THE war in Ukraine is 68 days old today. In whose interest would it be that the conflict has lasted this long, and continues to do so? For the invader Russia, there is a very easy way to end the war: Ukraine has to promise not to be a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato). Why? Because Ukraine being a Nato member means bringing the security alliance to the border of Russia.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin had made it very clear that this was the very reason for his invasion of Ukraine. But there is a problem. Even if Ukraine wanted to reject Nato membership — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held such a view once — the 27-member security alliance, Britain and the United States won't allow him to do this.
For Nato, expansion into the east is an existential goal. No expansion means a collapse of the organisation.
Nato is a creature of the Soviet Union and its Cold War with the West. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Nato should have ceased to exist.
Instead, it has since expanded to the east, despite promises to Russia to the contrary by many Western leaders, including Nato secretary-general Manfred Woerner, who, on July 1, 1991, was reported by the media as having said he and the security alliance's council were against expansion. Why expand then?
Well, war is a very profitable business for weapons manufacturers and the politicians tied to them. This is true in Europe and the United States, where most of the major weapons makers are located. And as a familiar added bonus for these warmongers, the lives lost and spilled blood are that of Russians and Ukrainians, not those of their own people.
For Britain and the US, it is ditto and more. Let's take more. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is doing miserably at home. Many in the country, including some of his Conservative party members of parliament are calling on him to quit.
A distraction is welcome and Putin has given him one. Now, some in his cabinet are saying it is not a good time to ask Johnson to quit because the Ukrainians need him. How about Britons? What's worse, Johnson has a warmongering Foreign Secretary Liz Truss to cheer him on. "We will keep going further and faster to push Russia out of the whole of Ukraine," she was quoted as saying on April 27 by The Guardian. Her "we" is an interesting twist. Is it the whole of Britain or is it just Johnson, Truss and his scandal-ridden Conservative party? The former is highly unlikely.
The economy is not growing and the people are facing a cost-of-living crisis, despite the promise of Brexit. Life is getting harder by the day. A good prime minister would not be inflaming a war elsewhere, but staying home to address the issues his electorate wants addressed.
US President Joe Biden is in a similar boat. He is peddling the Ukrainian war to boost his fast fading political chances back home. What with the Republicans getting ready to make former president Donald Trump president again.
Biden doesn't have the Ukrainians' interest at heart. If he, Johnson or Nato had the people of Ukraine at heart, they would never allow the war to have gone on this long, especially when there is an easy solution: ending Nato expansion eastwards.