What’s Really Happening in Ukraine?

As a dedicated student (but by no means a master) of history I try to apply the lessons of the past to current events in the hope of gaining a clearer understanding of what is going on. In this case, I’ve been closely following the situation in Ukraine, and I have to say, it’s all very interesting. We all know the story, Russia invaded Ukraine over a year ago and now the two countries are locked in a war that seems endless as well as pointless. There’s a lot of things that simply do not make any sense; why did Vladimir Putin invade Ukraine to begin with? (He changes his answer early every time he’s asked) What is the purpose? If Russia wins, what do they really win but a severely depleted military and a decimated nation? Same goes for Ukraine, if they win what do they really gain? Why does this conflict continue?

The real question I’m wondering is what exactly is going on in Ukraine? I ask this because currently in the United States there has been overwhelming support for the war. Yet no one is asking basic questions here. Before I go any further allow me to clarify something; In my opinion Putin crossed a major red line invading Ukraine to begin with and I hope his forces get driven all the way back to where they came from. I am not pro-Putin, and I do not think Russia has any right nor claim to Ukraine. Nevertheless, there are still some questions I have that aren’t making any sense.I want to point our three things that are completely baffling in regards to this war.

Why is the Ukrainian Government so Corrupt?

We’re treading thin ice here so let me again clarify a major point. The Ukrainian government is one of the most corrupt governments on Earth. The ruling powers in the Ukrainian government are riddled with various oil tycoons, billionaires and deeply corrupt politicians. Saying that the place is ‘rotten to the core’ does’t even begin to cover it. That being said, why are we spending so much time in the media lauding this deeply corrupt government?

I realize that to many President Vlodomyr Zelensky seems like a good leader. Strong, tough, courageous in the face of danger, and who knows? He could be all of those things. But in a government as deeply entrenched in corruption as his, I find it difficult to believe that he has been unscathed by the absolute slime surrounding him. I recall that former US President George W. Bush referred to President Zelensky as ‘a modern Winston Churchill”. Hmm. Winston Churchill happens to be one of my favorite leaders in history, that particular comment made by President Bush stuck out for me. Churchill was an eloquent and truly strong leader who navigated Britain through a turbulent time. I’m sorry, but I don’t see any of Churchill in Zelensky.

Truthfully I don’t know anything about President Zelensky and that troubles me somewhat. Zelensky is a fairly private man and I won’t hold the against him, still, before we start comparing him to Winston Churchill, shouldn’t we have more information about the man? Just because he was a victim of injustice does not automatically make him just.

What is Vladimir Putins Endgame?

I also don’t understand what President Putin hopes to gain from this war. This has been a disaster f immense proportions. Not only is Russia hemorrhaging money and resources, but the Russian government is always having to quell riots from Russian citizens, voicing their outrage over a war they do not support. Amongst Russian citizens, the war in Ukraine is deeply unpopular, and will probably go down as Russia’s Vietnam.

I’ve done a lot of reading about Vladimir Putin, including reading/watching his speeches and interviews he’s done over the years. I feel as if I understand his mind somewhat. The way I see it, Putin is a shrewd leader and politician. He’s conniving, no two ways about it, and he doesn’t appear to have a clear moral compass. Yet, he’s still a very smart leader. Yet on and on he continues in this war, that in the end will not give him any benefit. So what does he hope to gain from this?

I’ve thought long and hard over this question and the best I could come up with is just chalking it up to Putins Soviet mentality. Both Zelensky and Putin lived through the Soviet era and ergo still have the old ‘war of attrition’ mentality. In other words, if you can’t win immediately, then just keep throwing bodies until you do win. I guess that could be one part of the answer, but I find this unsatisfactory. It still doesn’t explain why this pointless war keeps dragging on.

Should We Really Support a War?

Here’s my biggest question; should we really support a war? I do think that there is such a things as a ‘just war’, but out of all the wars fought in human history, I can count on one hand the amount that were legitimate and necessary. This applies especially to the United States. We went to war in Vietnam over the pre-text of ‘fighting communism’ when in reality, we were just afraid of losing valuable resources. We went to war with Korea supposedly to defend an innocent nation, when in reality we were just afraid of losing control. Both Gulf Wars were abysmal disasters. Then we went to Iraq over ‘weapons of mass destruction’ but we found no such weapons. Oh, and we also left the infamous ‘butcher of Baghdad’, Saddam Hussein in power. Are you noticing a trend here? Very rarely has the US ever intervened when there was a true crisis. I find it very hard to believe that the US is intervening now just out of compassion. The dubious dealings that the Ukrainian government has had with our current administration only heightens my suspicions. Somethings very wrong here, something’s fishy, but I can’t figure out what.

I’m especially amazed that there has been an overwhelming support for a war in Ukraine. Even top politicians have called for Putin to be assassinated. Look, Vladimir Putin runs Russia like a mobster, like a character from ‘The Godfather’. But just so you’re aware, Putin is actually quite tame compared to some of the other members of the Duma. There are some in the Russian government who are very radical, and should they ever come to power, all hell could break loose. So you’ll understand when I don’t think assassinating Putin is such a good idea.

I can’t believe that we have all these movies and events where we are reminded of the horror and brutality of World War 2, Vietnam, Korea, the Gulf Wars and we haven’t seemed to learn anything. I want to see the citizens of Ukraine defended as much as anyone, but to be perfectly blunt, I’m not sure that’s happened yet. I haven’t seen anything to even remotely suggest that military intervention has defended innocent lives yet.

What’s worse is the incredible vitriol shown to Russian/American citizens. As I write these words, we’ve already had several dozen cases where Russian/American citizens were murdered by their fellow Americans just for being Russian. In a country where we’re supposed to celebrate diversity this is deeply troubling. The entire world revolted over the death of George Floyd, yet no one paid any attention to these innocent Russian/Americans. This is all deeply reminiscent to me of the infamous ‘red scare’ where Senator Joe McCarthy engaged in a total witch hunt for ‘communists’ and thousands of Americans lives were ruined because of one Senators delusional paranoia.

Before diving into the comment section, let me clarify: I have not expressed any viewpoint. As I mentioned earlier, I unequivocally do not support Russia, President Putin or their war efforts; in fact, my hope is that the truth will prevail and President Putin may be held accountable for any wrong doing. However, it’s important to acknowledge that there are numerous suspicious occurrences in Ukraine that are not receiving proper attention. In the pursuit of truth and fairness, let us endeavor to comprehend the situation before blindly aligning ourselves with one side or the other.