Fighting to Lose

Russia has invaded Ukraine where the world is now witnessing a heavy exchange of fire between the two countries which were earlier part of the Soviet Union.This is not the first time when the Ukrainians have thumped their chests against the Red Army.

History: The Kremlin, Ukraine and The West

As the World War 2 came to an end in 1945, following the defeat of Nazi Germany by the hands of the three great allied powers of Great Britain, United States and the Soviet Union, the world found itself divided into two blocks - the Western bloc led by the US and the Eastern bloc where the communist USSR was in charge.

The celebrations of World War 2 couldn't last long as the two blocs, both superpowers, were standing against each other loaded with the best possible destructive of the time. The western bloc feared the permanent Soviet domination of the eastern Europe as well as the threat of Soviet influenced communist parties coming to power in the Western democracies. On the other side the eastern bloc led by the USSR was determined to maintain control of eastern Europe in order to safeguard against any renewed threat from Germany. Adding to it, the USSR was very well committed to imposing the communist rule worldwide, largely for ideological reasons. After various small and big skirmishes, the cold war eventually came to an end with the fall of Berlin Wall where the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) forces made a complete geography of the forces of the Soviet Union.

Berlin Wall

With the defeat of the eastern bloc the USSR collapsed in 1991. This collapse resulted in the disintegration of the east. The breakaway of the USSR resulted in the coming into existence of 15 new independent Nations which were all set to write their own fate in the time to come. These countries included Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and many others. Since the cold war ended NATO has expanded eastwards by taking in 14 countries including states of the former Warsaw Pact (countries in alliance with the eastern bloc) and the 3 Baltic nations that were once in the Soviet Union.

Putin, a former KGB (Russian intelligence) SPY became the President of Russia in the year 2000. He called the breakup of the Soviet Union the greatest geo-political catastrophe of the 20th century. He devoted his entire presidency, now running over two decades, in restoring Moscow's influence throughout the post-soviet space, defying the west and trying to re-assert Russia as a global power. Putin's first major success came in the year 2014 with the annexation of Crimea. It all began with a separatist insurgency that started in the Donbas region of the eastern Ukraine. All this happened amid the massive protests which took place in the 'Euromaidan' where the protestors started pushing the establishment for a closure of Ukrainian ties with the West. The intensity of the protests grew so much that the pro-Moscow Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych was eventually forced to flee to Russia. This created a change of leadership in Kyiv and a considerable amount of political vacuum was seen. Putin decided to benefit from the same power vacuum by backing the separatists in the south eastern province of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Russia formally incorporated Crimea as two Russian federal subjects - the Republic of Crimea and the Federal City of Sevastopol In the march of 2014. Following the annexation, Russia also accelerated its military presence on the Peninsula and leveraged nuclear threats in order to solidify the new status quo on the ground. Three years later in the summer of 2017, the Ukrainian Parliament under the Government of Petro Poroshenko voted for joining NATO. This fumed up Putin as he thought Ukraine's growing ties with the west will make Ukraine the launchpad of all the western missiles targeted at Russia.

With the arrival of Volodymyr Zelensky in power in Ukraine who confirmed NATO's membership as a strategic national goal made Putin realise it was time for the Russian troops to throw the existing establishment out of power in order to put a pro-Russian government at the helm of Kyiv. By December of 2021 Russia increased its presence on the Ukrainian border. Several meetings took place between the Western and the Russian diplomats but ended up with zero productivity. The biguls for the war were blown and on the 21st day of February 2022 Russia recognised the independence of separatist region of Donetsk and Luhansk in the eastern Ukraine. Three days later the Kremlin ordered its forces to unleash a full-scale war on Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin: A fanatic who chose to lose everything he had

While I am scribbling my pencil to write this article, we are already in the fifth day of the war and it seems increasingly likely that Putin is heading towards a historic defeat. He may seem to win this battle currently but he is all set to lose the war. Putin always dreamt of rebuilding the Russian Empire. He always rested on the lie that Ukraine isn't a real Nation and Ukrainians are not the real people which was a disastrous lie. As historian Yuval Harari said "Ukraine is a nation with more than a thousand years of history, and Kyiv was already a major metropolis when Moscow was not even a village. But the Russian despot has told his lie so many times that he apparently believes it himself".

Today Putin has grossly miscalculated this invasion. He thought his plan to hit Ukraine, overthrow the government and establish a puppet regime in Kyiv would be a cake walk, but he forgot that it is much easier to conquer the country than to hold it. Putin knew he had the power to conquer Ukraine but would the people of Ukraine just accept Moscow's puppet regime? Putin gambled that they would. With each passing day it is becoming Clear that Putin’s gamble is failing. The Ukrainian people are resisting with all their hearts and will, winning the admiration of the entire world. If not today, tomorrow the Kyiv would fall. But would the Russians be able to hold it, the answer is a big NO.

TIME

Today each Russian tank destroyed and each Russian soldier killed is giving the Ukrainians the courage to resist the Russian invasion. At the same time the death of every Ukrainian by the Russian Bullet is also deepening the Ukrainians hatred towards their neighbour in the East. Hatred of any kind is bad, but for the oppressed nations hatred is a treasure. Buried deep inside the heart it can sustain resistance for generations. Till now it was Gorbachev (former president of USSR) who was considered as the villain in the Soviet Union. But now it's Putin who has made sure to be remembered as the Hitler of the 21st century. As it is popularly said, Gorbachev left Russians and Ukrainians like siblings, Putin has now turned them into enemies. With this Putin has also locked his dream of reuniting the Russian Empire.

Zelensky: The becoming of a legend 

"Depending upon how they rise to the occasion, comics can become leaders and leaders might become laughing stock. Zelensky leads by example."

Volodymyr Zelensky

The 44 years old comedian turned Ukrainian President Zelensky has now become the face of courage across the globe. Through his words and actions, he has made very much clear that Ukraine is not Afghanistan and he is no Ashraf Ghani who is going to run away leaving the people of his country in distress. When the Russians accused Zelensky of fleeing Kyiv, he responded by saying "we are here defending our independence, our state. It will continue to be so. Glory to our defenders, both men and women". The president's presence on the streets of Kyiv is not just lifting the spirits of the people of Ukraine but is also encouraging them to fight the Russian despot.

As the historians say, Nations are built on stories. Each passing day adds more stories that will inspire the generation of Ukrainians to come. The President who refused to flee the capital telling the US, "I need ammunition and not a ride", the soldiers from snake Iceland who told the Russian warships “Go f*** yourself", the civilians who took up assault rifles in order to defend their country. This is what strong nations are made of. When a small nation and its leaders show grit, it compels the other nations. big or small in standing up for them. Today the world organisations are running behind the Russian treasuries, the superpowers of the West are suffocating Russia with unbearable sanctions. The whole world has now isolated Russia, leaving it to rot deep into the debris.

The lights are on and the stage is set. The Ukrainians have told the world that they are here not just to fight, but to win. They may lose the battle for now but they are definitely going to win the war. Everyone knows it, but do the walls of the Kremlin know that?

 

Image Credits: The NYT, Atlanta, Getty Images, CGTN Europe, TIME.