Let no man be deceived into believing that Russia under Putin ever stopped thinking of bringing back the USSR. That, for me, is a significant reason for wanting to subdue Ukraine by overthrowing the government and installing a stooge. If accomplished, it would send a powerful signal to other lesser States.
Secondly, Russia is a strong canvasser of Eurasian trades and prefers it over Europe-based affiliations. That is why China and its blocks are aligning with it. Take or leave it; the cold war is resurging, and the rearrangement of power-sharing among the world’s powerful nations has begun. When the ashes of war calm, there will be two distinct blocs if Russia wins the battle in Ukraine: the Asia/Russia bloc versus Germany/UK/USA/France, etc. If Europe wins, Russia will become a pariah state with a devastated economy, which might turn the people against Putin, and the end of his era may be at sight. That is why Putin cannot stop until it sees the end of this present governance system in Ukraine.
The Russia-Ukraine war is a few days old, but more than a thousand deaths were recorded on both sides. Those that have died are people’s cousins, parents, sons, daughters, uncles, etcetera. We didn’t need to lose them to war if the world stood up for the truth and proactively imbibed mediation early enough. When I saw the long convoy of cars in gridlock trying to escape from the affected areas taking nothing with them, I said to myself, and this could be any part of Nigeria currently agitating for secession. To bring the message home, if a family of eight had a small car that could take a maximum of four persons and few belongings, that family would likely take the weak and leave behind the strong. Let us assume they squeezed in six persons, even before the war commenced, that family was already in tatters and may never see each other again.
Many may not die from the direct impact of guns or bombings but will die from cold because of gas shortage. Many shall die of hunger. Many shall be so depressed and forever never remain the same. What a world?
As we go to church today, let us remember Russia and Ukraine, the North and South East of Nigeria in prayers. The world is one body whose whitlow’s finger may not make all of us have a good night’s rest.
Grace and peace!!!
