As I see itWhy Ukraine should stop criticising India and other well-meaning supporters
- Ukraine has done brilliantly facing up to Russia’s devastating and brutal invasion which many countries, including India, have urged an end to
- But it’s unfair to call New Delhi out for buying Russian oil when India is simply putting its own interests first, trying to squeeze through a geopolitical needle
One might have had varied opinions about Ukraine, long plagued by endemic corruption before Russia’s unprovoked invasion in February, but the country has on the whole displayed admirable fortitude since the outbreak of armed conflict.
In the post World War II era, not many medium-sized nations have had to contend with the kind of revanchism (in this case, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin’s will to reverse territorial losses) that Ukraine is currently facing.
Some countries have well-armed militaries that they say are a deterrent to external aggression, but what really counts – the collective mettle of a people – will only be known when they face the kind of “hell on earth” situation that Ukraine has come under.
They have done amazingly well. Russia and Putin have faced multiple humiliations on the battlefield at the hands of Kyiv forces and continue to suffer inglorious setbacks, like this week’s drone strikes that reached three military bases deep inside Russia – one of them only 160km from Moscow.
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Ukraine warns of more emergency blackouts as Russia unleashes another missile barrage
The scale of death and destruction has invoked many calls for a cessation of hostilities from a range of countries, including those painted by Western media as aloof and uncaring about Ukraine’s plight.