Thoughts on the Ukraine Crisis

In recent years, you have often asked me to express my opinion about the war in Ukraine and the delivery of weapons. I have decided to finally fulfill your requests… in some way.

First, however, it is appropriate to explain why this has not happened until now (and will not really happen here either). The reason is simple: My opinion on this matter has no merit, power, or influence on the issue. It does not interest me, those who have the power to decide, let alone the inhabitants of Kyiv or Moscow. It would merely be good training for my fingers on the keyboard and stepping into a provincial challenge between fans and haters.

And yet, if you wish… why not, with a good dose of presumption, I could assume something about any matter.

For example, I could assume that many of those fighting right now are forced to do so, and that many others on the battlefield believe in their cause.

I could assume that some Ukrainians feel Russian and that some Russians feel Ukrainian.

I could assume that there are members in governments who decided on war because they had interests in it, that other members disagreed but voted in favor, and that others did not want it at all.

I could assume that NATO did not expect a Russian reaction, that Russia did not expect Ukrainian resistance, and that Ukraine did not expect all of this while trying to quell its rebellious regions. And so, essentially, that no one ever truly understands anything in this history that always writes itself through its actors.

Then, in one breath, I could also assume that:

Ukraine had no chance of victory, that the delivery of weapons only prolonged its suffering, that the cost of war deters China, Iran, and the USA from acting like Russia, and that lessons are always learned only by those who wish to learn them, that the end of the war is sooner or later certain, and that it is equally likely that the cost of living for an ordinary Western citizen will continue to rise year after year.

Finally, I could assume that none of us will go to fight, that if someone does want to go or not go, they have their deep and courageous reasons, and that if one day I or others are forced to go on a crusade against our will… you will find me among the partisans in the woods… listening to voices that claim to understand more than others.

In a sweet Middle Eastern story, a worried student once asked a wise Master: “What can we do about this polluted, corrupt, and desperate world?”

And he replied: “When something is dying, it needs your thanks, not your apologies. When something is being born, it needs your love, not your opinion. And something is always dying, while something else is being born.”

A human embrace

P.S. For those who feel the need to train their keyboards today, the “powerful” have created the space below…