Dear Editor,
February 24 marks one year since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. The war, purportedly aimed at ‘demilitarizing’ and ‘denazifying’ Ukraine, has turned out to be painful and protracted, leaving in its wake a trail of death and destruction unprecedented since the end of the Second World War.
The sad thing is that there is still no end in sight as both Russia and Ukraine are trying desperately to outdo each other on the battlefield. Russia has so far made some limited territorial gains but at a huge cost, both in terms of personnel and military hardware. The same could be said for Ukraine in terms of losses suffered, except for the fact that the scale of infrastructural destruction and social dislocation is much more severe.
What initially started out as a conflict between Russia and Ukraine has now escalated into a full-blown conflict between Russia and NATO. President Joe Biden had only recently visited Kiev to shore up support for Ukraine and had promised more financial and military support to that country. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had also indicated his country’s support to Ukraine for ‘as long as it takes’, echoing the position of President Biden and several other western European leaders.
It is obvious that there are no winners in the war. From a geo-political and geo-strategic perspective, Russia has become much more vulnerable, with Sweden and Finland now seeking membership to NATO which poses an even greater strategic problem for Russia. Ukraine has also experienced significant economic losses and, were it not for western support, the country would have found itself in dire financial and economic straits.
As I mentioned in previous letters, the only way out of the current dilemma is to try to arrive at a negotiated and diplomatic solution to the problem, which must take into account the full sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine as well as the security concerns of Russia.
Such a solution, in my view, can best be brokered by the BRIC countries, in particular China and India. The United Nations, apart from moral support to Ukraine, has been for all practical purposes impotent in finding a solution acceptable to the parties involved. The Security Council, because of its composition and the veto power of the bigger nations, is next to useless insofar as its ability to stop the war is concerned.
It is time for more enlightened thinking to prevail. It is a shame that in this modern and supposedly civilized age such a tragedy of horrendous proportions is allowed to continue.
War must never be a recourse to settling disputes, especially when there are international laws available for dispute resolution within the framework of the United Nations Charter and the International Court of Justice.
Yours faithfully,
Hydar Ally
