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One may smile and smile and be a villain
Just because I haven’t written about something for a while doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten about it. The trouble is, there are only so many ways that even someone with eons of journalistic experience can say that Russia’s war against Ukraine is unjust, and that Vladimir Putin’s actions are utterly reprehensible. And yet here we are, four years into this appalling conflict, with no end in sight.
Four years in which people on both sides have been displaced, maimed and killed. Four years of unimaginable human suffering and economic devastation. Four years in which lives, livelihoods, homes and communities have been destroyed.
Two days ago, I watched the news with my jaw hanging attractively open in horror. There, before me, was the United States of America – a country with which we share a common language, a country with which we once enjoyed a special relationship, a country my mother lived in as a child and still holds dear – apparently turning its back on Ukraine. And on all those other nations – such as the UK – that have imposed economic sanctions on Russia in an attempt to support Ukraine and bring pressure to bear on the Kremlin.
According to the reports, Donald Trump had agreed a deal with Vladimir Putin for the United States to receive tens of thousands of gallons of diesel fuel from Russia, in response to rising fuel prices and shortages linked to the conflict in the Middle East. A conflict which Trump started.
Why? Let’s see, there’s the political backdrop of the approaching US midterm elections, with rising living costs and fuel prices making for some very disgruntled voters. As they say across the Pond – You do the math.
To soften the blow of what many Ukrainians might not unreasonably see as a betrayal, Trump announced that there would be an energy ceasefire. Of course he did. He wants Ukraine to stop blowing up any of the Russian refineries so that he can buy their oil.
Trump may believe that he is doing a “great deal for the American people” but from where I’m sitting it looks like rewarding Putin.
It’s probably worth pointing out that UK motorists pay way more for fuel than our American counterparts. We don’t, however, have a midterm election around the corner.
Rising prices and public dissatisfaction with the war in Iran could create serious difficulties for the Republicans at the ballot box. You know how I love a bit of irony, and here we have it: During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump promised to tackle inflation and bring down the cost of living. Now, the economic consequences of a conflict that he started are catching up with his administration.
Are we seeing political expediency take precedence over a principle that the West has adhered to since 1945: that one country should not be permitted to invade another, wage a devastating war against its population and then emerge with its economic interests protected while the country it attacked is left to pick up the pieces?
Ukraine didn’t start this. But it’s Ukrainians that are facing another winter where they cannot be sure their cities will still be standing in the morning, where they cannot rely on the supply of heat or electricity, where they wonder how many children they will have to bury today.
Slava Ukraini
Update: I wrote this a couple for days ago and didn’t get around to posting it. So I’d just add that the promised ceasefire doesn’t seem to have happened, however Ukraine yesterday (Monday) managed to take out a considerable number of data centres in Russia. And all of a sudden, people on social media started talking about how the number of bot accounts and traffic dropped. Odd that.
