Op-ed: 

An Essay On Ukraine 

By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots / Right Side Patriots

History is a cruel mistress in that lessons learned are not always remembered nor acted upon in a wise or timely manner. And here I speak of the lessons of war...lessons regarding the foreboding of possible war to come as well as of lessons reminding some that things that needed to be done were simply not done.

And war is more times than not the breeding ground of small-minded men with Napoleon complexes who see today's world as but a mere chapter in the ongoing saga of what many believe to be just a geopolitical rivalry between the world's three major super powers. Afraid to the face the truth about issues way more complex than just three nations jockeying for the number one superpower position, those here in the U.S., those in Putin's Russia, as well as those in Red China, know that both circumstances and ambition, peppered with self-perceived righteousness driven in part by media dictates can, when melded together as one, be the determining factor in who becomes the victor and and who the loser with what was believed to be a just cause being relegated to the annals of war's history alone.

Such is the case, I believe, in regards to the current happenings in Ukraine for the fact is that Ukraine and Russia have a long, bloody, and ever so complicated history with each other no matter words to the contrary. In fact, in June 1945, Ukraine...then known as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic...was among the first countries to sign the United Nations Charter, thus being one of its 51 founding members. Also remember that the then USSR actually endorsed Ukraine’s UN entry as it being a separate country...basically admitting Ukraine's autonomy...albeit a separate country that they counted on to always vote and side with them.

And while numerous conflicts did exist between the two countries in the years since then, today's highly volatile and dangerous situation started with Russia's February 2022 invasion of a country whose leaders were looking towards the future...as in Ukraine truly becoming part of Europe...instead of continuing to allow their country and her people to live in the past...a past that would see Ukraine officially returning to “Mother Russia's” fold. And with Vladimir Putin's overinflated ego coupled with his personally driven quest for history making immortality being the hoped for components that would propel Russia to victory, Putin deliberately escalated the still smoldering eight-year long conflict that began with Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, the very action seen by many world leaders as the historic turning point for European security.

And so with his victory in Crimea, Putin gambled on both “Mother Russia's” and himself being invincible and unstoppable, with Russia being victorious in war and with his being hailed as the motherland's hero. Thankfully though, history seems to have other things in mind for Vladimir Putin as he is now being seen by many...military folks included...as not just the purveyor of major strategic blunders in regards to his underestimating his enemy's strength and determination, but also as the destroyer of what was once great “Mother Russia” herself.

Strength, focus, determination, and history...catalysts all peppered with a healthy dose of reality finds Ukraine, the second-most-populous and powerful of the fifteen former Soviet republics, aka “satellites,” now standing its ground against one of the world's greatest armies and its ego-maniacal dictator who relishes in his having one hand on the nuclear button at all times. And as Ukraine continues to forge its own destiny as a sovereign and independent nation...a nation truly free to align itself with nations in the West...Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues his personal quest to find a way to balance his country's hope for the future while at the same time resolving what remains deep seated internal divisions within his own country and government...divisions not unlike those seen during the time of our own Civil War...a war that saw brother pick up arms against their own blood brother just as Russia now picks up arms against their genetically tied Ukrainian blood brothers.

Think of the Ukrainian-speaking population in the western part of Ukraine (those who support becoming part of the EU and NATO) as being akin to the north's Union soldiers...while Russian-speaking folks in Ukraine's east (those wanting closer ties with Putin's Russia) as being Confederate soldiers. Now compare and contrast the framework for each war...minus the issue of slavery which itself was more about economics than the actual breaking of black folks chains...and one can see how eerily similar they are as both wars started with so-called “breakaway territories” declaring their independence from the homeland...the Confederate states declaring independence from the U.S., the Russian-backed states of Donetsk and Luhansk doing so from Ukraine.

And also know that both wars targeted the trade and transportation networks of the opposing side. In our Civil War access was restricted to Confederate ports with European nations feigning the face of neutrality while openly supplying arms and munitions to both sides. In regards to Ukraine, last year not only did NATO nations close their airspace to Russia, but international sanctions actually helped to restrict Russian trade while we and others who supported Ukraine continued and still continue to send them military aid with neutrality, ever so wisely, thankfully not even in the picture.

Neutrality, in my opinion, is but the front of cowards for to be successful in war means one must not fear the taking of sides nor the collateral damage incurred. And while both our Civil War and the still ongoing Russia v. Ukraine War...a war that in reality is simply a war of self-determination...sees as their basic commonality a striving for national reunification coupled with both political and economic conquest. But know that more times than not it's tangible success in battle alone that determines who history portrays as heroes and who are portrayed as villains, as well as who will be determined to be the ultimate winners and losers in this modern day version of civil war.

And for Ukraine's and the world's free nations it best be Ukraine for if Ukraine falls to Russia...if she falls to Vladimir Putin...the face of Europe herself will change for Putin will not stop at Ukraine nor will he take his hand off the nuclear button for madmen and egomaniacs are not constrained by the ties of common sense or logic. And it's for this reason alone that we must continue our military and monetary support of Ukraine no matter what the naysayers in both parties here at home say for without our support Ukraine will in the end fall setting off what will truly be World War III.

 

Why so...because modern history has shown that when U.S. support for any just war is lacking or minimal at best, as it currently is with Ukraine, or when the U.S. enters a said war fairly late in the game...as we did in World War II...said war tends to last longer with more casualties and collateral damage accrued than if the might of the U.S. military had entered said war sooner rather than later. In today's truly global world, for better or worse, a world now rife with the stain of cowardly non-interventionist policies, the aggressor...in this case Vladimir Putin and Russia...is given the time, space, and media coverage needed to help stage the battlefields of war to play out in their favor. We see it now happening on a daily basis with every step forward Zelenskyy and his forces make being met by a new and more deadly barrage of Putin's savagery with the tally in civilian casualties showing no signs of waning

History, as stated earlier, has once again become a cruel mistress as we and our allies basically sit by and watch those in Ukraine bravely continuing their fight against seemingly insurmountable odds, with help from the U.S. and NATO being fleeting at best. Ukrainians are fighting for their freedom...after all freedom is and always will be worth fighting for...while we tally up the dollars and cents spent knowing well that Joe Biden's promises made to Ukraine might never come to fruition. Our problems here at home cannot compare to what the Ukrainian people are facing, and know as truth that if Ukraine does fall what's to stop Putin from overtaking Europe and then setting his sights on the U.S. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it all plays out, but know that when madmen and fools are in control...when history's lessons learned are ignored...there truly is no safe place to call home. Case closed.

Copyright © 2023 / Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All rights reserved. 

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For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article, Biden's Balloon-a-Palooza.

 

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RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!

 

Tomorrow, Tuesday, February 21st, from 7-8:30pm EST, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'An Essay On Ukraine'; 'Biden's Balloon-a-Palooza'; and important news of the day. Hope you can tune in to RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS on https://rspradio1.com. Click 'LISTEN LIVE' starting at 6:50 pm EST with show beginning at 7pm EST.