Russian President Vladimir Putin’s three-day war against Ukraine has now surpassed 150 days with no victory for Russia in sight. Russian military desperation has reached the point of begging Iran for drone support. The US Department of Defense estimates that Russia has committed at least 85% of its military might in their losing fight against Ukraine, and the intelligence community adds that, at its current rate, Russian forces may not be able to last the year.

While the West continues to find ways to support Ukraine, albeit painfully slowly at times, so that they can outlast Russia, it is imperative to think about what a post-war region and world should look like. In doing so, we must ask: What is justice for Ukraine?

In short, and at the most basic level, justice should be what Ukraine requires it to be. No desire of a Russian-hugging Germany to end the war by forcing Ukraine to cede territory to Russia for an “honorable peace” should be entertained. Among many reasons, Russia simply cannot be trusted to keep its word. Most recently, on 22 July 2022, Russia signed an agreement to allow the export of Ukrainian grain; on 23 July 2022 they bombed the port of Odesa from which the grain would travel. In response, Anthony Blinken, the milquetoast US Secretary of State, stated that the bombings cast “serious doubt” on Russia’s commitment to the deal, as if this were the first time Russia behaved in such a manner.

Russia cannot be trusted to honor any terms of any such peace because they have already openly stated their desire for the complete extermination of Ukraine and her people. Thus, it is only fitting that we, in response, contemplate the deconstruction of Russia as it exists today.

At the outset, it is important to understand that it is highly unlikely that Putin will ever see the inside of a courtroom, even if it is a condition of sanctions relief, for it is likely that the Russians themselves will kill Putin rather than risk the embarrassment of the world witnessing the resulting spectacle. However, this does not negate the necessity that other Russian officials be surrendered to The Hague in exchange for the slow easing of sanctions. These individuals could include Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov, GRU Director Admiral Igor Kostyukov, and any general or other high ranking officer who fought in or directed military action against Ukraine, should any manage to survive the days and weeks ahead. Lower-ranking and enlisted military personnel who commit war crimes must also face justice, but this could be done in Ukraine, following recent precedent.

Russia must rebuild Ukraine through significant war reparations. Of course, it will not be able to fund the immediate full reconstruction of Ukraine, so it is likewise imperative that a Marshall-style Plan be put together through which the West, with other like-minded nations around the world, can rebuild Ukraine quickly. Russian reparations will come from the full and complete seizure of all ill-gotten assets of the oligarchs, of Putin himself, as well as those of his inner circle, both in Russia and abroad, and from a set percentage of oil, natural resources, and agricultural sales and exports. Part of the Russian reparations should go directly to Ukraine, while another part should be directed toward reimbursing, at least in part, the nations contributing to the New Marshall Plan.

Western post-war reconstruction can also come in the form of educational support. Many Ukrainian academics and students have come to the West to further their research and studies, making valuable connections at institutions all over the world. In returning home, it is important that universities maintain these contacts, ensuring the Ukrainian scholars that they will not lose out by returning home and that they will have the necessary support to rebuild their institutions, thus continuing their work at home with help from abroad.

Just as was done with post-war imperial Japan, Russia must be demilitarized. At a minimum, no military forces should be allowed west of the Ural Mountains, i.e., in European Russia. They are unnecessary because NATO represents no offensive military threat, and, as Russia themselves must realize, its true existential threat comes from China in the east. Discussions around the full state of demilitarization should also include a discussion of the denuclearization of Russia. Their constant threat to respond to perceived aggression and, indeed, any emotional slight with nuclear strikes, as well as their clear violation of the Budapest Memorandum by which they kept their nuclear weapons, while others nations, including Ukraine, willingly gave theirs up, demonstrate that they are not responsible enough to hold nuclear weapons.

Russia must be required to withdraw from all occupied lands and territories. While this logically means they will be compelled to leave the parts of Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine that they have invaded and occupied in recent years, this could also include a partial or full breakup of contemporary Russia into up to 28 new, independent nations. Such an action would involve freeing a number of the non-Russian parts of the Russian Federation, conquered and colonized during imperial times, that were not given the option of independence upon the disintegration of the Soviet Union. This would result in a full and complete decolonization of Russia, which would then return it to its Muscovite core.

