Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.
— Ernest Hemingway, American novelist
Yet another war, and more lives have been lost.
This time the Russian armed forces on February 24 invaded Ukraine, the second-largest country by area in Europe after Russia.
Out of its population of 43 million, an estimated 1.5 million refugees from Ukraine have fled into neighbouring countries. A humanitarian tragedy is again unfolding before our eyes.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called for peace amidst the worsening fighting in Ukraine, but so far to no avail.
The Pope has said, “In Ukraine, rivers of blood and tears are flowing. This is not just a military operation but a war which sows death, destruction, and misery”.
However, Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin does not seem to be in any mood to listen to the global calls to halt the fighting and invasion.
So what has the international community done to try and stop this madness?
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has asked for direct intervention by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). However, this is not forthcoming.
In an emergency session of the UN General Assembly, 141 (including Malaysia) of the 193 member states voted for the resolution against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, 35 abstained, and five voted against.
In addition, nations that strongly support Ukraine have responded to the aggression with primarily economic sanctions against Russia.
However, most analysts would agree this is not deemed enough to deter Putin’s desire for war.
So what exactly triggered this war? Every conflict has two sides. Whether it justifies war is a matter of opinion. This is, of course, a very complex matter, and its level of detail cannot be captured in a short column.
However, the Russians are claiming that they felt threatened and were provoked by the encirclement of the 30-member NATO alliance on their doorstep.
As Ukraine was planning to join NATO, the Russians claim they were pushed into war with Ukraine.
NATO’s purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.
Therefore, Ukraine wanted to be part of this security blanket as a sovereign nation. For economic stability, they also had aspirations to join the European Union.
Given the past history of Russian occupation and domination, Ukraine felt it was justified to stay out of the Russian sphere of influence and its suffocating ‘bear hug’.
The Russian empire, through military power, governed the surrounding countries at one time or another over the centuries.
After the communist takeover in 1917, the Russian-dominated Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) grew into one of the world’s most powerful and influential countries with 15 republics — Ukraine was one of them.
However, in 1991, the Soviet Union was dissolved following the collapse of its communist government, and Ukraine gained its long-awaited independence.
However, it is said by some political analysts that Putin has a nostalgic desire to reconstitute the former USSR under the Russian banner.
Ukraine is also extremely rich in natural and mineral resources, making it an attractive acquisition.
Therefore, it could be said most likely Ukraine would have been invaded on some other pretext anyway.
Some are even predicting that Putin will invade Moldavia after Ukraine.
This invasion even has some Malaysians taking sides. Some are taking the side of Russia and blaming US for the whole mess.
However, others highlight the sovereignty of Ukraine and take the position that the Russians should stay out.
I personally would not support the invasion of Ukraine under any pretext. A country as large and powerful as Russia could have found other means, tactics and strategies to keep Ukraine out of NATO.
It must be also be remembered that in decades past, it was NATO that kept communism in check. This prevented many nations from being gobbled up by the former Soviet Union.
We need to acknowledge that the presence of the United States kept many nations in Asia out of the clutches of communism. Even today, we Malaysians rely on the US to keep our territorial waters safe from more encroachment.
I also do hope Malaysians remember Flight MH17. It was shot down over Ukraine in July 2014. Investigators determined that MH17 was shot down by a Russian-made missile launcher fired by Russian-backed rebels. A total of 298 people died, 43 of whom were Malaysians.
A powerful and moving African proverb states, ‘When the elephants fight, the grass gets trampled.’ This proverb captures the scenario during all conflicts.
It illustrates that when powerful forces engage in conflict, the innocent people who never wanted war are harmed and killed in the crossfire.
Let us pray for a quick resolution of the conflict in Ukraine. We also need to count our blessings for continued peace in Sarawak.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
