The Bitter Fruits of War
8 March 2022
Dear and gentle reader, as it stands now, over a million and a half Ukrainians have had to flee their homeland and seek refuge in neighbouring countries. Some bodies speculate that the number of refugees may rise as high as five million in the coming days and weeks as this sad invasion continues. We've seen the Russian invading forces shell civilian targets - apartment blocks, hospitals, schools, even nuclear power plants. Shelling and missile strikes continue, preventing rescuers from reaching those trapped in the rubble. Proposed humanitarian corridors have not been respected with fleeing civilians being shot at, and some reports state that even the routes were mined by Russian forces.
There is also the suffering of the Russians to take into account. Many of the soldiers sent to invade Ukraine were not told what their mission would be. Most of them are conscripts, quite young. A goodly number of those captured by Ukrainian forces have stated that they did not want to be involved in a war against their neighbours. The ordinary Russians at home also face suffering - the rising prices due to economic sanctions, and the increasingly harsh repression by authorities. It is illegal to even call the invasion of Ukraine "war". It is illegal to protest, or to spread information from the outside concerning the war. It has been reported that police are even using the torture of the arrested as a deterrent to quash any ideas of future protests.
While I despise war, I do hold for the right of the Ukrainian people to defend themselves against unjust aggression. Part of me is happy to see that some Western countries are offering Ukraine weapons to aid in their self-defense, while part of me asks, "who is profiting from this?". There is no sane way to glorify war. Like the Vietnam War, we daily see images of the immense suffering and destruction. All of this could have been avoided, if diplomacy had triumphed. Yet all of this is due to the ambitions of one man, Vladimir Putin. While I understand his fear for Russia's security - a thing which is not new to him or to Russia itself for centuries now - I cannot but be nauseated by the means by which he has employed to try to achieve this "security".
Putin is not a president, he is a dictator, an autocrat. He has shown that he has no regard for the sovereignty of other nations. He has no respect for the Russian people. He has increasingly isolated himself, even from his inner circle of advisors. He seems to be hell-bent on conquering Ukraine, despite overwhelming losses in lives, materiel, and national prestige. What power he has is not based on popular support, since the elections are staged and rigged. Rather, his power is based on three pillars - the oligarchs with their money, the military with their forces, and the technocrats with their political know-how. Already the oligarchs are feeling the result of sanctions. Already the military are suffering losses and being humiliated by a much smaller force. Already the technocrats have lost face on the international stage. Will one or more of these power bases turn against Putin? Only time will tell, for time it seems, is not being kind to Putin.
From what I have gathered, I do not think that the Ukrainian people will lose their will to defend their homeland and their sovereignty. If Russia were to militarily win this war, they will be faced with an unending guerrilla war with Ukrainian partisans. Russia would be reduced to being an international pariah, a rogue state. If Putin achieves his longed-for victory, no one wins, not even him.
I do not wish to see Russia reduced to such a state. Russia has a long and proud history, and she should rightly treasure it, but so does Ukraine, and we see how her people are fighting to protect it. There truly are no winners in war. As General William T. Sherman is claimed to have said, "war is hell". Right now, all we can do, gentle reader, is to pray for a just and lasting peace, and pray for a conversion of heart, mind and soul for Putin. We cannot forget the suffering of the innocent either, and we should aid them with our prayers and works of charity by supporting those organisations which tend to their needs.
This holy season of Lent is the opportune time to do these things. We can offer our prayers and penances for peace. We can unite our little sufferings to those of Christ, and His wounded Body, the Church in Eastern Europe, as a sacrifice for peace and justice there.
Let us pray for the protection of Ukraine, and for all those who suffer due to this war created by one man. May Mary most holy, the ever-virgin Theotokos intercede for her people in Ukraine and Russia, that brotherly love may triumph over political violence.
As ever, dear and gentle reader, stay safe, stay holy, and God bless!
Father P.
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