Maybe we really do sometimes have the right actor in the right role. I was talking to a friend the other day about the war for the Ukraine. We began the discussion talking about the on-again, off-again career of former prime minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson. My friend described Johnson as a clown who people laughed at. He said Johnson did not compare favourably to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy who is a professional comedian who people laugh with. We both agreed that the Ukraine was better off for having him.
There is also no question that president Zelenskyy has done a brilliant job of leadership during the Russian invasion. He stayed to lead his people. He has stonewalled the Russian juggernaut. He has used modern technology to lead while Russia’s Putin has relied on gross numbers and brutality.
And while Vladimir Putin has forsaken his humanity, Zelenskyy tells us that he struggles to maintain his. That humanity is obvious in every address he has made to his world-wide allies and the European Union. He knows how to maintain his honor while begging for more tools of war to defend his country.
But it is not just those weapons that Ukraine is using to stop Putin. The Russian troops are not on their own soil. Their enemies surround them. They need to keep looking over a shoulder. Sabotage is a Ukrainian defence. Anti-tank weapons have the time to be hidden. Drones flown by civilians are the early warning system. Every day that Putin’s rockets are killing civilians, the Ukrainians are killing his soldiers.
And what are the Russian soldiers fighting for? Is this their land? Will they be paid more for winning? Will their vodka ration improve? Will they be given land to farm? And who are they fighting for? Its not their brutal leadership. They think of Ukrainians as friends.
But it is a war that nobody can really win. Putin can resort to using nuclear weapons. That can cause nuclear Armageddon. The only people who can end this war with honour are the Russians themselves. They need to remove Putin from power and offer reparations to the Ukraine.
All we can do in this country is watch with horror and support Ukraine. We can hardly turn our backs on Zelenskyy’s Ukraine. War is never a solution.
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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry
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