The author’s main argument in this article is that giving up Ukraine’s territory to Russia will not bring long-lasting peace. In fact, this move will increase Russia’s military aggression toward Ukraine. According to the author, if Ukraine gives up its land to Russia, it will have increased Russia’s demands on Ukraine. In addition, there is no guarantee that Russia will uphold its peace treaty if Ukraine surrenders its lost land to Russia. Russia does not have enough resources to rebuild the land and will therefore be turned into a conflict zone where human rights shall not be upheld. Giving up land shall come with a high cost to Ukraine’s citizens as millions of people will not have a home to stay in, thousands of civilians will be tortured and raped, and anyone termed Nazi will be put into detention. Russia has shown a disinterest in negotiating for peace in Ukraine and prefers more military aggression. Thus, Russia’s main aim is to strip Ukraine of its nationality, culture, and identity. Thus, the author argues it is too early to start negotiating peace in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Author’s Strong and Weak Points
In my view, one of the strong points is that Putin wants to get rid of Ukraine’s culture and heritage so that he can absorb them into his country. Despite the many calls for negotiation by Ukraine’s president, Russia’s military is still conducting military operations in Ukraine, mainly aimed at Ukraine’s cultural heritage by burning books and looting museums. Therefore, if Ukraine surrenders its territory to Russia, it will have given Russia a strategic place to continue its aggression. Thus, it is evident that Russia is more interested in destroying Ukraine’s heritage and absorbing them into communism.
Another strong argument is that NATO and the western are afraid of Russia and thus unwilling to help Ukraine. The west has shown reluctance to intervene in the Ukraine-Russia war despite promising total backup. This shows that they consider Russia a potential threat, so they do not want to indulge in its issues directly. Most western countries ask Ukraine to submit and give Russia the acquired territory. This shows that they are afraid of Russia and its dominance in the war; thus, they are looking for a way to satisfy its demands.
One of the weak points is assuming that Ukraine can hold Russia’s aggression for a longer period. He suggests that the west should supply more arms to Ukraine so that they can continue holding back Russia. The author might have ignored the current suffering in Ukraine, whereby the Ukrainians are facing difficult situations at the hands of the Russians. Schools are closed, people are displaced from their homes, no reliable healthcare services, and the fear of being attacked anytime are some of the problems the Ukrainians are experiencing. This is a weak point because the author has not considered all the possible impacts of this decision on the Ukrainians.
How the Russian-Ukrainian Conflict Be Resolved
I believe one of the most effective ways of solving this war is adopting communism in Ukraine and adhering to Russia’s demands. This war started mainly because Ukraine has been trying to leave communism and adopt western capitalism, which Putin is against. Putin wants Ukraine to change its course from being a capitalist to communism. He argues that there are relatives of Russians in the country that he is protecting. Therefore, Ukraine should stop expecting the west to help and renew its relations with Russia. The west has already shown its inability to help Ukraine because instead of sending troops lioke it had promised before start of war, they are just sending firearms. This implies that Ukraine should cancel its request to join NATO and establish strong relations with Moscow. This will be a long-term solution because Putin will not have any reasons to attack Ukraine when they become allies.
The other solution that would help stop this conflict is increasing the sanctions and using other more aggressive means against Russia. Since Putin has shown his determination to use military power to pursue his interests, the west should consider giving Ukraine a total backup in terms of military workforce and firearms to fight Russia. Ukraine’s army has already shown that it can hold back Russia’s military, and thus, with increased military support, they would be able to push back. NATO should take troops from its member countries and carry out a joint operation in Ukraine to claim the territory back. However, one drawback of this method is that if Russia is pressed to the limit, it may be forced to use nuclear bombs. Thus, it would be wise to find a way of neutralizing its nuclear bombs before starting the joint military operations in Ukraine. This can be a longtime solution to this problem because when Putin is defeated, he will have to retreat.
The third alternative in my view, is to avoid humiliating Putin and follow his lead. He has proved to be an aggressive leader who is willing to pursue his interest regardless of the human lives he puts at risk. This is why the USA and other western countries fear using nuclear weapons on him because his retaliation may be catastrophic. Thus, the west should seek a way of bringing him to the negotiation table without humiliating him. This can be done by stopping the supply of firearms to the Ukrainian forces. An expression of goodwill by the west can help to bring peace to the region. In addition, the western media should stop the propaganda and indulge in Russia’s political interests. The west has tarnished Putin’s name in the media to humiliate him, making him more aggressive. Thus, the west should apologize and stop further humiliation to level the ground for both leaders to negotiate. This way, Russia will be willing to form peaceful negotiations and uphold them for the long term.
The Impacts of the Russian-Ukrainian on Global Politics
The Russian-Ukrainian war has significantly impacted global politics because it has revealed that the time for west-global domination is over. The west has been trying to dominate the world for a long time; however, its inability to intervene in this war and stop Russia has given more Asian countries like China a reason to be anti-west. China which has been in an economic war with the US can now use this opportunity to form trade treaties with Russia and embrace communism. Other parts of the world, such as African countries, have been forced to choose between the west and east, which has brought a global political divide.
The Russian-Ukraine war has shown that the east is self-sufficient and does not have to rely on the west for products and services. Since sanctions were imposed on Russia, the US and other western companies have withdrawn their products and services from Russia. However, Russia has been self-sufficient since then and has shown that it is economically stable. This indicates that the east may demand a review of its treaties with the west. This move will position the east higher in the political arena and give them more bargaining power.