Is the international community doing enough to secure peace? Perhaps not! A while back, somewhere amidst the war, it appeared that both Russia and Ukraine stopped to negotiate peace. However, it never moved forward. What is happening now is the opposite.
There are pitched battles on the streets of Ukrainian cities. However, the resistance put up by the Ukrainian forces is said to be slowing down Russian forces from seizing Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.
Any country would want to resist invasion. It makes sense. However, here the cause of the war is clandestine. Both Ukraine and its western allies from Nato are aware of it. Is war the only way to iron out differences and address insecurities?
Now what’s alarming is the aggressive stance taken by both Russia and the West. The US and its allies are pledging more weapons to Ukraine. Germany, for instance, is changing its long-opposed policy of not sending arms to war zones. Instead, it will now send anti-tank and surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine.
The US is ready to send $350 million worth of military equipment from its stockpile. Likewise, the Dutch, France, the UK, and several other European countries will dispatch arms to Ukraine to fight Russia.
Where is this headed? Apart from slapping hard-hitting sanctions and sending military aid, why are they not insisting on talks to pause further military intervention from Russia?
Weapons pumped into a combat zone will only ignite the rage of war further. We will see intense fighting with more firepower from both sides. And now, the probability of civilians and civilian structures getting hit in the crossfire is even higher.
The United Nations Security Council should raise to the occasion to stop the war right where it is now. It should get Russia and Ukraine to talk peace. But unfortunately, it is mistrust that is growing deeper.
President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russia’s Nuclear Deterrent forces to be on high alert, owing to, what he calls, illegitimate sanctions and aggressive language from the West.
Now, peace will not come from a confrontational stance taken by either side—however, it is still not too late to talk and end the war.