Valerii Zaluzhnyi / 24 Channel
The war against Ukraine, which has become part of the destruction of the old world order, is not only a key but also a unique event in world politics after the end of the “Cold War.”
This war is unique in its causes and methods of conduct. But even more unique will be its consequences. Consequences that we will face precisely because of the mistakes of all opponents, not through the implementation of policies and strategies. Although, it seems, this fits into someone’s strategy.
The Fate of the War Lies in Soldiers’ Hands
The uniqueness of the consequences of mistakes lies not only in the obvious and predictable outcome. The uniqueness lies precisely in the stubborn unwillingness to understand the cause-and-effect relationships of this war to avoid the possibility of influencing this outcome.
Despite the wide range of leaders involved in this process, a unique marketing strategy survives. It continues to make money, which literally falls from the sky of Ukraine, despite the unobvious unwillingness to see future actions, killing peaceful residents every day.
And, of course, despite obvious threats, no one even considers discussing the modern version of industrialization – technologization. This is needed only by those who survive because of this but do not have such technological capabilities.
As a result – perhaps for the first time in human history, the fate of this war in the very center of Europe has been stripped from the hands of strategists and thinkers and handed to the soldier on the battlefield. This soldier, surprisingly, is no longer a hostage to anyone’s political ambitions but merely a participant in a massive semi-marketing process, where they do not measure strength and ability to win but try to make some deals that were relevant yesterday to avoid thinking about tomorrow. And this soldier is the driving force that can stop everything. And this has happened before.
The Old World Order Has Been Destroyed
It’s not enough to say today that Ukraine continues a war for survival against Russia. I would put it this way: this is our war for our own freedom with those who want to take it from us by force, and those who want to sell it profitably. In such a scenario, it may not only be Russia and not only against Ukraine, despite the fact that for now only Ukrainians are dying.
During this war, unlike other wars after 1945, global stability has been disrupted. Some still believe today that if robots do not bomb them, the world order is not being destroyed. There are many like that, even among intelligent people. Unfortunately.
This war, as the root cause of global instability, has already opened the door to war in the Middle East and may start other conflicts. But that’s not all. Because the uniqueness of this war is also in the fact that while some are fighting, governments and policies in those countries that just yesterday were striving for democracy with all their might, even at the cost of their own blood, and considered it a historical achievement, are already changing.
It’s even more interesting to look at the geography of these countries. It confirms that the rules by which this democracy was built and opened doors to everyone according to the “Cold War” templates no longer work, regardless of the hemisphere in which this occurs. No aircraft carrier, as a symbol of that war and that era, will save us anymore.
The process of the old world order’s destruction is only gaining momentum and continues to impact all economic and security processes in the world without exception.
With the absolute reluctance to even analyze this process, the results become increasingly obvious — both due to the loss of “Cold War” power and the fuel prices in the country that was a symbol of democracy and fuel. Some even believed that these concepts were interconnected and eternal.
But missiles and drones launched by Russian military, mostly assembled from parts outside of Russia, which fall unimpeded on NATO territories, despite yesterday’s reluctance to see it, already today prompt other leaders to seek those guilty among the fighters and to search for the cheapest fuel. Because of “Cold War” democracy, one democracy refused another its desire to influence this price.
Hearing all this, generals who served in the mid-1980s would probably, to put it mildly, not have believed it. By the way, they also didn’t believe in Ukraine’s ability to fight for its own life. Nor did they believe that we could win.
Veterans are deprived of the right to influence the future
Faith in victory in Ukraine itself officially changed. Initially, there was a just peace, then — a just and lasting one, finally — a dignified one. But this does not solve our problem. The problem of war and peace. Because if peace is not quite to the taste of veterans like us due to the sense of justice and the opportunity to influence peaceful life, unfortunately, the war accepts us just as we have become accustomed. And we have become accustomed to giving the most precious thing we have — our lives for others.
The problem is that over time, people who understood that someone gave their life for them quickly forget about it. Yes, they still greet us, sometimes give way in the bus, but they believe that we no longer have the right to build a peaceful life and influence it to avoid the next war. In their opinion, our rights remain where the inertia of a bullet intended for us fades away.
This is precisely why there has been no peace in Ukraine for 12 years, despite all this happening in the center of Europe. Because those who gave their lives for this and were witnesses to it are already part of history. And those whose job it is to build peace, of course, do not ask for advice from those who know how much such peace really costs.
Old rules and international law no longer work. The evidence of this is fresh graves with flags and veterans searching for truth and justice. Most find it, but among the same flags of the state they defended and to which they became unnecessary. Simply because the inertia of a bullet did not find them where it was supposed to.
