Four Years for What?

It has been four years since Putin sent the Russian army to invade Ukraine. The world paused and implemented sanctions, forcing up the price of gas, fertilizer and oil. Supply chains have struggled and added to inflationary pressures, the West has funded the Ukrainian resistance in the belief that this is a line which we cannot allow a despot to cross for fear of escalation, which threatens NATO nations and ultimately our own freedom.

Thousands have lost their lives, the Russian population which is typically around 146m has seen many of its younger population reluctantly conscripted into the fight. Ukraine with a population of something like 37m is far smaller but evidently very determined under the leadership of Volodymyr Zelensky since 2019. Most would be quick to point to his good leadership, Trump was quick to be Trump (see the video for yourself – linked at the bottom).

The war is dominated by the use of drones, which seems straight out of a sci-fi film. Money normally generated by Russia for energy has fallen by around 27% since the invasion, this revenue props up the Russian armed forces. Russian crude oil finds its way to Turkey, China and India often via tankers that aren’t insured (according to Reuters).

As of now, Russia occupies about 20% of Ukraine and continues to bombard her cities. There are approaching 3.7million internally displaced Ukrainians with nearly 7million having left the country, and over 53,000 casualties. It is estimated that 12.7million need humanitarian help.

Sadly there does not seem to be any obvious end to the war, despite over 1.3m Russian casualties and perhaps as many as 325,000 killed. The largest number of deaths in European war since WW2. The Russian economy is barely moving with GDP of 0.6%, despite statements to the contrary, the Russian invasion isn’t going well, and certainly wasn’t the quick military exercise that Putin expected. Ukraine has lost around 140,000.

We cannot control despots but we can support a nation’s independence and stand against a despot. Indeed this has been in part reflected in our own energy prices. However, the price of freedom is invariably expensive and to date, none of us have paid with anything more than a higher utility bill, not our lives. What is disturbing is the sycophantic praise heaped on Putin by a particular politician in turquoise. A man who doesn’t seem to value or appreciate freedom, but admires a bully.

One of my favourite bands (U2) recently launched a new short album, “Days of Ash” as ever poignant and political (in the sense of standing up against injustice). Here is the track “Yours Eternally” from the EP with Ed Sheeran and Taras Topolia. Yes we all use the platforms we have.

References

Global Conflict Tracker: https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/conflict-ukraine

Drones dominate the war: https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/drones-dominate-ukraine-battlefield-four-years-into-fighting-2026-02-24/

Centre for Strategic and International Studies – data: https://www.csis.org/analysis/russias-grinding-war-ukraine

U2: Days of Ash: https://www.u2.com/news/title/u2–days-of-ash-new-ep-out-now

The suits in the White House “press conference” where you can witness the ineptitude of the current US administration https://youtu.be/z2s2pogllis?si=WRRzwAuo0GMt5M1W