Vladimir Putin Russia Ukraine war

2022 - 3 - 18

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Post cover — Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

How do we solve a problem like Putin? Five leading writers on ... (The Guardian)

The Russian president's invasion of Ukraine threatens the safety of the entire world. Writers on Russian history and politics try to suggest a way forward.

In Ukraine, Putin is purposefully targeting humanitarian corridors, bombing refugees and hospitals in order to break the will of the people. But it highlights a deeper truth: in wartime, propaganda of the deed outweighs propaganda of the word. This idea of a future Russia has to be developed in partnership with Russia’s neighbours, so that it balances the needs of all of them, and escapes the conspiratorial, zero-sum vision of the world Putin’s propaganda promotes. The reaction to the war in Ukraine has shown that despite the repeated claims of the past two decades, it is only now that a line has been drawn under the post-cold war period. Both on the personal level, but also in terms of the future of the country. Some of this is already happening, but there will be pressure from other governments, lobbyists of various kinds, and from public opinion in an era of rising living costs, to undo many of the recent changes as quickly as possible, particularly in relation to sanctions. This raises the question of how western states respond to a Putin-led Russia and how they organise their relationships with one another. Stripped of their access to the international financial system and of their stolen riches, Putin’s oligarchs will be not plutocrats but thugs. That accusation is disgusting, but it’s harder to dismiss the parallels between Putin’s own behaviour and those of the dictators of the mid-20th century. And of course there are lessons for us from that time – about the futility of appeasement, and the heroism of ordinary humans caught up in inhumanity. At the same time, it erases from the record the crucial contribution to victory in that war of Ukrainians themselves. Who do we think is behind the companies of anonymous ownership, registered in places like Guernsey, Cyprus and the British Virgin Islands, that we continue to allow to participate in our economies?

Ukraine war LIVE: Zelenskyy warns of third world war if ceasefire ... (Hindustan Times)

Russia-Ukraine war LIVE updates: With the invasion in its fourth week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on for comprehensive peace talks with ...

- Sri Lanka emergency: Armed soldiers and police personnel were seen deployed at checkpoints in Colombo to enforce the curfew. "It's a small country with a strong commitment to freedom. - Mar 20, 2022 12:59 PM IST There was no immediate word on casualties, the report added.Read more - Mar 20, 2022 01:25 PM IST - Mar 20, 2022 02:17 PM IST - Mar 20, 2022 03:14 PM IST - Mar 20, 2022 03:43 PM IST - Mar 20, 2022 08:48 PM IST - Mar 20, 2022 09:43 PM IST - Mar 20, 2022 10:15 PM IST Evacuations from besieged cities proceeded on Saturday along eight of 10 humanitarian corridors, Ukraine's deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

Putin drank the Kremlin Kool-Aid (Atlantic Council)

Just over three weeks since he launched Europe's first full-scale invasion since World War II, it is already increasingly obvious that Vladimir Putin has ...

As more and more Russians become aware of the war crimes being committed in Ukraine, this will further fuel political instability. Putin’s wishful thinking on Ukraine was mirrored in his expectations that the West would be divided over the war and would repeat the mistakes of 2014 by imposing weak sanctions. In order to maintain control of the country and overcome popular resistance, Putin would need to deploy around half of the entire Russian army. The Russian dictator now finds himself an international pariah while Russia’s reputation as a military superpower lies in tatters. In the 1980s, the totalitarian Soviet Union could not prevent knowledge of casualties in Afghanistan from reaching domestic audiences. Putin’s refusal to acknowledge Ukraine as a separate nation reflects his attachment to the dogmas of nineteenth century Russian imperialism. Western nations have also defied Russian warnings and continue to provide Ukraine with unprecedented arms shipments. Russian war crimes during the first three weeks of the invasion have destroyed any lingering pro-Russian sentiment that remained following 2014. Putin saw the invasion of Ukraine as a decisive step towards “reuniting” Russia’s divided lands. Putin is not alone in his complete misunderstanding of contemporary Ukrainian realities. This detachment is widely attributed to Putin’s bunker-like existence of physical isolation throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, along with his reliance on rose-tinted reports provided by yes-men within his immediate entourage who are understandably eager to avoid challenging their leader’s twisted worldview. Thanks to these catastrophic miscalculations, Putin now finds himself with no good options to end a war that is threatening to accelerate Russia’s geopolitical decline as a great power.

Vladimir Putin Russia Ukraine war: Zelensky tell Putin to consider ... (BBC News)

President Volodymyr Zelensky bin make di call for one video address to di nation outside di Presidential Office. Zelensky say dis na di time for Ukraine and ...

say something awful fit happen for di battlefield". Time to tok. E suggest say e dey merely affording di Russians "time to regroup". Mikhail Kasyanov say Putin dey unlikely to offer any solution to di conflict "wey go comfortable for Ukrainian pipo". And na di time to restore "territorial integrity and justice" for Ukraine, di president add. Zelensky say dis na di time for Ukraine and Russia to meet for tok.

The Russia-Ukraine war put Europe's far right on the back foot (Aljazeera.com)

Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine put the continent's future in serious jeopardy. Russian President Vladimir Putin's exclusionary nationalism and imperial ...

Countless former Western MPs and ministers have been sitting on the boards of and offering consultancy services to Russian firms – including former prime ministers of Finland, Italy and Austria. Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi expressed his admiration for Putin regularly over the years. All in all, Putin’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine had the unintended consequence of putting Europe’s far-right superstars on the back foot. Of course, as someone who has at least twice worn a T-shirt with Putin’s face on it in public, Salvini’s stunt in Poland was not welcomed by the local population. The leader of Italy’s far-right League Party, Matteo Salvini, tried to approach his newfound “Putin problem” in a similar way. I don’t want the French to commit hara-kiri,” she said at a televised presidential debate, warning that the economic consequences of the war could be “a hundred times worse than the pandemic”. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s exclusionary nationalism and imperial designs are now posing an immediate threat to the safety and wellbeing of not only those living in ex-Soviet nations in Russia’s vicinity but all Europeans.

Russia-Ukraine War Highlights: At least 902 civilians killed in ... (The Indian Express)

Russia-Ukraine War Highlights: Meanwhile, Mariupol authorities have said that the Russian military has bombed an art school where about 400 people had taken ...

Local authorities said Sunday that the school building was destroyed and people could still be under the rubble. Meanwhile, Mariupol authorities have said that the Russian military has bombed an art school where about 400 people had taken refuge, AP reported. Russia Ukraine War Crisis Live: At least 902 civilians have been killed and 1,459 injured in Ukraine as of midnight local time on March 19, the U.N. human rights office (OHCHR) said on Sunday, news agency Reuters reported.