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The Ukrainian war unleashed by Russia has by now entered its third week. Hectic diplomatic efforts are on to end the senseless conflict leading to a rising number of civilian casualties. Also, according to the UN, some two million people have already fled Ukraine. The neighbouring East European countries like Poland are feeling the pressure of the refugees whom they, as members of the European Union (EU), have to welcome with open arms. The irony is anti-refugee stance has been the cornerstone of some of these East European countries' recent politics. Perhaps, time has changed or even, maybe, that the characteristics of the refugees have changed. Whatever the case may be, refugees are after all refugees and it is undoubtedly an exemplary show of humanity and generosity on the rest of Europe's part to welcome the Ukrainians fleeing a war in their land that they did not choose.
The Western media is awash with stories and images of the victims of Russian shelling and bombings on unarmed civilians. Wars and their devastating impact on unsuspecting civilians including women and children are, however, nothing new to these viewers who are now watching the plight of innocent war victims at their very doorstep. So long the images of bombed out buildings and the scattered body parts of their inmates-of innocent men, women and children-on their television screens appeared with boring repetitions from some remote places like Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Gaza and Yemen!
Now the victims are people that belong to the same European stock. Except the nearly four years long Bosnian war between 1992 and 1995, which was but a civil war, there has been no such war between nations in the European heartland since the end of the second world wars. From that point of view, the war in Ukraine has been a rude awakening to the West at large. The most dangerous aspect of this ongoing Ukraine war, what the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, termed 'special operation', is getting lengthier than expected. For the Russians with their far superior military might than that of the Ukrainians hoped to finish their campaign in days. Now, third week into the war, no one really knows how and when it is going to end. The West has meanwhile taken a raft of measures to cut off Russia from the financial world. Ban has been imposed on export of Russian oil to US, while Europe has decided to cut dependence on Russian gas in phases.
The fallouts from such Western actions are affecting not just their target, Russia, but the entire world. Fuel oil price seems to be spiralling out of control with its knock-on inflationary pressure on all kinds of commodities in the world market. Developing countries like Bangladesh that depends on imported fuel and gas have unwillingly been caught in the crossfire. So, it is important that serious efforts are taken to end the war. The war in Europe should end not only to reduce civilian casualties and mindless acts of destructions on buildings and other physical infrastructures. There are still other issues of grave concern. As the Ukrainian resistance is getting stronger with the material and moral support from the West, failing to achieve a quick victory, the Russian forces may not retreat. They would rather choose to dig in and prepare themselves for a war of attrition. At the same, the conflict may take a nastier turn. The latest Russian bombings and shelling are learnt to have not spared even a children's hospital and a maternity ward in the besieged port city of Mariupol. The attack happened despite a 12-hour ceasefire was in place as agreed earlier by Russia to allow civilians to escape six of the war-torn regions of Ukraine.
A few days back, Russian shelling of a nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, the Europe's largest, situated in the city of Enerhodarin Southeastern Ukraine caused a widespread uproar across the world. Risks of similar incidents with potential nuclear fallout entailing dire consequences for the entire humanity, deliberate or not, will remain as long as the war continues. No less worrisome is the recent concern the US expressed over the Russian claim that Ukraine has US-supplied biological and chemical weapons facilities. It is being feared in the West that it is a ruse to create a pretext for using chemical or biological weapons by Russia itself in the future. The very thought of it sends chills down one's spine. That would be like unbottling the other genie, no less destructive than the nuclear one. For both kill with equal severity.
But the difference is that the nuclear one in addition flattens and burns down all infrastructures within its impact zone. Meanwhile, Britain is said to have been confirmed by Russian ministry of defence that the latter has used highly destructive thermobaric rockets, or the so-called, vacuum bombs,' in Ukraine. Such weapons, however, have not been used for the first time as the US used it during the Vietnam and Afghan wars. Even so, the use of this kind of weapon is highly controversial and points to an escalation of the war. So, the war should end before it goes out of control. The more the Western sanctions tighten around Putin's neck, the more he will become desperate. It would be foolhardy to assume that he will take it all lying down. Here a nuclear power, the second biggest after the US, is involved. Therefore, more serious efforts should be made to stop the war. Meanwhile, let us keep our fingers crossed, hoping for the best.