It was with dismay and disbelief that I read, once again, an article written by some or other Russian diplomat singing the praises of Russian President Vladimir Putin and heaping blame for the war in Ukraine on the Ukrainians.
It is shameful that the nonsensical Russian spin is allowed on to the pages of a once-unbiased and balanced newspaper.
The Russians are big on speaking the truth, yet their words are punctuated with lies, innuendo and hypocrisy.
History shows that Ukraine was part of the old USSR, with several other now independent European states. When the old Soviet Union broke up, the USSR ceased to exist and all that was left was Russia.
Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine is an ill-fated and hopeless attempt to redefine the Russian/Ukraine border by snatching parts of Ukraine, starting with Crimea and now Donetsk and other areas to the East, under the guise of liberating them from Nazi occupation.
Ukraine has been fighting a low intensity war in its own backyard against the Russians for many years, leaving Russia with a bloody nose. This has led to Putin’s invasion, which is also going nowhere.
South Africa sitting on the fence and insisting on a “negotiated“settlement is the joke of the century as nothing less than a military pullout of Russian troops from Ukraine will stop the war, a move Russia will never entertain.
There can never be a settlement while a single Russian soldier sits on Ukrainian land.
The elephant in the room is Vladimir Putin. His time is up and his rule is coming to an end. Locking up opposition voices will never work. The Russian people deserve better.
* Colin Bosman, Newlands.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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