War in Ukraine now threatens to engulf Europe

The war in Ukraine is now entering its ninth month and is stalemated. On the one hand, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is driving Finland and Sweden into the arms of the NATO bloc and with it, the probability of US and NATO troops and missiles closer to Russia’s doorstep.  

At the same time, Western-based news channels continuously blare stories of Ukraine war victories and retaking of large chunks of land in the Donbas Region. Ukraine’s President however has spoken of diplomacy as the means to bring the conflict to an end. He is obviously concerned for Ukrainian lives lost and seeking an end to the material damage his country is undergoing.   

The war has cost Ukraine large swathes of territory in the Donbas region, devastated towns, destroyed infrastructure, created over four million refugees and 15,246 civilian casualties-6,114 killed and 9,132 injured -according to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).   

Though the present crisis/war is being fought between Russia and Ukraine, it has now moved way beyond the borders of those two states. The US and NATO continue pouring weapons and billions of dollars to prop up Ukraine’s military and economy.   

Whether they admit it or not, they are directly participating in the war, though as yet, not with boots on the ground. It is only a matter of time, either by accident or design, one or the other of these indirect combatants will soon be caught up in direct military actions. To date, Ukraine has received aid -weaponry and a $40 billion cheque from the US. Additionally, it has also received $16.4 billion as well as war material to boost its military campaign from countries of the EU.   

All of these have boosted Ukraine’s combat power, but regaining territories from the Russians is going to be extremely difficult, despite some small gains Ukraine has made in different sectors of the war zone. The greater danger, however, is how and when these modern weapons of destruction supplied to Ukraine will be misused, and to what extent.  

Foreign experts who must necessarily train Ukrainians in the use of these weapons will be directly involved in military actions.   

Already, military actions have spread beyond the Ukraine theatre of the war. On September 26, attacks carried out by ‘unknown attackers’ on Russia’s Nordstream gas pipelines off the coast of Norway, caused extensive damage. A series of explosions led to underwater gas leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and Nordstream 2 natural gas pipelines. 

Reuters reported on Tuesday, November 1 that Russia has said it was considering what “further steps” to take in connection with its allegation that Britain was responsible for the attack. Russia’s Defence Ministry on Saturday accused British Navy personnel of having blown up the Nordstream pipelines in September. The Ministry referred to it as attacks which have threatened to put the multi-billion dollar gas link permanently out of use.  

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia had evidence of Britain’s involvement and called it a terrorist act against vital energy infrastructure. He warned of retaliatory measures.   A few days ago another attack was made on the Russian Black Sea Fleet off the Crimean port city of Sevastopol. Military experts believe it to be a remote-controlled sea drone attack on the Russian naval fleet.    Russia has charged the attack was carried out by seven small boats (sea drones) accompanied by air drones. It has accused Ukraine of carrying out the mission with British assistance. According to the New York Times, the attack comes shortly after the US, and its NATO allies said they were supplying Ukraine with remote-controlled boats. The Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson described the actions were carried out under the guidance of British specialists and summoned the British Ambassador. It will not be surprising therefore if, in the near future, we hear NATO member states accusing Russia of ‘terrorist’ attacks on their physical assets in or outside the European theatre of war.  Invasion of one country by another on the grounds of its security, cannot be condoned and needs are condemned. But inflaming the conflict, and actively promoting its expansion without consideration for its human and material cost is an even greater criminal act.It is time the West and the US -champions of human rights- put aside the one-up gamesmanship, bring the warring factions to the table and stop the unnecessary destruction of property and ongoing loss of human life.