Ordering ill-equipped, poorly-trained troops, without proper arms, no air support, no discipline and no purpose, to go forward and die, shows how delusional the Kremlin regime is, says the author.
Author
Vesselin Popovski, Professor, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal global university, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Summary
In 2014 the Ukrainian people removed from power their leader Viktor Yanukovych, and made their choice to develop as a liberal democracy ruled by law, part of the European Union. This natural desire was met with furious anger by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, who dreams of re-establishing the Russian Empire, to control Ukraine and exploiting its resources and people. To execute this plan, Putin created a series of lies – that the government in Kyiv is ‘Nazi-like’, that Ukrainian nation does not exist and its people are ‘Russians’ mis-treated and disallowed to speak their language. Putin did not realise he was plagiarizing the same words Hitler used in 1938 when he invaded Czechoslovakia, saying that the Germans in Sudetenland were mis-treated and his mission was to ‘liberate’ them.
The problem with such people is that they start believing in these lies. Also, they surround themselves with yes men. As a result, they all lose connection with the reality. The beauty of democracy is exactly the opposite – when a leader makes a mistake, those around can think, deliberate, speak freely, point to the mistakes and correct it. The difference between Russians and Ukrainians – otherwise very similar people, following Orthodox Christianity, speaking similar language and ethnically the same – is exactly how they want to be governed. Russians prefer the strongman. Ukrainians love freedom. Accordingly, Putin could never understand why one Ukrainian president can demit office and hand over power to another instead of staying on for as long as possible.
Putin expected a quick victory in Ukraine, before the West – in his view weak and disunited – can respond. Big blunder. The Security Conference in Munich few days ago once again re-confirmed the united global position to help Ukraine to liberate all its territories and to bring the Russian aggressors to justice.
Published in: Hindustan Times
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