There’s undoubtedly great truth in the heroism of Ukrainian troops and their people. But there’s a limit to what can be sustained or endured. It’s one thing for President Zelensky to be bullish, it’s quite another for front line soldiers to sustain their morale or a people survive the civic catastrophe that has befallen that land.
It’s also quite another for politicians in other lands whose soldiers aren’t dying and whose people aren’t freezing to be cheer leaders for a conflict where the price is being paid. It’s why the talk of overtures for peace must be an opportunity seized as both sides settle down for winter.
Talk from ebullient Tory MPs and other vociferous advocates of war is of a spring offensive that will finally liberate Ukraine and bring down Putin. Whilst both those things might be welcome there are other scenarios not least World War 3 and Armageddon.
But more importantly there’s the collapse of Ukraine whatever may be said by their President. We’re getting a highly sanitized perspective through the western lens. Read the information from other sources whether from Asia or even within America and you get quite a different picture.
I recently saw coverage of Ukraine acknowledging 10/13,000 combat losses. There’s evidence from the EU and American military that its far higher than that. Whatever the figure it’s a tragedy and Ukraine is smaller than Russia and less able to sustain mutual carnage. That is horrific.
NATO may be fuelling the war machine but the infrastructure’s being destroyed by Russia. Its economy’s reckoned to have shrunk by 1/3rd and GDP gone through the floor. Rebuilding that will take years and requires peace. It’s why rather than a spring war offensive, we require a winter peace drive.