A Christian response to the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian war
In days of old, a war could actually be won — or lost.
In 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia with an enormous army, but was utterly defeated — not by the Russian army, but by a Typhus epidemic in his soldiers, starvation and the bitter cold of winter. Temperatures dropped to –37.5 °C [–35.5 °F] and perhaps a mere ~30,000 survived out of the original ~600,000 men.
(Minard’s chart of the advance [tan] & retreat [black] of the Grande Armée. Line size correlates to manpower.)
The current Russo-Ukrainian war is a humanitarian disaster. Millions of civilians have been displaced and many are refugees. Civilian losses include ~6,000 dead and nearly 10,000 injured with no end is in sight.
Russia has already escalated to ‘kamikaze’ drone strikes on both civilians in Kiev and power stations around the country. Much of the population will be without power and fresh water as they head into winter. The problem is that if Putin ever truly believes that he is losing, he may dramatically increase the stakes — perhaps with “battle-field” nukes. Now a conventional war can never truly be won if the loser has nuclear weapons because they can always choose bilateral annihilation.
The West is supplying Ukraine with vast quantities of advanced munitions in this proxy-war against “Mad Bad Vlad.” Without a peace accord, the depressing alternatives include a prolonged conventional war of attrition or a wider European War, or even World War III.
Perhaps ‘Joshua’ found the only rational strategy for war with nuclear weapons: “The only winning move is not to play." (Joshua was the imaginary strategic defense computer in the 1983 science-fiction movie, War Games.) The problem is that this strategy can only work if both combatants have a conscience.
How should Christians respond to this tragedy?
First and foremost: pray for peace.
Also, give humanitarian aid — not more weapons.
Politicians & other Movers:
Those with some clout should work towards finding a peaceful outcome.
Anti-Social Media:
Support any constructive dialogue which might lead to ending the killing. That said, please be careful when commenting on Twitter / Facebook, etc. Elon Musk and the Pope are less vulnerable to Trolls than the rest of us commoners, but look at what happened to them!
Elon Musk
After donating free Starlink internet to the Ukraine, one might expect that Musk had earned a right to Tweet some suggestions for a resolution to the conflict. He floated the ideas below:
(Musk is naive in thinking that Putin would comply with “the will of the people.”)
There were vociferous responses to this Tweet: Musk was even told ‘where to go’ by a Ukrainian diplomat!
The Pope
Obviously, the Pope cannot possibly support more war and killing. He must support human dignity and lead us to a peaceful resolution. His recent address was very balanced:
Pope Francis
“My appeal is addressed first and foremost to the President of the Russian Federation, imploring him to stop this spiral of violence and death, also for the sake of his own people. On the other hand, saddened at the immense suffering of the Ukrainian people as a result of the aggression they have suffered, I address an equally confident appeal to the President of Ukraine to be open to serious proposals for peace. I urge all the protagonists of international life and the political leaders of nations to do everything possible to bring an end to the war, without allowing themselves to be drawn into dangerous escalations, and to promote and support initiatives for dialogue. Please let the younger generations breathe the salutary air of peace, not the polluted air of war, which is madness!”
Where he fell foul of the Trolls was for one of his spontaneous comments:
“I think of that poor girl blown up by a bomb under her car seat in Moscow…The innocent pay for war, the innocent!”
The Holy Father was probably referring to the murder of pro-Putin journalist, Darya Dugina. Her father Aleksandr Dugin, is rumoured to be a close buddy of Putin (and he might have been the intended target of the car bomb.) Dugina might not have been the best example of an “innocent victim,” but it shows how entrenched people have become when the Holy Father can be slated for such a comment.
“...for whoever is not against you, is for you.” [Luke 9:50]
Everyone loses in nuclear war — either immediately in the conflagration or slowly during the subsequent nuclear winter. Napoleon’s massive loss of the Grande Armée will pale in comparison to the losses from nuclear Armageddon.
Encouraging peace is no betrayal.
Kevin Hay