My heart goes out to the courageous Ukrainian people standing firm in defence of their country and their democracy in the face of the Russian monster Putin.
Unlike people in the West who have experienced hundreds of years of democratic government, Ukraine has a mere 30 years. We take this status for granted and rant over matters of little substance.
Yet in 30 years their people have developed such a strong desire they risk their lives to keep that status.
The West — Europe, the Americas — and most of the world sympathize with the Ukrainian people and their desire to stay free.
Expressions of support or sending weaponry at the last minute don’t stop the Putin monster from gobbling up this beautiful country.
The West is like a pen of sheep cowering and bleating support of the sheep in the next pen being slaughtered by a pack of wolves.
NATO countries refuse to get engaged simply because the Ukrainians are not NATO members even though they aspire to join.
The big mystery is what will happen if and when Putin seizes all of Ukraine?
Will he stop his mad quest having restored Russia to the old Czarist boundaries of the Russian Empire? Or will he press on to expand back into the USSR satellite countries?
Some of those former satellites are NATO members.
Three warmongers have tried and failed to capture all of Europe.
Charlemagne captured much of Western Europe 800 years ago. Napoleon waged 70 wars and captured Poland, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Benelux countries and Switzerland but was defeated trying to add Britain.
Hitler had it all except for England which survived when Canada and the United States put their shoulders to the wheel and fought Nazism.
Putin may think he can have what he wants with a two million strong army against relatively smaller European armies.
It is perhaps telling that the United States has sent more personnel to Europe, takings its numbers to 100,000.
If Putin does move into Europe he will go for easy pickings first. Will smaller countries like Slovenia, Moldova, then Romania and Bulgaria be taken?
Poland and the Baltic states will be last as they are prepared to fight for freedom.
While Putin makes slow progress on his march into Ukraine, the West dithers over how to stop him.
The sanctions against oligarchs will do little. The oligarchs’ fortunes and lives are too linked to Putin. But the Russian people will bear the brunt of sanctions and closure of Western businesses.
The West misjudged Putin by thinking he’d stop at taking over two predominantly Russian speaking districts in Ukraine.
Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons has stalled decisions by the West and NATO.
The Ukrainian stand sure makes the “freedom convoy’’ protest participants in Canada over wearing of masks and protecting the community by vaccination look like a bunch of crybaby wusses.
The Ukrainians have a real reason to fight for freedom.
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
