Letters | Ukraine is being turned into a proxy battleground for the US’ ideological war
- Readers suggest Ukraine and its people are the losers as Nato battles Russia, and that the real winner of the conflict will be the US – in particular, US energy and defence companies
A protracted war in Ukraine will have ramifications across countries, including on supply chains and the prices of oil, raw materials and commodities. We live in a globally interdependent world now. Events in any part of the world have an immediate and cascading impact on all parts.
The Ukraine war is now being increasingly perceived as a West-versus-Russia engagement. Ukraine is being reduced to a mere proxy battleground for Nato and Russia. Going by the ferocity and frequency of Nato and Western chastisements of Russia, it would appear that it is them battling Russia, not Ukraine.
The bonhomie of the Nato nations at meetings in Brussels was out of place for the occasion. A more somber mood would have been more suitable, perhaps even a minute of silence for those who had passed away in this dastardly war.
If the war continues for some more months, Ukraine is in danger of becoming another Vietnam. In the Vietnam war, while American troops fought on the ground, the Viet Cong had the support of other Communist nations like the USSR. In the Ukraine war, Russia is fighting upfront. However, Nato countries are suppling missiles and equipment to Ukraine, while refusing direct engagement. Ukraine is becoming a de facto proxy war between Nato and Russia.
The conflict should not become a combat between major powers fought on Ukrainian soil, using Ukrainian soldiers and Ukrainian citizens as battering rams. Nor should Ukraine become an ideological battleground between the pro-democracy Western nations and the erstwhile communist countries like Russia. Unfortunately, Ukraine will lose the most in this political chessboard.
Many of former communist countries like Russia and Vietnam have followed pragmatic, pro-capitalist polices in monetary policy and international trade. There is no iron economic curtain between them and the West. So there is no need for anyone to rub the other’s nose in the dirt on ideological grounds. Painting the war as a fight between democracy and oligarchies or despotism will only add fuel to fire.