The End of the Old World Order
Meanwhile, the war continues. Unique. Because this is the first war of this century that began as a war for freedom and transformed into a war for the right to live. A survival war at this stage.
After World War II, of course, there were multiple wars. These wars brought terrible consequences, but their goals were oil, resources, logistics, influence. Yet the very act of infringing on the freedom a country fought for hundreds of years truly astonished. This was what our grandfathers fought and died for, to ensure that no one would ever take away their freedom.
In my opinion, the most surprised was the UN itself – as an institution meant to protect freedom. An organization that not only still protects the rights of an aggressor country, which kills daily but also, as it turned out, is unable to protect this very freedom and independence.
Because the UN institute was part and complement of the same old world order, where the protection of freedom was declared, but between the lines of these declarations, an almost legal influence on this freedom was foreseen. Not always by force. This influence was limited to a region of influence allowed to someone. In the end, we, Ukrainians, are forced to break such rules.
Ukraine, against all odds, especially international law and the wishes of contemporary politicians, began to forcibly change the rules, because it had no other way out. Because the desire to have our freedom and choose our future was worth more than our lives. Unfortunately, the same inertia of the bullet, familiar to us, turned out to be merciless. More and more flags are appearing in our cemeteries…
Did politicians really not see that after the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the entire system of international law, built after World War II, ceased to function? All these UN statutes, the Helsinki Agreements, the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, the Budapest Memorandum, and the related Non-Proliferation Treaty stopped acting as safeguards against possible war escalation. A third world war.
Confrontation of Authoritarianism and Degrading Democracies
Perhaps all this is a consequence of the tectonic shifts in societies, elites, and strategies after the end of the “Cold War” in 1991. History will confirm this. One thing is clear – after the last soldiers of the great war went down in history, to their comrades and flags, politicians, not understanding the value of life, did their job. Because it was precisely the lack of reaction and the absence of analysis and development of new strategies in new conditions and global circumstances that led to the aggressor infringing on our freedom, and no one prevented it.
Later, through sincere concern, this vacuum of will and strength brought genocide to the center of Europe, where survival became the norm for some, and sincere sympathy, sometimes with reproach, for others.
Subsequently, when Ukraine single-handedly fought the second army in the world, the same inability of the world order to stop the war in the center of Europe led to the inevitable – the confrontation of global authoritarianism against already degrading Western democracies. Initially through support for the war in Ukraine, and later by establishing their own rules in other regions. You see these rules today at the gas station prices, which we may soon not have at all, as they are being destroyed by Russia – with missiles and “Shaheds” containing parts manufactured beyond its borders.
However, as I mentioned earlier, all this is gaining momentum without asking our opinion on the cost of life. Because if the global order no longer works, then logically, international law, which should be the foundation (even for negotiation processes), is absent. Then we clearly understand that in the absence of such law, any agreements are merely a prelude to the next war, the start of which is just a matter of time.
There can be no business logic in resolving war
We do not trade our freedom. And no diplomatic or business abilities matter here. Because the end of one war sets the conditions for the start of the next. And this period of time will depend on those spared by the inertia of the bullet. Because they will always remind us of the price this peace costs.
Today, we witness those who should remember the value of life and protect it continue to work calmly amidst the globally created chaos, primarily caused by the war in Ukraine. By using it as a war of democracy versus totalitarianism.
Then it must be acknowledged that Ukraine’s victory will be a victory for democracy. But this is difficult for some because it requires not only helping to survive but also fighting. And we must start by not being afraid to call the enemy an enemy, not a business partner.
In this war, the arsenal of democracy is almost exhausted. Perhaps for the first time in history, a large country has lost its tools of influence over those who not only kill but also destroy the world order. A deal with the devil is simply impossible. Because he only understands strength. And that strength is us. Those who know what the dearest costs. It’s not even life. It’s freedom, which is worth fighting for and winning.
The uniqueness of this war is also that it has pushed the wheel of progress, which strengthens those who fight and weakens those who sympathize. And then we will probably be the last veterans who had feelings. The feeling of duty, the feeling of love, and ultimately – justice.
It’s hard to imagine a future veteran with a chipped brain and a steel heart. It would be a machine. And if it’s a machine, then we’ve definitely lost. We have lost to ourselves the memory of those who are already under the flags for us.
We must not be the last, though being a war veteran is bad too. But to lose the war to ourselves is also to lose civilization. Trading it, for instance, for rare earth materials for killer robots. Once and for all.
Photo: Facebook Valeriy Zaluzhny