The Russian educational system should be reformed and reconstructed so that its current and future students are compelled to face up to and fully understand its colonial/imperial past and present and, in so doing, begin to remake their national psyche. The West is constantly criticized for colonial actions undertaken generations ago, and a presentation of these actions are a part of their basic curriculum. After World War II, such re-education was forced on a defeated Germany, albeit with only mixed results, given the rise of the AfD and Germany’s continuing penchant for prioritizing deals with disreputable states, including Russia and China. Thus, it is only fitting that the same be attempted with a defeated Russia.

In short, Russia as it exists today, a colonial power with a colonialist tradition and history that stretches directly from imperial times, through Soviet times, and into the present, must cease to exist. The world needs to be in a position to ensure that it never returns to such a state.

NATO should be further enlarged to keep Russia in permanent check. The addition of Finland and Sweden, a direct result of recent Russian aggression, is a good start, but there are further nations, including in the Indo-Pacific, which also border Russia, that could be integrated. In fact, an Indo-Pacific version of NATO, stretching from Canada, the US, and Japan in the north, through Taiwan, and down to Australia, could be created. Such a grouping would extend beyond containing just Russia, of course. It can also be a counter to an increasingly aggressive and abusive China, which has its own continuing history of brutal colonialism.

The sad reality, though, is that it is unlikely that the West will push to require most, if any, of these actions, for some nations are already trying to extract themselves from supporting Ukraine. Germany continues to find loopholes to work with Russia, just as they continue to invent excuses to keep from sending the already minimal amount of support they have promised. Hungary, which in the years leading up to the fall of the Soviet Union was at the forefront of fighting for freedom and democracy, has taken a dark, authoritarian, pro-Russian turn under Victor Orban. Neither nation can be fully trusted to help Ukraine or support NATO actions.

Meanwhile, in the United States, the Biden administration continues to do things in a half-measured way. Biden himself, along with his national security mouthpiece, Jake Sullivan, keep announcing what they will not do rather than keeping Putin guessing what will happen to him if he continues to push ahead. They do just enough to keep Ukraine going, thus prolonging the war and the suffering, while not doing enough to allow Ukraine to win. This continues a life-long aversion to foreign policy success on the part of both Biden and Sullivan, who were also jointly responsible for the Afghanistan withdrawal debacle. They lack the courage, the vision, and the wisdom to do what needs to be done anywhere in the world.

Given the courage and abilities of Ukraine, it is now clear that if the level and type of military aid being given now had been given at the outset of hostilities, and if the Biden Administration had had the courage to establish a no-fly zone immediately, the war likely would already be over, and countless lives, both Ukrainian and Russian, would have been saved. While the war is solely Putin’s fault, the Biden administration has a lot to answer for both now and in the judgement of history. It will not be judged favorably.

Equally concerning are the recent actions of Representative Victoria Spartz (R/IN–05), herself a Ukrainian immigrant, who, after being a vocal supporter of Ukraine, has suddenly turned against further funding. While there are legitimate concerns about corruption, as there are whenever it comes to doling out foreign and military aid, it is equally important to note that Ukraine, under President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, made pre-war strides to improve, an improvement that was interrupted by Putin’s war. Ukraine cannot de-corrupt itself if Russia, which is a significantly more corrupt nation, continues to destroy it.

Therefore, it is imperative that the West continue to take a strong stand, not only to defend Ukraine and defeat Russia, but to give a warning to China about what fate awaits if and when they decide to attack Taiwan. If we arrest, try, and imprison Russian war criminals and break up Russia into parts, then we can send the message that we will arrest, try, and imprison Chinese war criminals and break up China into parts, liberating East Turkestan and Tibet, among other future nations, and freeing a once-vibrant Hong Kong from tyranny. This will allow Taiwan to continue to serve as an example for democracy in the Chinese-speaking world, while imperial/colonial China, like imperial/colonial Russia, ends up on the ash-heap of history.

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Jonathan Z. Ludwig is a Teaching Associate Professor of Russian at Oklahoma State University.