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Letters | Nature of Russia’s war in Ukraine means quick peace deal is impossible
- Readers discuss why the conflict in Ukraine is not likely to cease any time soon and how Sri Lanka’s struggles will reshape the US-China rivalry
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No amount of vodka keeps Eastern European politics from being depressing, yet the horizon has never been as dark as at present. Seen externally as a peripheral conflict, both Ukraine and Russia see their war as a struggle for national survival.
My experience volunteering with an NGO at refugee camps in Przemysl in Poland and Lviv in Ukraine leaves me certain of the Ukrainians’ resolve. Meanwhile, Moscow’s official and unofficial rhetoric underline the importance of its “special military operation”.
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The very nature of the Russian state makes defeat impossible. First the Russian elites are well aware of the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan and its catastrophic consequences.
After a decade-long war against the US-backed Mujahideen, the Soviet leadership made the tactically sound decision to quit an unwinnable war. Unfortunately, this crack in the invincible facade would kick off a chain of events leading to the fall of the Soviet Union and the disastrous 1990s, when anarchy reigned in Russia and the economy collapsed. Russian President Vladimir Putin rightly fears a repeat.
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Second, as a coercive state with little to offer ideologically or materially, the Russian regime’s image is entirely based on strength and victory. The economy took a hit in 2014, when the annexation of the Crimea brought overwhelming sanctions. Omnipresent corruption at every level of government results in widespread cynicism against all but Putin, who plays the good tsar surrounded by evil Boyars. As a result, Putin’s special operation can only end in victory.
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