RussiaUkraine War - Acha's Opinion piece (emotional yet very rational).

Hi there! and welcome to this episode where, I will like to keep my promise and share my thoughts on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and as always, keep it short and straight to the point. And don't forget the civil war in Anglophone Cameroon and other wars the media has been biased with its coverage.

My sincere condolences and sympathy to the innocent Ukrainian lives being lost and it is my wish that this war ends as soon as possible.

To begin, no sovereign state should have its territorial integrity trampled upon and abused. What I mean is Russia has gone too far with this step. But how far is far? if you did not know, Russia in the last two decades has invaded Georgia in 2008 Ten Years Ago, Russia Invaded Georgia (voa.gov), Ukraine in 2014 (when it annexed Crimea)Russia officially annexes Crimea away from Ukraine with signature from Vladimir Putin - CBS News, and presently 2022. Did you ever ask yourself why another country invades another? or perhaps why such a thing should still be happening in the 21st century? I certainly have been asking myself that question. My conclusion has nothing to do with morals or ethics for that matter. It's a survival of the fittest.

However, America and I mean the United States of America together with its European allies provide us with just the perfect answer to come to a conclusion. They themselves are invaders, in the name of democracy, human rights, freedom, nuclear weapons, harboring terrorists, foreign policy, etc. Russia or maybe Putin has perhaps been taking leaflets off the foreign policy book of America and its allies. Ask yourself whether there exists a country on this planet that has become peaceful after being invaded by the US and/or Europe. Do you think it is a coincidence that most often than not the countries invaded for the supposed reasons I mentioned above are rich in one or more mineral resources? usually oil just in case you're wondering what I mean by mineral resources. 

Furthermore, does our world have superpower nations? and what is super about the power I asked myself. The same question you may be asking yourself. Just like there exist first and third world countries, so do superpower countries. If memory serves me right, we had not finished suffering the consequences of the 1945 second world war when the West (particularly USA) and Russia began another war only this time, it was a war with only threats and eventually being named the Cold war Cold War facts and information (nationalgeographic.com). These two giants threatened to obliterate themselves from the face of this planet with nuclear weapons. Thank goodness they didn't. This war ushered in the birth of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) What is NATO?. This is Putin and Russia's nightmare so read carefully to understand why.

If we want to understand why Putin has invaded Ukraine, then NATO is his major reason. The reason being Ukraine wants to make love with the West. Ukrainian people are deeply in love with the values and virtues that western democracies uphold. V. Zelensky (president of Ukraine) attempted to follow the voice of his people and rightly so. Why will he be a politician if not to represent the masses that elected him? This did not sit well with Putin because it means inviting his enemies, worst nightmares to his doorstep. Make no mistake, another major reason for the invasion, was the pro-Russian eastern section of Ukraine The Unresolved Dilemma of Self-Determination: Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk who have been under discrimination and pain for far too long. Putin also sited the Azov battalion, a special para-military Ukrainian national guard who are far-right leaning and some say even  Neo-Nazis. And he also claims he is invading Ukraine to denazify the country from this group that is indeed anti-Russian and regarded as terrorists by Russia. Like the West, Putin has invaded to fish out terrorists as a superpower for no superpower has a monopoly of invasion. America, Europe, and its NATO allies do this all the time too. Only this time, it has been done in Europe and on people who look like them as some of their journalists are reporting How news coverage of Russia-Ukraine war exposed racist bias - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com). What a time to be alive!  And it will be a shame to take sides on this conflict without seeing the bigger picture. In my understanding, NATO has already expanded in the Baltic regions of eastern Europe and nobody sits in their home and wait for an enemy to arrive. Putin saw his enemies coming and he has responded. 

Map source: inews.co.uk

Newton's law posits that for every action, there must be an equal and opposite reaction, ladies and gentlemen, the actions and reactions are catastrophic as we speak. I don't believe the economic sanctions placed on Russia are a reaction or let alone equal and opposite haha, I believe them to be an action. My thought process inclines that Russia is reacting to the actions of the West. It is however a smaller force compared to the global world order we see against them. Russia is being isolated and I do not personally think Putin has any intention of annexing Ukraine but rather to implement a regime change. I think he forgets this is the 21st century and the success of whatever government he puts in place there (if he succeeds) will be determined by the people and Zelensky represents the people.  

I applaud the west for not engaging with troops for I do not want a world war. They may look like cowards for not engaging but for someone who doesn't seem afraid to use nuclear weapons, the west has done well for not engaging. Also, Putin was like a man sinking and clinging to a piece of wood (this case war/invasion) as his last alternative to repel NATO from his house. Clearly, Ukraine could have one way or another joined NATO. With the option of nuclear weapons still on the table, the west has to stay at arm's length and watch the poor Ukrainians struggle because a finger on a red button is not to be messed with.

Thank you for reading. Now get some iodine tablets and hope that you don't get to use them. God bless us all.