The exhausting and demoralizing war in Ukraine is heading into its third year, and during this time, the geopolitical scene in Europe has shifted dramatically. European and western countries trading with Russia despite sanctions, the lack of manpower and morale in Ukraine, and the ever-growing oppression and militarism in Russia all have impacted the daily lives of Europeans in almost every way imaginable.
It is true to say that Europe grieves for peace. The war, despite all of the equipment, money, and supplies that have been sent to Ukraine, is at a state without any realistic possibility that Ukraine may win or regain its pre-2014 borders any time soon. Reasons for this are not financial, nor are they derived from the lack of equipment; they come from a complete and utter lack of manpower. Ever since the beginning of the war in 2022, Ukraine has had 6.8 citizens leave the country in search of a better life, accounting for 15.5% of the total population; with the number of Russian refugees likely being similar. These numbers are not taking into account the loss of armed personnel. These, among other significant challenges, are what caused the U.S. Defense secretary to call Ukrainian peace goals ‘unrealistic’.
In Erich Maria Remarque’s novel “All Quiet on the Western Front,’ he writes “We stood on the threshold of life. And so it would seem. We had as yet taken no root. The war swept us away. For the others, the older men, it is but an interruption. They are able to think beyond it. We, however, have been gripped by it and do not know what the end may be” (20). This quote is no less relevant today than it was a little less than a century ago. War wipes out generations and destroys families and futures, all in an effort to satisfy a political agenda; something so unknown and nebulous that if you were to ask a soldier on the front the reason they’re fighting for, they may simply respond that they don’t know.
Ukraine, similarly to Russia, is a country that is plagued by corruption and bourgeoise oligarchism. The war itself isn’t started by the people of the two countries, it is started by the corrupt bourgeois officials, and as a result, the people of both countries suffer. The spirit of patriotism has virtually died out, and there is no other fate that people call for other than complete peace between the two countries. With every passing day, countless people die unnecessary deaths in hope of a resolution that is unlikely to ever come. Despite the peace talks between Moscow and Washington, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky stated that he would not accept any peace agreements reached only by the two parties, prolonging the war.
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 marked a pivotal moment in European geopolitics. It showed how brutal and close to home war can truly be, emphasizing how European isolationism cannot directly prevent conflict from happening on the continent, a conflict that is not fought between a democracy and an authoritarian regime; rather two authoritarian regimes fighting against each other. Putin is by no means a democratic leader, and neither is Zelensky, who canceled the 2024 Ukrainian presidential elections due to martial law being in place.
As the world grieves for peace, we can only hope for a swift conclusion to the war, and so that thousands of innocent lives will not be lost to a cause that is not clear. In the 21st century, with all of the human rights and UN laws set in stone, we should not have to discuss matters related to war, but unfortunately, human greed greatly overshadows empathy.
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