An edgy world remains firmly on the edge as arms and ammunition powered by Russian folly continues to pound Ukraine in what is markedly an invasion in spite of the devious denials of Vladimir Putin who has continues to cling on to the dreams of a unified Soviet Republic like a dying breath.
It is painful to see and even more painful to watch democracy and sovereignty in a country come under heinous attacks at the behest of a man and a country whose pretense at democracy is an incredibly cruel smokescreen that actively supports conflicts in other countries by actively arming rebels.
Multiple dissidents have been murdered within and outside the country as Russia has refined the art of assassination including the use of highly toxic chemicals even on foreign soils to silence any and every opposition to Vladimir Putin who supports a regime which kills people in Chechnya,as well as carries out acts of unspeakable horror against his own people.
There can be no doubt that whatever is happening in Ukraine cannot be allowed to continue. Whatever Russia has said about threats to it national security and about supposed crimes by the Ukrainian government against people living in sections of the country remain nothing but an elaborate falsehood, an excuse that cannot hold water anywhere. It was Russia that armed the rebels in the country in the first place and it is Russia that has been actively involved in the destabilization of the country.
Everything happening in Ukraine was premeditated, carefully planned over a long time. Everything happening in the country is an experiment in Russian expansionism and the incredibly insatiable bloodlust of a man who is limitlessly irked by the fact that he does not have enough real-time laboratories to test his country`s rumored 6000 nuclear weapons or new torture techniques because most of the world is at peace.
The fact that the invasion of Russia by Ukraine has drawn worldwide condemnation but only very little action mostly by way of sanctions is a cause for great concern. It shows that the international order remains largely toothless when hyenas like Putin decide to strategically invade smaller countries.
But the global solidarity shown so far is deeply heartening. In every country of the world, support has risen for Ukraine and Ukrainians as they fight for their future. Many people have simply refused to stay silent even if the language from many people is not as strong as it should be given the circumstances. The global show of support for Ukraine and the chorus of condemnation for Russia have gone a long way to show that at the most basic levels, people reject dictatorship, oppression and everything that those mean.
Many people around the world want to live free and want others to live free. Many people believe that a lack of basic freedoms anywhere affects them just as much as it affects those who are mostly and immediately impacted. It is why efforts to build a free world of equal opportunities must continue apace. The world must find unity in building a world where everyone can feel safe and accepted no matter their size and circumstances.
To achieve this, war mongers and war criminals like Vladimir Putin of Russia and Bashar al-Assad of Syria must be told in no uncertain terms that they can no longer do as they please not just to their own people but to people everywhere.
Kene Obiezu,
keneobiezu@gmail.com
