Putin's War
24 February, 2022
In the early morning hours, Putin finally made good on his threats by sending Russian forces into Ukraine, from the north out of Belarus, from the east out of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and from the south from Crimea and Russian naval forces. Missile strikes have targeted cities and military targets throughout Ukraine. God only knows how many innocent civilians have already perished by this unjust, illegal, and immoral declaration of war on Ukraine.
The national leaders of the West have all condemned Putin's invasion. They've imposed and threaten to impose harsh sanctions on Russia. The West has supplied Ukraine with advanced weaponry, but no other support. The diplomatic efforts lead by them have failed. Amazingly, there are some in the West, especially here in the USA that seem amazed that Putin finally made good on his threats. There are others who opine that the invasion of Ukraine is no business of ours. Putin simply ignores the threats of the West, and threatens the West against any intervention against his invasion.
I can't help but think of Europe in late 1938-9. Hitler, before his rise to power in Germany, had penned his "Mein Kampf" whilst he was in prison, outlining his ideals of Nazism. One of them was the concept of "lebensraum", a concept which holds that through colonial settlements or outright invasion, territories or countries needed for natural development can legitimately be taken. Western leaders "tut-tutted" this, wagged their fingers at Chancellor Hitler, and did nothing. Hitler had gambled on that, and so launched the "anschluss", the "union" of Austria with Germany, and then begin to eye the Sudetenland of what was then Czechoslovakia. Again, the Western leaders wagged their fingers at Hilter with great emotion and impotency. They tried to use diplomacy, and it failed. Hitler simply ignored it, lied to their faces, and claimed that this was all for peace and the good of the German people. Never mind that Austria and Czechoslovakia were sovereign nations. These were nations and territories in which Germans lived. They should be unified with the greater Reich. Thus, the stage was set for the Nazi invasion of Poland in September of 1939, sparking World War II.
Putin seems to have taken a page directly from Herr Hitler's playbook. But, it's more than that. Russia, whether it was Tsarist, Communist, or Putin's iteration, has never seen Ukraine as a sovereign nation, only a territory of Russia. Granted, such thought is purely revisionist. Ukraine is a sovereign nation. It has its own culture, language, history, and government. Ask any Ukrainian. They are no more Russian than the Irish are British. Ukraine has long been open to the West, while treasuring their Eastern heritage, and that is what sticks in Russia's craw.
As Moscow's power grew, it gobbled up Ukraine under the Tsars. This "union" only intensified under the Communists as Ukrainian identity, culture, language, and even religion was harshly ground underfoot. And then, a glimmer of hope for a better future, as the old Soviet Union began to fall apart! Ukraine declared independence and re-established itself as a sovereign nation state once again. The Kremlin was too weak at the time to prevent that from happening. Throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia, former Soviet "republics" declared independence and formed their own sovereign nations. None of this sat well with the impotent and humiliated powers in the Kremlin.
Russia has long had a love-hate relationship with the West. Go back in history. There has long been an adversarial tension between Russia and the West. The Teutonic Knights of the late middle-ages launched failed invasions of Russia. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth fought wars against the Tsars. Sweden fought the Tsarist ideals of western expansion into the Baltic regions. Then more recently, there was Napoleon's failed invasion, the bloody battles of the eastern front of WWI, and more infamously the horrific struggles of the Nazi invasions of WWII. These events live long in the Russian consciousness, and in Putin's mind.
It should be remembered that Putin is a former KGB man. Nor can it be ignored that he is a dictator, plain and simple. He has, for two decades, built his power in Russia. Rightly, he sees a democratic Ukraine as a threat to Russia, and to his own power. In 2014, he invaded and claimed the Crimea, effectively stealing it from Ukraine, along with instigating rebellions in Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. Today's invasion is simply the logical successor of these acts. Putin, in his recent statements, doesn't refer to Ukraine as a nation, but merely as a territory or region. He has even mentioned former Soviet "republics" as legitimate targets of Russian expansion. Thus, the Baltic nations, and nations of Central Asia should be very alarmed. Putin, like Hitler, is gambling on Western impotence in the face of his invasion. He wants to re-establish a large sphere of Russian influence, free from the infection of Western democracy, free from NATO's powerful alliance.
The Western powers have put some economic sanctions in place, with more to come. The West continues to wag their fingers at Putin, and condemn his invasion. Putin simply smirks and goes on his merry way. Now, gentle reader, I do not support war. But, how do we expect honest diplomacy to work with a man who is fine with lying and subterfuge. Diplomacy rarely works with dictators. They have malformed consciences (if any at all); they see might as right; they will use bullying tactics to gain what they desire. The sanctions imposed on Russia by the West must be absolutely crippling. In international relations, Russia should be isolated and treated as a rogue nation. The West cannot afford to imitate the gentleness of Chamberlain and his cronies of the late 1930s. Yes, I want peace. Yes, I want Ukraine to thrive in its democracy and independence. But half-hearted measures won't achieve that.
We, here in the USA, might be tempted to think as the horrid Tucker Carlson does, that what happens in Ukraine is none of our business; nor can we praise Putin as a "genius" as a disgraced, twice impeached, and former President has done. If we care about Western democracy, then we have to care about Ukraine. Yes, we will see higher prices, especially with fuel and energy costs. Yes, we will see fluctuations in the stock markets. But as we know, democracy always comes with a price, and it is well worth the prices we pay.
Above all, we should care, simply because our innocent brothers and sisters suffer, that is simply human compassion. As Catholic Christians we have to care as well, since it is our fellow believers who are now at war, killing each other, harming each other, and inflicting harm on the innocent. Even though this war is half-way around the globe, it is very much our concern.
Our Lord has said that some demons can only be driven out by prayer and fasting. Thus, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has called all the faithful to offer their fasting and prayers on Ash Wednesday, March 3rd, for peace in Ukraine. Gentle reader, I do not shy from calling what Putin has done as diabolic and satanic. Hatred, cold-blooded war, violence, the slaughter of innocents come from Satan, not from God. This war is illegal, violating international law. It is immoral, declared merely on the grounds of greed for power. It is diabolic.
Let us pray for our suffering brothers and sisters in Ukraine. Let us pray for the safety of the innocents. Let us pray for the success of democracy. And let us pray for the conversion of Putin's mind, heart, and soul. He has much for which he has to answer before God.
Ever glorious, ever virgin Mary, Theotokos, Mother and Queen of Peace, pray for Ukraine. Our Lord, Christ, Prince of Peace, have mercy on us!
As ever, gentle readers, pray, hope, and don't worry, as St. Pio famously said. God bless us all!
Father P.
Comments
Post a Comment