Two years ago today, February 24, 2024, Russia invaded Ukraine. The world thought the Russian Army would quickly conquer and annex Ukraine. What unfolded was something else. It became apparent that this Russian Army was not the feared Red Army of the USSR. While they outmanned and outgunned Ukraine, they lacked the tactical leadership, training, and, more importantly, the commitment of the rank and file to achieve their goals.
The common frontline soldier did not want to invade Ukraine. There was no threat. Life in Russia was not horrible. Basically, they were doing the bidding of their duly elected dictator: Vladimir Putin. They saw no reason to put their lives on the line. As a result, their hearts were not into it.
On the other hand, the Ukrainians were defending their land. The did not want to be part of Putin’s Russia. Because of that motivation, they fought valiantly and slowed down the invasion further exposing the Russian Army’s morale and leadership issues.
With the invasion, the Europeans were worried. If Putin successfully took Ukraine, might Putin next set his sights on Poland or Finland? Was Putin’s aim to bring the former SSRs back into the fold? That was the fear. As the Europeans were concerned, so was the United States. In short order, military supplies from ammunition and artillery to more sophisticated armaments were provided to Ukraine. Putin stated that he was intent on taking Ukraine and said he would use any means possible to achieve that goal if there was outside interference from NATO. Many thought he might use nuclear weapons. Led by the US, military was provided to Ukraine. Thankfully, there were no more veiled threats about using nukes.
With the military aid, the invasion soon stalled, and slowly the Ukrainian pushed the Russians back some. A front line was established and it became a war of attrition. Last year, it looked as if the mercenary Wagner Group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin might take a larger roll in the war to break the stalemate. Prigozhin looked tougher and more capable than Putin, and even challenged Putin’s leadership. Putin did what Putin does so well when someone challenges his leadership. The threat is neutralized and Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash… on his way to Moscow to make amends with Putin.
Fast forward to today. Another war, Israel’s invasion of Gaza is consuming more of the news than the Ukraine’s war with Russia. Thus far $75 billion has been given by the US to Ukraine. It is also a presidential election year in the US. Biden wants to provide more aid to Ukraine. The Democrats are most certainly with him. The Republicans most certainly are not. Congress is having a hard time approving a bill. As a result, the Ukrainians are running low on ammunition. The Russians have made their first meaningful advancement in months. Without more aid from the US, the Russians will gain the upper hand.
This kind of politics speaks to the rumors of the equally odd relationships of Biden family alliance with Zelensky of Ukraine and Trump with Putin. Depending on one’s political leanings, one of those odd relationships will be true and virtuous and the other an unholy alliance.
The US and Europe has tried to cripple Russia’s war machine with economic sanctions. They have not worked. Economics makes seeming strange bedfellows. Russian oil and gas have made their way to the world markets perhaps even to Europe who would have suffered most from sanctions on Russia if they had worked.
So, in the ‘War What is it Good For’ department, what is the cost of this Russian invasion of Ukraine beyond what the US, Europeans, and Russians have spent? The human cost per The Independent:
- 10 million Ukrainians have been displaced by the war.
- 30,457 Civilian Casualties that include 10,582 deaths 587 of which were children.
- A high-end estimate of military casualties on both sides in 500,000. This included 110,000 killed.
And what is the good or purpose of all this chaos and carnage?
Apart from whoever wins this war, there are always entities that profit from war and that is certainly the case here. There are leaders, addicted to the heroin of power and might over others that need a war like this. But, for me and I guessing for all the families that experienced displacement, causalities and deaths in this war, the words of the song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong resonate strongly:
War, what is it good for?
Absolutely nothin’!
No comments:
Post a Comment