If when I die, I am still a dictator, I will certainly go down into the oblivion of all dictators. If, on the other hand, I succeed in establishing a truly stable foundation for a democratic government, I will live forever in every home in China.
(Chiang Kai-Shek, Member of Kuomintang)
LUCY WILLIAMSON, a BBC reporter tells the world: “Seen from the Moldovan borders, Ukraine is a nation of women. Mothers and grandmothers, wheeling suitcases to safety, leading their children into the unknown.” Irene and her two young children tell the world: “Only women and children are allowed to go. The men (in Ukraine) want to stay, fight and give blood. They are heroes…”
You cannot help watching the scenes of Russia invading Ukraine on BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera and others without shedding a tear, or, at best, getting your eyes well up. Women, children…desperate women, helpless children, running for unavailable shelter – shelled by tanks and shrapnel. You can’t forget Polina, the 10-year-old girl shot and killed. And a brave Ukrainian woman confronts a Russian invader, “You came to our land… You are occupiers … You came here uninvited …”
When the Russian armoured tanks kept moving from Russia to encircle Ukraine, the world’s worst fears of a Third World War was rekindled. The US, intelligence report had been feeding the world of imminent Russian attacks on Ukraine. The White House had repeatedly warned the world of a likely Russian attack on Ukraine with respect to the Russian troop build-ups. Fears were rife that Putin’s aim was to get the Ukrainian comedian – President Volodymyr Zelensky deposed. Joe Biden said: “We shared declassified evidence about Russian plans and false pretext…. Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences….” Putin has no fear of his country being declared a “pariah”, isolated by sanction and would care less about his name being linked to Ras Putin, the notorious adviser to Tsar Nicholas of Russia.
Ghana, through her Minister of Foreign Affairs has issued a communique; “Since the Russian Federation and Belarus started military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, hundreds of lives have been lost through bombardments. Ghana as a non-permanent member of the United Nation Security Council had supported calls and efforts to dissuade the Russian Federation from using force to address what it said were its security concerns related to NATO expansion. We encouraged dialogue and peaceful resolution of the differences between Russia and other parties.”
The European Union, US, UK and their allies have agreed to remove selected Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system, which enables the smooth transfer of money across borders.
UK has threatened the freezing of Russian assets including persons like Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. They have threatened a curb on export to Russia of dual-use goods (Items used for civilian and military purposes including high-tech items, lasers, chemicals – and of course, the UK is putting a stop to the issuing of “golden passport” which grants UK citizenship to wealthy Russians in exchange for an investment.
The EU has announced blanket ban on Russian flights through its member countries. Zelensky was given a standing ovation when he addressed the EU… The President of EU, Ursula Von Der Leyen promised to “fast track Ukraine’s application for membership.”
Ukraine received commendation of Joe Biden in his “State of the Union” address: “Light will win over darkness”. The US President announced a ban on airspace to all Russian aircraft.
Will Putin continue to be indifferent to all these sanctions? His spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says Putin has no assets abroad: “The sanctions contain aboard statements about some assets. Everyone knows that Putin doesn’t have any assets, in fact, except for those that are declared every year.”
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was confronted by a Ukraine journalist, Daria Kalenuik on his visit to Poland: “You are talking about stoicism of Ukraine people but Ukraine women and Ukraine children are in deep fear because… We are seeing response that it will trigger World War Three… Boris Johnson noted: “We will continue on a remorseless mission to squeeze Russia from the global economy piece by piece; day by day and week by week:
Governing bodies of sports all over the world have made moves to bar Russia and her teams from international competitions. FIFA has stated: “Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with the people affected in Ukraine”. The International Olympics Committee (IOC) urges members not to invite athletes from Russia and Belarus to sports contests.
Putin, born in 1952, studied law at Leningrad State University, graduating in 1975, working as KGB intelligence officer and rising to Lieutenant Colonel. He resigned in 1991 to pursue a political career, and joined Boris Yeltsin’s administration. In 1991, he became Prime Minister when Yeltsin resigned, and acted outright as President. Four months later, he was elected outright as President for two terms. Putin served as Prime Minister again from 2008 to 2012 under Dmitry Medvedev. He was re-elected in 2018, and, following a referendum, signed into law, constitutional amendments, which included one that permitted him to run for re-election twice again – till 2036!