fact, it likely has encouraged the flow, which occurs spontaneously enough within private, unofficial channels. The Russian people feel much affinity with the people of eastern Ukraine due to a common language, many family and fraternal relationships, and shared memories of great suffering and heroism in defeating Nazi Germany during World War 2.

The Russian government almost certainly is also providing training and technical assistance to the pro-Russian separatists, including information collected through surveillance.

In different ways but to as great an extent, the U.S. is the power behind the new government in Ukraine. The U.S. spent $5 billion there to organize anti-Russian sentiment and buy leaders loyal to the West. As soon as the former Ukrainian president decided late last year to accept a Russian trade deal instead of what Europe had offered, the U.S. began openly supporting forces trying to bring down the elected government, even though that effort included lethal violence against unarmed riot police. The head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the U.S. Vice President visited Kiev this spring to consult on a military strategy premised on the view that separatists in eastern Ukraine are not to be negotiated with. In late June, the U.S. opposed an extension of a cease-fire between the Ukrainian army and the separatists, even though European leaders and Russia’s President Putin all supported an extension.

Intense fighting resumed July 1 with a major Ukrainian army “anti-terror operation” in the two eastern Ukrainian provinces. In response, the separatists used shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles to shoot down Ukrainian military planes, some flying as high as 20,000 feet.

Many of the casualties in the renewed fighting have been noncombatants as the Ukrainian army often uses its superior firepower to target workplaces and residential neighborhoods. Since the beginning of April, several hundred thousand Ukrainian refugees have fled across the border seeking safety in Russia. As a result, Putin is under growing popular pressure to reverse the decision he made in late April not to intervene militarily in eastern Ukraine.

In the West, the downing of Flight MH 17 and the deaths of all 298 passengers have prompted calls for an even more aggressive U.S. stance. As both Russia and the U.S. have the area under constant radar and satellite surveillance, one might expect that highly credible data would be the basis for deciding whether or not such calls are justified. On July 21, Russia released radar images and satellite photos related to the events of July 17, but to date the U.S. has not released any. One explanation is that satellite images are difficult to interpret. They may show a missile launch, the persons operating the launcher and the details of their army uniforms, but not whether the uniforms were worn for deceptive purposes. Yet if there are satellite images of high altitude surface-to-air missile launchers being moved from Russia into Ukraine, why haven’t we seen them?

There is another difference in how the two governments have responded. Russia has been asking questions and has complained about how the U.S. has “politicized” the investigation, but has declined to speculate about who was responsible for attacking Flight MH 17. On the other hand, through the statements of Secretary of State Kerry, the U.S. has quickly concluded the separatists are guilty, claimed “an enormous amount of evidence” points to Russian involvement, and demanded that Europe close ranks in punishing Russia.

As we evaluate the U.S. accusations, it’s important to remember the U.S. accusations of yellow-cake, aluminum tubes and mobile chemical weapons labs in Saddam’s Iraq, genocide in Gaddafi’s Libya, and chemical weapon attacks on children in Assad’s Syria. Each of those accusations was offered by senior U.S. officials with the same conviction as these most recent ones, yet each later proved to be false.

The actions of the Ukrainian government have raised more questions than answers. On July 17, it had multiple high altitude surface-to-air missile launchers and supporting radar systems in place near the contested area. Thus, it could have shot Flight MH 17 down. It has denied its fighter jet was in close proximity to Flight MH 17 before and after it fell from the sky, even though Russia’s radar data clearly shows otherwise. Ukraine has offered an audio tape and photo as proof of Russian involvement, but neither stood up well under analysis. Recordings of Ukrainian air traffic control’s communications with the plane may explain why its crew did not follow the flight plan and why its fighter jet was close by at the decisive moment, but the Ukrainian government has refused to release the tapes.

While the Ukrainian government has criticized separatist efforts to remove the bodies and secure the crash site for investigation, its intense artillery bombardment of Donetsk delayed efforts to remove the bodies of the victims. On July 27, it launched a military effort to seize the crash site, furthering delaying the arrival of a team of Dutch and Australian police officers who had planned to support the investigation.

It appears a renewal of the Cold War is underway. U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey said on July 24 that Pentagon planners are now looking at military options “we haven’t had to look at for 20 years.” Russia is reporting an increase in Ukrainian army artillery fire across its border and has responded in kind. Tit-for-tat escalations, eventually involving NATO, are increasingly likely.
Where does this leave us? Distressed by the deaths of the plane’s passengers and the carnage in Ukraine, reminded again how the lust for power fuels violence and threatens the world, convinced only that the devil’s game produces the devil’s reward. “Do not be conformed to this world,” said Paul in Romans 12:2, “but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.”