Russia entering Ukraine with its army from Belarus and Donbas region came as no surprise soon after Russia recognised the southern rebel-held Ukraine as a separate State. Today, Russia has unleashed its lethal power in destroying the military infrastructure of Ukraine, in particular Ukraine’s air-defence and offence capabilities.
President Zelensky made the last-ditch effort to save his country by directly telephoning Russian President Putin. The Ukraine president admitted that there was only silence from the other end. The attempt divulged two things; Zelensky’s giving up the war even before it began and his utter disappointment with the European nations, which did nothing tangible besides providing lip service and promise of aid.
Putin had warned this morning to all with a chilling message: ‘Those who try to prevent us will receive a military response, this response will lead to consequences that you have not encountered. We are ready for anything.’ No country from Europe, struggling from the Covid hit economy, seems to be daring to take on Russia. The U.S. president Joe Biden has reportedly made a categorical comment that his troops will not face Putin and Russia. After the inglorious retreat from Afghanistan, the public sentiment in the U.S. against any engagement in wars must have cemented the President’s mood.
The punitive action against the Russian President seems to be economic sanctions like freezing of bank accounts and a few oligarch individuals. Has the U.S. not tried the sanctions against a recalcitrant Iran, which refused to toe the U.S. lines and pursued its independent atomic policy? If the cold war has ended, the emergence of a unipolar world led by the U.S. could be ending, with the stumbling block in Putin. He is no pushover, as he has proved today.
The other angle is China and Iran, which are siding with Russia. China might exploit the lack of attention in the South China Seas and go for similar action in Taiwan, like what Russia is doing in Ukraine. That would end either the western supremacy led by the U.S. or lead to a world war, more countries forced to participate for either of the two blocks.
It seems right now the stand of the western nations, only limited to sanctions, surely is not a comfortable situation for the embattled Ukraine president. His country is pounded right now, and he is fighting a lonely battle. My heart goes with the people of Ukraine, who have needlessly become pawns in the game of one-upmanship between two superpowers.
The days to come might evolve into a new world order, in which India will not feel comfortable with singeing crude prices.
Sampath Kumar
Intrépide Voix
