It is time for peace: to help Ukraine we need to give Putin a clear exit

I wrote the blog in April.

Since then Russia changed it's tactics. They no more aim for a quick victory. They are now concentrating on blocking the black sea ports and gobbling cities of the dispute areas one by one. Bomb to rubbles and when cities are empty of citizens and totally levelled to the ground, occupy.

It might be too late to profit of the original win of Ukraine. Still, helping Ukraine now is pushing for a resolution of hostilities, stop the destruction, regroup, and then wait for the economic sanctions to bite.

There is no clear other way to win the war.

Yesterday, world leaders at the G7 summit strongly condemned Russia’s attack on a shopping centre that Ukraine says has killed at least 20 civilians. 

But amid the statements of western unity, there lies a nagging fear: will it endure? As the conflict enters a phase of attrition with both sides digging in, the conflict shows no signs of coming to a conclusion this year. And with the global food and cost of living crises hitting voters, will the world’s richest democracies stay the course as they are promising to do? https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2022/jun/29/ukraine-counting-the-cost-of-a-long-war-podcast

April 29 2022

The businessman says ‘90% of Russians’ are against Ukraine invasion and calls on the west to give Putin a clear exit

Further arming Ukraine will only destroy it. The west must act to end this war now

These two articles seem out of tune with the saber rattling we hear. Ukranian courage, the David against Goliath good feeling it provokes, and the horror of war crimes should not hide the reality. We need to support Ukraine by pushing for an end to the war.

The UN failed, Guterres failed to prevent the war. He did not even try. Guterres inaction undermined the role of the UN. 

True resolutions are vetoed, still the Secretary General actions have weight if he uses them effectively. Franz Baumann, a UN assistant secretary general until 2015, told the Guardian that before the war started, the secretary general should have gone to Moscow to demand Putin say if he was sincere when he said the troop movements on Russia’s border of Ukraine did not represent a threat to the integrity of Ukraine, and “if he did not get a satisfactory answer he should have gone to Beijing to the Winter Olympic ceremonies to ask the same question of Russia and China when they met.

Arming Ukraine should be a tactic aimed at improving its chances in negotiating a favorable deal in future talks for a peaceful settlement. 

Realistically Ukraine cannot win the war. War and destruction are on its territories, the civilians killed are Ukrainians, the refugees are Ukrainian, the homes destroyed are Ukranian, the infrastructure is Ukranian. Russians are living safe and normal lives. The Russian economy is not dramatically affected, at least, not in the short term. And most importantly Putin does not care about losing soldiers or equipment or popular support. 

The world is known for lacking the ability to empathy for long. The Europeans will soon start to be fed up with sacrificing for Ukraine, government will change, the same will happen in the US. 

Ukraine bravery and the support of the West resulted in a victory. Kiev did not fall, Putin was not able to sweep into the city, remove Zelinsky and install a puppet government. 

It is time for Western leaders to stop using Ukraine as a tool in their game of nations and push for negotiations and a settlement when it is still time to save Ukraine.