Ukraine

  • Ukraine has shown its way with war – and it works

    The State of Ukraine is beating at the gates of a country that has a full appraisal of itself in many ways. Russia has left no time to waste in covering every corner of its territory, making sure that nothing is left as a mystery to itself.

    Such mastery of its own affairs is an achievement but it can only be respected by itself. The use of it, as well as the reputations of its schools of science and military affairs, draw disdain from many in the wider international community.

    Ukraine has developed its own innovations at a pace, making production a cornerstone of its defensive capabilities. To do this they’ve required the input of a large number of nations. This has come about in terms of finance and firepower, often keeping the enemy at bay at needful times.

    The progress of this war has been hard to follow, because it looks like a two-way fight, and precious few indicators show who’s responsible for what otherwise. We can guess the larger powers are making the most impact, but it’s left to others to tell the story about this.

    Yet, in the silence of these facts it’s become a war effort of promise because Ukraine is ready for the battle as it turns on itself. The people of Ukraine have shown a willingness to keep at the frontlines and trust in the promises of others. This is a noble spirit for all to see.

    The advancement of techniques in fighting has now cemented a new reaction to hostile efforts to takeover and to control. The political drive of Putin is a mania that adds complex toxicity to the battlefield, and modern technology handles this far better than human minds, which slow in the calculation of it.

    In our times there’s a sense of optimism that old styles of aggression that go after things not a part of our modern hopes are not all-encompassing – or inevitable. They can be repudiated in favour of a new arrangement, idea, or concept that keeps its own ground.

  • Ukraine’s safe option is to evacuate its border areas

    The progress of diplomacy is slow when it comes to the stubbornness of Russia. It’s been shown that it speeds up exponentially where there is a meaningful aim in sight and something can be gained from a continuation of the talks. It has to refer directly to something that has been stated before, even if it doesn’t fully realise it’s dream.

    In terms of the land that Russia wants to have in its own possession, Ukraine stands at a crossroads in its own decision-making. Its best option is to evacuate such areas and to maintain that nothing more than a small contingent should continue to live there. It gives Russia ground but deprives it of a further reach to limit closeness to Ukraine.

    The evacuation of people is not a popular option, but it could be satisfied in either direction. A non-contingency zone like this could be a solution to a battle between two powers, one that has moral argument and another that has sufficient strength to resist more.

    It may give Russians pride in saying that named places are ‘back’ in its own possession. However, it recognises that its own expansionism is an unpopular policy. It cannot take more to gain more in the long-term, and Ukraine has to be guaranteed its own internal security.

  • Ukraine fights hard in word and deed

    Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy has come out fighting against Russian misinformation on many occasions to defend his country’s record and to offer insight to a worldwide audience. It’s not easy reading because he has to state things that are true that many people say are not and use to abuse him.

    This is the nature of politics and of the real world. He knows it and he uses his platform to this advantage. He’s a responsible technician of words and has the acute sensibility needed of a leader. His people benefit widely by his advice and no doubt he has saved Ukrainian lives.

    “Fuck away to Russia. Go home. You don’t respect anybody in the United States. You don’t respect the rules. You don’t respect democracy. You don’t respect Ukraine or Europe. Go home.”

    – @ZelenskyyUa/X

    The future is a binding contract with the people, however, and he needs to focus. His country demands democracy – and more leadership. He has to change tact as soon as he’s asked to. His forward efforts are crucial now to a change of tone and of footing against Russia.

    The State of Ukraine won’t go down to live under the hand of Russia. It will have to prevail, though, by fighting hard until the end. It has to bring this war to an end as the responsible opposing force. The weight of history is behind it, but it must use it intelligently.

  • Putin believes in firmness, but Ukraine wavers

    The problem with diplomacy now is that Ukraine and Russia are sworn to disagree at all levels and on all points. These are even distinctive in the ways their respective leaders spar off with each other in less staged environs.

    The belief of most of the Russian leadership is that their President is a firm and stoical guardian of their peace and security, and any agreement has to fall in line with this almost sacred duty.

    The limitation in Ukraine by comparison is that such a bombastic military establishment doesn’t concede so easily, and its public representatives struggle to accept any moves toward peace.

    This may be appear to be a contradictory state of affairs, but clever minded students of both have found equally respectable ways to the top, and there is a semblance of balance between them that makes up a peaceful coalition.

    It’s the perspective used to define a settlement that allows two sides to coexist apart from a mutually assured destruction in the short term or over many conflicts. However, this is a theory of the outside and it doesn’t always seem so.

  • Putin needs to look beyond war

    Russia often feels it’s at the height of its powers in diplomacy. It takes its cue from what others say and because it has a lot to respond with it feels in control. However, most of this is found to be historical bias and not a lot of it translates here.

    The democratic cause Ukraine has to fight for is less historic but more pressing today than the past. It has more to it than mere feelings of nostalgia. It’s not a sentiment. It’s a reality of how people live and how we’re getting along here.

  • Ukraine is preparing for Russia in 2026

    The President of Ukraine is warning his people, and the world, that Russia is preparing for another year of war against his State. This is a bad omen because it states he feels like peace is not in sight yet.

    President Zelenskyy is a pragmatist, and he carries it across in his messages to the world on X. This has now been a familiar channel for safe communications about the enemies’ intentions.

    “Today, we again heard signals from Moscow that they are preparing to make next year a year of war. These signals are not only for us. It is crucial that our partners see them, and not only see them but also respond – especially partners in the United States, who often say that Russia wants to end the war.”

    Russia itself is not willing to speak so clearly. It sabre rattles because it has to do so. It also has enemies in some places, not just in Europe, or even North America. It has to stay strong, and think strong as well.

