Moscow cannot ignore the rules-based international order and get away with murder and mayhem.
Russian President Vladimir Putin described it as a “special military operation,” but the veneer of feigned legitimacy could not mask what it really is: a full-scale war of aggression against the Ukrainian government and people, a naked invasion using overwhelming force intended to bring the country to its knees.
The Russian forces entered Ukraine early morning of February 24 from several directions, headed toward its capital, Kyiv, accompanied by airstrikes and shelling. Ukrainian authorities said dozens of troops on both sides and some civilians were killed during the fighting.
But how did Putin justify his order to attack Ukraine?
One, he claimed it was an act of self-defense against the expansion of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, into Eastern Europe and former Soviet Republics, particularly Ukraine.
Two, he insisted, Ukraine was committing genocide against ethnic Russians, particularly in the Donbas region, where Kremlin-backed rebels have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014. He also called its government a Nazi regime, but without offering any evidence. Putin said he wanted the “denazification” of Ukraine, whose democratically elected leader, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is Jewish.
Three, he said Ukraine had never acquired authentic statehood since it was created by the Soviet Union under its first leader, Vladimir Lenin, and that it is part of Russia. “Let me emphasize once again that Ukraine for us is not just a neighboring country. It is an integral part of our own history, culture, spiritual space,” he said.
Four, the Russian leader said that while Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons in its territory after the collapse of the Soviet Union in exchange for a guarantee of security by the US, the UK, and Russia, it has the capability to obtain nuclear weapons, thus posing a threat to Moscow.
To these four reasons, analysts are saying, a fifth one is that Putin secretly wants to build back an empire and restore the control that Russia, or the Soviet Union, had over Europe and Asia during the Cold War.
To this, US President Joe Biden responded: “He has much larger ambitions than Ukraine. He wants to, in fact, reestablish the former Soviet Union. That’s what this is about.”
The Russian invaders have targeted not only military installations in Ukraine but also the civilian population. When the invasion started, television footage showed a Russian tank deliberately change lanes and swerve towards a sedan driven, it turns out, by an elderly Ukrainian who miraculously survived the attempted murder.
The Russian invasion has also displaced half a million Ukrainians who had decided to flee with their families to safer ground in nearby countries, thus triggering a humanitarian crisis.
Despite Russian superiority in firepower, the Ukrainian military is repelling the invasion, helped by ordinary citizens who have taken up arms and vowed to defend their country at all costs. Zelensky has declined a US offer to be given safe passage out of his country and pledged to likewise stay put and lead his people against Russian aggression.
The international community is not letting the Russian misadventure in Ukraine go unchallenged.
The US and European countries have offered to supply arms to Ukraine to enable it to defend itself against the Russian blitzkrieg.
They have also imposed sanctions on Russia’s central bank, its top businesses, oligarchs and officials, including Putin himself, and barred some Russian banks from the SWIFT international payments system. As February came to a close, the value of the Russian currency, the ruble, had plunged by around 30 percent against the U.S. dollar.
European countries have also ordered no-fly zones for Russian aircraft across their airspace.
Closer to home, Singapore has indicated it would also impose “appropriate sanctions and restrictions” on Russia, including banking and financial measures and export controls on items that could be used as weapons against the people of Ukraine. The city-state described Russia’s invasion as unacceptable and a gross violation of international norms.
Meanwhile, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)has called for a de-escalation of the conflict and for dialogue and respect of international law and United Nations commitments by Russia.
We’re glad that the Philippines has voted in favor of a United Nations resolution expressing “explicit condemnation” of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Adequate proof that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has drawn outrage across countries but also in other fields of endeavor is the move of international sport organizations to show their displeasure over Putin’s adventurism in Ukraine.
In yet another public relations setback for Putin, he has been stripped of his honorary taekwondo black belt by World Taekwondo, citing its motto of “Peace is more precious than triumph.” It said the Russian military’s “brutal attacks on innocent lives” violated the sport’s values of respect and tolerance. The decision comes after the International Judo Federation said it would also suspend Putin’s status as honorary president and ambassador “in light of the ongoing war conflict in Ukraine.”
All this tells us that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ordered by Putin has drawn outrage from all freedom-loving nations for its brazen use of brute force against a sovereign country. Moscow cannot ignore the rules-based international order and get away with murder and mayhem. (Email: [email protected])
