The world has galvanized their support of Ukraine, after the unsurprising invasion by Russia that began on Thursday. The invasion had been expected for a while, as troops and equipment were amassing on the border, and now the full-scale invasion is underway.
Many people were not impressed with Russian president Vladimir Putin for his annexation of the Crimea, which rightfully belongs to Ukraine, and this unwarranted attack on Ukraine has crossed the line of any decency – figuratively and literally.
Missiles and bombs aimed at residential buildings and neighbourhoods, and the murder of hundreds of people under the guise of war, is completely unconscionable.
The reaction of the world’s nations and other organizations has been surprisingly swift and is more or less united in an effort to isolate and punish Russia.
One wonders if Putin has any remorse at all, or is rethinking his strategy with such a united front that is clearly against him.
Even sporting bodies have reacted swiftly, barring or disallowing any Russian teams or athletes from any competitions, and cancelling major competitions that had been slated to take place in Russia.
Ukraine is somewhat overmatched, as a far smaller country than “The Bear” of Russia, but their spirit to fight back has not waned at all. Indeed, the nation’s spirit has been bolstered by their president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who refused to leave Kyiv, but defiantly has stood firm in his resolve to fight back.
Are the sanctions enough to deter Putin? So far, no, and it seems unlikely that any of these moves are going to have any actual effect on Russia’s actions.
Peace talks began, and ended in failure, while the missile attacks rocked Ukrainian cities and communities, and as of Monday night, over a half-million Ukrainians had fled the country with many more wanting to exit and escape the violence and the bombs.
What has Putin done instead of backing down? He has made nuclear threats, putting his nuclear forces on high alert, and said the Western “Empire of Lies” imposing the sanctions are seeking to hurt his country.
The West, including banks and countries (but clearly not the United Nations), need to double down on their efforts to punish and sanction Russia for their attacks on Ukraine.
There is no justification for the invasion, but Putin is clearly hardening his heart against any sanction imposed rather than seeing what he is doing is unwarranted and completely wrong. The fear is that this may yet escalate to a much larger conflict than Ukraine – but the hope is Putin will see how bad that would be for the world, and for all of the innocent people who would be hurt.
