Russia’s war on Ukraine completed a thousand days on Tuesday. That it has continued so long makes it a standing testimony to the ineffectiveness of international bodies such as the United Nations. Since February 24, 2022, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine, at least 12,162 civilians, including 659 children, have been killed in Ukraine, as per the UN human rights office, OHCHR. Thousands of Russian and Ukrainian combatants have also been killed in the fighting.
Russia’s war on Ukraine completed a thousand days on Tuesday. That it has continued so long makes it a standing testimony to the ineffectiveness of international bodies such as the United Nations. Since February 24, 2022, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine, at least 12,162 civilians, including 659 children, have been killed in Ukraine, as per the UN human rights office, OHCHR. Thousands of Russian and Ukrainian combatants have also been killed in the fighting. Cities such as Mariupol have been bombed to dust and at least six million Ukrainians have sought refuge in other countries.
The war indicates a stalemate in global power politics: Russia has weathered the sanctions storm with help from allies such as China — and even India, which has refused to stop doing business with Moscow despite the nudge from the West — but it failed to defeat Kyiv’s over-stretched army, which, of course, has been embellished with weapons from Nato nations. The global economy has been hit by the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports affecting wheat supplies and Nato sanctions on Russian oil and gas.
Now, the war may have entered a deadlier phase. Recently, the outgoing US president, Joe Biden, gave the nod to Kyiv to use American long-range missiles that can strike inside Russia, which Ukraine did on Tuesday. The same day, Putin endorsed a nuclear doctrine that allows Moscow to launch nuclear weapons at non-nuclear powers. Clearly, neither power is willing to de-escalate or factor in a possible nuclear catastrophe. European nations, which have now become frontline States in the war, a first since World War II, have much to lose if the conflict escalates. The global community must talk with Russia, address its fears about Nato, and negotiate peace with Ukraine. Moscow should realise it would only be enhancing its status as a responsible power if it listened to voices of reason.
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