    However, Ukraine is showing a fortitude that signals a different message to us. It shows that Russia cannot win inevitably and that its fortunes are mere chances in an attack it launched itself.

  • What a new Ukraine could look like

    The Ukraine situation is worst above all for Ukrainians. Theirs is the country under attack. Theirs is the precarious position between Russia and the rest of Europe. Theirs is the confrontation between Putin and the freedoms they love.

    The future for Ukraine must be new if it’s to hold, and be better than the position it had before.

    We need to remember that Ukraine is a relatively new democracy that’s fighting for its survival – and for its very life. This needs to be the priority for Ukraine-leaning allies that want a resolution to conflict.

    In this path, it must follow then that Ukraine is wholly Ukrainian and its people must all be so. It cannot be divided otherwise it falls again to the power of President Putin.

    In addition, it must resist calls to bulk up its power by letting NATO members rule its airspace and use its sovereign territory. This is the sort of patchwork diplomacy that in my opinion doesn’t work.

    It’s become clear, finally, that Ukraine needs to be stronger. It has to continue its dominance of the skies to an extent that is acceptable in peacetime. This means surveillance of the Russian state.

    It may be cold out there, but it’s got to be far more dynamic. The two nations are large, much more powerful adversaries than we know and peace has to be firm.

  • Ukraine is our first line of defence in Europe

    Ukraine is fighting a battle against a Russian state that has a lot of resolve behind its campaign to overturn democratic principles and to return regions into its iron grip of paternalistic control.

    This is the bitter reality of fighting on the battlefield in places where Russia had been expelled and should no longer be seen or heard of.

    The regional difficulties that emerge as political technicalities cannot override the notion that powers a Ukrainian’s soldiers belief in his or her country as Europe’s first line of defence.

  • Ukraine cements air power initiative

    In Ukraine, unmanned aerial craft are becoming more and more important. They’re used to strike targets but also to take surveillance footage and harass soldiers on the enemy frontlines.

    This technology is supremely hi-tech in its capability, but also require advanced functions to work in the first place. Ukrainian technicians have put a lot of time and effort into developing a form suitable to their unique situation.

  • Ukraine has a right to win

    Ukraine’s need for safety is not the same as ours. Theirs is a need for territorial integrity. It includes a promise of no Russian boots on their soil. It also means no land is lost to its illegitimate claims. There can’t be a stronger Ukraine with a lesser strategic position. Finally, no vital infrastructure can be open to cursory destruction.

    President Zelenskyy is aware that Putin bargains for more than he’s worth. It’s why he fights back so hard. He orders his country to do so too. He knows the illegality of this war. He already gets that a Russian tyrant can’t win, for the sake of the world too. His effort is to hold out against an enemy that is sabre rattling at us.

  • Zelenskyy runs the risk of a world war

    The Ukraine war with Russia – or rather, Russia’s war with Ukraine – is beset with obstacles. There are a large number of sensitive issues at play. There are significant interests in the region that are tinder boxes for recriminations. There is a multiplicity of competing forces only held back by Ukrainian sovereignty and Russian dignity, or at least the struggle by both for either.

    This makes it so volatile that any controversial thing spoken may be tantamount to an escalation of tensions. Therefore, the advice of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the world to pile in to get involved is worrying. He calls on help from all four corners of the world to repel an invasion, but in doing so invokes the approach of the World Wars.

    “That is why only pressure can stop this war. Pressure that is multidirectional. The pressure from Western countries today is not enough. Nor is there enough unity in applying that pressure. We need more pressure from the United States, more pressure from Europe. As for the Global South – we do not yet even feel their pressure on Russia to make it stop.”

    It cannot become as worse for a much smaller prize. Putin may be a warmonger, and a tyrannical political leader, but he’s not a token of radicalism. He hasn’t got designs on much of the world and he cannot be credited with disturbing its order. Russia’s reach is not so vast. The answer is to deny them their advance so that nothing is open to win. Ukraine needs to hold its own.

  • Trump didn’t have to meet Putin

    The Putin-Trump summit isn’t the only way to do it. If the UN hadn’t of berated Israel so much, it might have taken a chance to intervene. It might still have to.

    The problem in international affairs is finding time. There isn’t scope to regret and forget so quickly. The short-term lives on for longer than people think.

    The Israel-Gaza conflict is clearly taking up time – and leading to precious few results. The pressing matter of peace in Europe is taking up American hours.

    It’s the wrong way to do it. The right path is to let peace come by fair means set out for the benefit of the international community. It has to rest on all of us.

  • Zelenskyy’s diplomatic approach is strengthening

    In his latest missive on X, Ukraine’s President has launched a sideswipe at many Western approaches at diplomacy. He clearly knows what he wants.

    He thinks we need to learn more about sanctions. The point is they stop more than just one person. It stops all the activity that goes into a war.

    “Sanctions are powerful, when enforced. If loopholes are closed, missile components, including for ballistic systems, simply won’t reach Russia. Sanctions aren’t just about money. They’re about stopping the flow of deadly technology, the parts that enable Russia to produce these horrific weapons at scale.”

    It won’t, however. In fact Russia’s military is complex. It cannot simply be shutdown. He’s right to say it flows, but Russia does it better than just that.

    The aim of sanctions is to impose geopolitical limits. This still leaves the Ukraine front open. It’ll take more than stops in supply chains to win.

  • Ukraine is getting big wins

  • Pres. Zelenskyy updates Russian sanctions

    Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has revealed a tranche of new sanctions on Russia. The punitive measures are designed to cripple Russia’s war machine, and force Putin to end his war.

    The targets are close to the Russian President, undermining his ability to present a strong image. It also includes Russian activists in media circles, who continue to justify the country’s illegal war.