MH 17 crash: Putin in trouble over evidences indicting Pro Russian separatists

As friends and families of the dead 298 passengers of the ill-fated MH 17 flight continue to grieve, all evidences as to who shot down the plane currently points towards pro-Russian separatists as the perpetrators of the attack.

Once governments involved in the investigation base their conclusions on those evidences, already embattled Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, would have been successfully boxed himself into a corner.

His country’s military action in Ukraine had been greatly criticized by the West, especially the United States. But the European Union’s unwillingness to injure the strong Soviet trade and economic ties by backing sanctions against Russia as the US was doing had been Putin’s saving grace. But now, he has definitely bitten more than he can chew as so many of the victims of the MH 17 flight were from the European Union, including more than half from the Netherlands alone and 26 from the United States of America.

With 193 of its own citizens among the dead, we can expect the Netherlands to demand European solidarity in the form of a much tougher response to the crisis. This will make it increasingly difficult for other EU members like Germany to hold the line against the extension of sanctions.

The overwhelming view among EU leaders will be that the fighting in eastern Ukraine must now be brought to a definitive end and that Russia bears primary responsibility for the fact that it has continued so long.

United State’s Barack Obama now stands in a better position to extend sanctions that would force Russia to back down as Putin is now on his own. 

In fact, Putin is in dilemma. Failure to back down is a call stiffer sanctions that would harm him and his country’s economy. But abandoning the Ukrainian separatists he had been supporting wound translate to losing to Ukraine and being labeled a loser at home.

Tough choices, but he must choose.