Russian President, Vladimir Putin appears to be completely determined to establish a new world order where the US would be no longer the only dominant power. This would mean that the cold war may return and America and its allies may face a stiff challenge from those who do not endorse their plans and thinking. Putin is not a weak leader and has apparently taken this step of declaring a full-fledged war against Ukraine, its immediate neighbour, in the defence of his own country. Ukraine under its present leadership had been tilting towards the West and was being viewed as the next fresh entrant of NATO. This is what has triggered this conflict, which if not resolved, without any further delay, could escalate into a full-scale war beyond the frontiers of Europe.
The Russians have been contemplating this kind of action after NATO has tried to encircle it from all sides. Ever since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, thanks to Mikhail Gorbachev, who succumbed to pressure, allegedly because of the influence western intelligence agencies wielded over his wife, Raisa, NATO has been expanding its membership by including several countries which were once a part of the Soviet bloc. Russia has always considered Ukraine to be a part of its culture maintaining that Russians and Ukrainians were one people. Thus the move to include Ukraine into NATO was considered as a grave provocation but the United States decided to deal with Moscow very firmly and without considering its sensitivities.
Putin, who has emerged as one of the strongest leaders of the current times, was not willing to be pushed around. After America’s humiliating defeat in Afghanistan, which resulted in the NATO forces withdrawing themselves from the war zone in that region in a hasty manner, countries opposed to the Western alliance could sense that things would change rapidly thereafter. Unmindful of the strong western propaganda unleashed through various media platforms, Putin has apparently put his own country’s interests first.
The joke doing the rounds on WhatsApp is that if Russia send its troops into another country without an invitation, like it has done in Ukraine now, and Crimea earlier, it is called invasion. However, if the US was to send its forces into Afghanistan, Vietnam, Iraq, Syria, Panama and Libya, it was to be described as liberation. New Delhi, has rightly decided to adopt a neutral stance on the matter so far; the primary concern is to bring back to safety, thousands of Indians, particularly students who are stranded in Ukraine. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to Putin and is in touch with Western powers so that the current issue is resolved and no further loss of life takes place. Many hawks amongst strategic affairs experts also believe that Russia’s action could be a template at a later date for New Delhi to liberate Pakistan occupied Kashmir so as to safeguard its own interests and territory given that most of the militants who come on to the Indian soil in Kashmir have their bases in the PoK.
China has neither condemned nor supported Moscow’s war as it could also be looking at options for dealing with Taiwan and some other areas. Putin has gone into this war with his eyes open and has warned Western countries that if they attempt to intervene, the consequences would be beyond their imagination; he is obviously conscious of the huge nuclear arsenal his country has. America has a lot of explaining to do for its own domestic constituency where Russia has always been seen as enemy number one. However, Washington knows that dealing with Russia and its allies was far more complexed than taking on West Asian countries in the past. Sanctions are not an answer and a pro-active diplomacy that seeks to de-escalate the tension is the need of the hour. India can play a major role in this conflict resolving matter and must not miss this opportunity. Otherwise, the World is on the brink of another World War that may be self-destructive.
Putin, who has emerged as one of the strongest leaders of the current times, was not willing to be pushed around. After America’s humiliating defeat in Afghanistan, which resulted in the NATO forces withdrawing themselves from the war zone in that region in a hasty manner, countries opposed to the Western alliance could sense that things would change rapidly thereafter.