As Russian President Vladimir Putin’s horrific war against Ukraine approaches its fourth anniversary, it is important to remind the world of several key truths about it.
First, Putin was the one who invaded Ukraine. World leaders spent the year 2021 travelling to Moscow and literally begging him not to. One after another they sat across that unforgettable, ridiculously long Covid-era table from the Russian president; every time he promised them he would be reasonable — and every time he lied.
War was his contemplated and conscious choice. Like almost every aggressor, he was self-assured, certain it would be a relatively easy undertaking for him and a ticket to greatness for his country. Yet, like most wars, what appeared so tempting in the beginning turned out to be a blunder for him and a bloody crime for the millions who willingly and enthusiastically supported him in that decision.
Destroyed by a merciless invader
Second, no one wants peace more than Ukraine, a country that is being destroyed by a merciless invader. Ukrainians are the ones suffering and paying the price for their freedom. Now, after three years of the frontline not moving, the president of Ukraine is ready to talk about a ceasefire — but not to gift Putin with the land he could not conquer militarily in all these years.
The very fact that after almost four years of fighting, Volodymyr Zelensky (unlike Putin) is ready to stop the bloodshed, is a yet another moment of truth showing who the peacemaker is in this war and who the perpetrator is.
Third, those who want peace do not start wars. The current back-and-forth dialogue about the “peace process” gets stuck on the fact that Ukraine wants to negotiate peace with Russia, while Russia wants to negotiate an imperial subjugation with Ukraine.
The only way Putin would be serious about ending what he started is if he was incentivised to do it via a coordinated international push for peace. And that is where the so-called “Global South” can play a historic role. For instance: if South Africa, together with China, Brazil, and India asked Russia in no unclear terms to stop the war now, the war would stop. And whoever does it will write their name into history.
Fourth, in his interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson, Putin made clear what his war is about: conquering the lands he considers “historically Russian”. There is a word for it: imperialism. Not Nato expansion, not defence of Russian speakers (you don’t defend people by razing their cities and villages). This war is an imperialist land grab, plain and simple.
Every month Russia loses as many people in Ukraine as the USSR lost in 10 years of war in Afghanistan. All that — for what? In three years, Russia has not fully occupied any of Ukraine’s 24 oblasts. You can call it many things. “Winning” is not one of them.
Fifth, it is not a proxy war. If it were, the West would not have pleaded with Putin not to start it. If it were, Presidents Zelensky and US President Donald Trump would have been much more agreeable during their February meeting in the White House. If it were, the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska would have been way more productive.
Goliath vs David face-off
What is happening between Russia and Ukraine is a Goliath vs David face-off, where one nation wants to be an empire again, while the other one just wants to be — and stands its ground against all odds. Yet, this whole confrontation is also a historic crossroads for the rest of the world. It will decide whether the 21st century will be the age of the nations of the world fighting poverty, hunger and illnesses — or grabbing land and fighting each other. Because, if one land grab succeeds, expect more. And once you expect that, you will spend your money not on the wellbeing of your people, but on getting ready for the next attack.
Russia’s war on Ukraine is evil, unjust and pointless. Not a single sensible argument would justify this level of atrocity and barbarity. The existing global order might not be fair, but what Russia is doing in Ukraine is not creating a fair one. It is just making the world unfair differently, merely with a bigger slice of the global pie and a new set of colonies for Russia.
This cannot be a convincing case for the former colonies of this world. Those who fought for freedom yesterday cannot support those who suppress it today.
As the classic song went: “War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing!” It’s bad for everyone, including (as we have seen lately) several African nations, whose citizens were lured to fight on the side of the aggressor.
My message to these people is simple: be smarter than that! Aside from bringing endless grief to Ukraine, you will probably also bring grief to your own families. Do not do it! No money in the world is worth fighting for an aggressor. DM