I wanted to write on something lighter this week. But with world affairs as they are, I’m not sure how I could gloss over my feelings of shock and – to be completely honest – inner rage.
The full-scale invasion of Ukraine is difficult to fathom. Although I suspected Russia might attack, part of me never really thought Vladimir Putin would go through with it. Not to this extent.
Most of us have heard the parallels being drawn to WWII. Only a week ago, we watched a show taking place in Great Britain in 1938. The British characters were celebrating the peace deal British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain signed with Adolf Hitler after Germany annexed a portion of Czechoslovakia.
Clearly, Chamberlain didn’t realize he was dealing with a madman. Not even Joseph Stalin, a madman himself, was wary enough when it came to this German dictator.
There is nothing “trustworthy” about Putin, as George W. Bush once reassured the American public. Not even Russians know what to expect from him anymore. Normally a cruel but astute tactician, many now wonder what kind of madman (for lack of a better word) invades a sovereign country without an exit strategy. One has only to think of Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan to see how history treats the invaders.
Unfortunately, it can take decades for the occupying nation to realize its folly. Only after untold funds are spent and countless lives are lost.
The little hope I had for a diplomatic resolution has been erased, knowing that any retaliation on the part of Ukrainians will be quickly quashed, Russian style. There will be no more free protests without retribution.
Our relatives in Ukraine watch aghast as state-run Russian news channels show Russian soldiers freeing Ukraine from the hold of neo-Nazism. One can only wonder how they echo Putin's false truths with a straight face – making the Jewish, former comedian Ukrainian president into a fascist dictator.
It sickeningly resembles Fox News messaging, with American hosts downplaying the invasion as a lost cause, perhaps at Donald Trump’s behest. “Putin declares a big portion of Ukraine as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful,” Trump said a day before the invasion. “How smart is that?”
If ever there was a moment to signify democracy’s world retreat, it is this. The former leader of the “free world” – and let’s be honest, it’s freest for those who actually get to vote – has made a mockery of Western ideals of life and liberty. In a way, he’s followed in the footsteps of George W. Bush, who also invaded a sovereign nation with feeble justification. Afghanistan was a reaction to a legitimate terrorist attack (even though it turned out just as futile), but Iraq was all about one president's personal retribution.
In much the same way, Putin is emotionally entranced by the nostalgia of a past Soviet empire, losing all sense of what is real. As with Bush’s foreign ventures, Putin’s nation will pay for this – I hope dearly. A former American diplomat suggested that the sanctions placed on Russia in 2014 ranked 2 out of 10 on the severity scale. So far, the new sanctions sound more like a 4 or 5 – hardly enough to deter a madman.
In the meantime, we can only watch from abroad the economic and political havoc this will cause for Ukraine – for our family and friends who still live there. One cannot fully predict the future at this point, but the trajectory so far is bleak. One can only imagine the collective distrust of a puppet government that will ensue – the bristling anger of a population occupied by a former ally.
So far, my sister-in-law and her husband in Ukraine are safe. Our nephews, both who served in the Ukrainian military, are thankfully both in Canada.
We understand, not everyone can leave so easily.
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