A war of attrition

Madam,

The war in Ukraine has now entered its month. )ebruary marks one

th

year since the war started, and there is still no end in sight. ,n fact, the col lective West continues to find reasons for escalating this terrible conflict, and all the while, it is the Ukrainian people who suffer and indeed die. This says nothing about the vast numbers of casualties among the Ukrainian armed forces who are being slaughtered on the battlefield.

Though the Ukrainian *overnment doesn t want to admit it, the precise numbers are believed to be more than

men and even more seriously wounded. This cannot continue una bated, surely. %ut the collective West, it seems, is looking for any reason to continue this war of attrition with Russia. And this does beg the Tuestion of why that is.

INSTALLATIONS

1ow, , know many people will argue that the civilian casualty rates are high because Russia continues to shell and bombard civilian infrastructure in civilian areas, which has nothing to do with military installations.

The reality of war, however, is that Russia is targeting these electricity installations because electricity gives power to the railway lines, which are used to transport heavy eTuipment to the frontlines. Also, it is electricity that gives power to weapons systems, satellite communication for having eyes in the skies, navigational systems for rockets and missiles and so much more. So, it comes as no surprise that Russia continues to pound the electrical grid system. ,t makes mil itary sense. This has plunged .yiv and other major cities into complete darkness, leaving ordinary citizens out in the cold, literally, with little to nothing to survive on.

0eanwhile, while the western media obsessively insists that Ukraine is winning this war but we see no signs of Russia suffering similar disasters. ,n fact, life in 0oscow and the entire country is functioning normally. There is no mass migration of Russian peo ple seeking refuge elsewhere on the (uropean continent, unlike the mil lion Ukrainians who have already fled their country. This is so unfair, that one country and its people suffer so much while the other party does not.

,t is now common cause that the 1ord Stream gas pipeline was sab otaged by someone other than the Russians. Then there was the blatant bombing of the .erch bridge con necting Russia to &rimea. Thirdly, there was the missile that killed two civilians in 3oland.

FORCES

At first, everyone wanted to blame Russia, but it turned out the Ukraini ans themselves accidentally launched that missile. After this, it was all the talk of war crimes that were being committed by the Russian forces and that 3resident 9ladimir 3utin must stand trial for such war crimes.

A joke, if ever there was since con secutive US presidents have violated international law in numerous unpro voked wars all over the world, which inevitably led to untold misery and the death of innocent people. Were these not war crimes" 1ot to mention how the US and other western allies are protecting ,srael, despite war crimes violations against the 3alestinian people. So, this is like the pot calling the kettle black.

There are many mass protests taking place on continental (urope in many countries against this war. *ermans are marching against this war, the )rench people were rioting and march ing against this war, mass protests and marches are happening in the &zech Republic against 1AT2 and its pro western government. Western media are covering very little of these protests. Why" (uropean leaders are coming out in support of Ukraine even though it s costing them and their citizens hugely. We are seeing rising energy prices which, in turn, mean higher prices for basic goods and services.

INFLATION

Why are they willing to run the risk of recession and high inflation for this war" Well, , think the answer lies in the irrefutable fact that the global world order, as we know it, is shifting and changing so dramatically that this order that favoured the collective West for well over years is coming to an abrupt end.

The hegemon US is crumbling and its long last weapon, the 'ollar, is los ing its shine globally. The days of the 3etrodollar is fast coming to an end, with more and more oil rich countries, including Saudi Arabia, stating that they are more than happy to accept any denomination and currency from countries to buy oil. Russia, after the Western imposed sanctions, simply stated that anyone wanting to buy Russian oil must do so in Ruble, which is the Russian currency, and many countries have acTuiesced.

HISTORY

This simple fact has been the reason for the US to go to war many times before in its history. ,t was because former ,raTi 3resident Saddam +us sein toyed with this very idea that he was defeated, supposedly because he harboured weapons of mass destruc tion. Similarly, it was after 0uam mar *addafi in /ibya intimated a similar idea that he too had to fall in the most brutal way possible. And so the list goes on. 1ow, it is 3utin and the %R,&S countries not intimating or suggesting, but actually implement ing, the idea as we speak.

The staggering death toll and de struction are now reaching World War

proportions and still, there is no end in sight. &ooler heads, it seems, will not prevail, unlike before at other times in our history.

Dr Oscar van Heerden