‘The Russian Rape of Ukraine’ enters its 2nd year tomorrow. There are no signs of either side relenting! God help us! Have mercy on these nasty communist dictators Lord! During this Christian Lenten Season, let’s pray that peace may soon come to Ukraine. Easier said than achieved! Because the other option of a prolonged conflict risks a huge escalation that is absolutely dangerous for us all! Let us also pray for Europe in a very special way! May they have the strength to live through this constant fear of an all out nuclear conflict suddenly breaking out – the unthinkable becomes real – especially since Russia is the wounded tiger here! A tiger who tried to attack it’s prey last year but has now gotten grievously injured!
Yet this “injured tiger”, has mobilised some 5,00,000 troops this year, more than twice the size of the forces Putin deployed to launch the invasion last year on February 24th! While the West, Ukraine’s main financial and military backer, is sending armoured vehicles, precision bombs, battle tanks and missile defence systems to Ukraine to bolster its defensive and offensive capabilities, US President Joe Biden has pledged America’s lasting support to the war-battered Ukraine. Russian dictator Putin, in his State of the Nation address, signalled his country’s readiness for a long war, and suspended its participation in the New START treaty, which risks triggering a nuclear arms race.
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The past year has been disastrous enough for all parties. Putin, who wanted a quick victory, miscalculated Ukraine’s deadly response and the West’s resolve to back it. Ukraine thus inflicted huge human and massive material costs on Russia, but has still lost about 20% of its territories. While Europe, despite its differences over its approach towards Russia, has also been reeling under an economic costs that has put a massive sent in its economic recovery!
However, despite the setbacks, no side is ready for negotiations. Putin is ready to fight as long as it takes and the West is ready to arm Ukraine for as long as it takes. It’s a no brainer that a continued long war would be catastrophic for Ukraine. In addition to losing tens of thousands of lives, it’s infrastructure is under a devilish attack by Russia, almost a quarter of it’s population have become refugees outside its borders and it’s economy has been battered. Without the steady supply of arms from the West, it is unlikely to survive the Russian onslaught. Further, if the war prolongs, the risks of a Russia-NATO direct conflict would rapidly destroy the much touted and hard won, post WWII European security. Today, the deepening mistrust between the West versus the “Russia China North Korea Iran axis” is simply unreal and super dangerous!
At the same time, we all need to avoid an open confrontation between the great powers – at all costs!….. as it could possibly result in a cataclysmic nuclear version of — (to put it in our Mahatma Gandhi’s own words)……*”an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”*. The possibility of such a conflict would mean that the war is not just a European problem, it’s fast becoming a global nightmare! Bringing the war to an end is imperative for global security and our safety. The present stalemate and the war of attrition imposed by Russia on Ukraine suggests that victory by either side in this war is simply unrealistic — which means, Russia, Ukraine and the West should prepare for an eventual settlement. The earlier they begin talking to each other, the better it would be for the whole world! We absolutely owe it to our future generations — a chance to live on a planet that is possibly fast racing towards a dangerous nuclear brinkmanship imposed by none other than the “Mother Russia”!
