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Today marks the 4th anniversary of Russia’s brutal full-scale assault on Ukraine. The war has lasted 4 years, or actually much longer. In fact, it’s been 12 years since Russia first occupied large parts of Ukraine. Four years ago, it was the rest of Ukraine that was to be occupied within a few days. That’s how wrong Putin was. In the meantime, probably more than a million people have been killed, due to the Russian despot’s imperialistic goals.

12 years since the start

Once again, I would like to remind you of the start of the conflict. It all started when the then pro-Russian President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, refused to sign an agreement he himself had negotiated with the EU. Instead, he wanted to draw Ukraine even closer to Russia. This was completely against the will of the people and what is called the Maidan revolution started. I wrote a blog about this in 2019. The blog is called “Europe’s forgotten war”. At the time, there was a war of position along the front line in the east, only a few thousand dead. A so-called frozen conflict.

I recommend reading the blog. It gives a retrospective on the conflict. A war that has been going on continuously for 12 years. The first 8 as a war of position, the last 4 years with a large-scale war.

Ukraine’s will to survive

The suffering Putin has inflicted on the people of Ukraine is hardly comprehensible to those of us who do not live in the country. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have been killed, even more injured. Over 1 million refugees outside the country’s borders and even more internal refugees.

War crimes are committed by the Russian forces. People who were executed in Butsja, with their hands tied behind their backs. Mass graves of murdered Ukrainian civilians came to light after Russian forces had to withdraw from Izium. Reports of rape are numerous. Thousands of Ukrainian children have been forcibly adopted in Russia.

Putin’s brutal war tells of a despot. A despot who is as bad in his nature as Adolf Hitler was. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj says that World War III has started. In many ways, he is right. Russia receives arms aid from Iran and North Korea. They receive economic and technological help from China. Soldiers are sent to the front from North Korea. Ukraine, for its part, has allies. Mostly from Western Europe. Ukraine’s allies send weapons and support the country financially. In many ways, Zelenskyj is right that this is a world war. Until now, Ukraine has stood alone at the front, while the Russians get soldiers from North Korea. It is the Ukrainian will to fight, the courage and the fight for freedom that makes Ukraine stand up to the superpower. Even though Ukraine stands alone on the front line, they have massive support around the world. Every year we mark solidarity with the Ukrainian people.

When will the war end?

Putin’s willingness to engage in peace negotiations is nil. Putin’s big goal is probably far more than just Ukraine. His pre-war demands for not attacking Ukraine remain unchanged. These demands include, among other things, that countries that joined NATO after 1990 should leave the alliance. This makes it easier for him to fulfill his great goal. This is to rebuild the old Soviet empire.

4 or 12 years of war so far is a question of how we define the term war. What is certain is that the war has had the opposite effect to what Putin believed beforehand. The Ukrainian people are united. The country must be defended. As the leader of the country, President Zelenskyj stands out as the great leader.

Perhaps the war will end the day Putin is dead. Perhaps it will take a change of regime in Moscow to stop the atrocities. A change of regime is up to the people of Russia. Unfortunately, the elections there are not democratic. A regime change can happen after the death of the despot, either by the people revolting or by the new leaders realizing that the war cannot be won.

In the meantime, the Ukrainian people are fighting for their freedom, for their country and for their right to decide their own politics. A strong country stands behind its president.

Sources:

Wikipedia: Russo-Ukrainian war

BBC: Zelensky tells BBC Putin has started WW3 and must be stopped

The Moskow Times: Ukraine’s Zelensky Accuses Putin of Starting World War III