The Battle of Mariupol, almost 2 years ago. Death and destruction, which the world ignored. |
"...Mariupol is a tempting target for the leaderships of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk ‘people’s republics’. . . .seizing Mariupol would be an important step to make a frozen separatist-occupied Donbas economically viable. Mariupol is the port through which much of the steel and other industrial products of the Donbas are exported. Mariupol is also key if the Russians desire a land bridge to Crimea. While taking the land bridge would be doable for the Russian army, holding it would prove costly. It would mean occupying a strip of territory 300 kilometers long, territory that has not shown great sympathy for the separatists or the idea of ‘Novorossiya.’ The Russian army would have to garrison the territory to fend off almost certain partisan attacks." Brookings Institute, March 2015
Loyal to Ukraine, Mariupol continues to protest Russian aggression. The war's taken its toll.. |
I care. I care deeply. I served with the Peace Corps in far-eastern Ukraine, 2009-2011, in the lovely town of Starobilsk in eastern Lugansk oblast. My friends are in harm's way.
Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov, is a main access route to the strategic Black Sea. My host mom Luba and friends took me on a fantastic vacation in Berdyansk, near Mariupol. It's a busy seaport area, and it's pretty. That area is now encircled by heavily armed Russian troops that can strike anywhere, anytime. Putin wants access to the Black Sea.
What about the Minsk agreement? I don't see it accomplishing anything. It's certainly been a sham since the brutal destruction of Debaltseve, the strategic link between Lugansk and Donetsk. The western nations talk a lot, but actions speak louder than words, and no action makes any words meaningless.
Unless there is a will and a way to stop Putin's aggression, there is no end in sight. He will use Ukraine as a target for his revanchinist goals, and who knows, other eastern European countries as well. It's a sad commentary on international uselessness and helplessness in the face of illegal aggression that breaks accepted international treaties and the sanctity of international borders.
Battle of Mariupol. War photos from Yahoo images, and they are disturbing. |
How does this illegal aggression continue? Why isn't Putin arrested and tried before a Hague tribunal? If Putin was stopped, the war would stop. The destruction, the mass graves, the laying waste to human lives and human habitats, is all Putin's responsibility. Supplying the BUK that took down MH-17 is his responsibility. It's his war.
The people of Mariupol remain loyal to Ukraine, and they let that be known time and again. It's hard to think that a crooked referendum could install a Russian- backed regime there, a regime that knows only how to be at war, as demonstrated in the Donbas.
The people of Mariupol remain loyal to Ukraine, and they let that be known time and again. It's hard to think that a crooked referendum could install a Russian- backed regime there, a regime that knows only how to be at war, as demonstrated in the Donbas.
Mariupol does not want and will never welcome the Russian-supported brutal anarchy, the break down of civil society, that now dominate southern Lugansk and Donetsk oblasts.
How can we allow such violence to continue, the killing fields of eastern Ukraine? How can we succumb to Putin's manipulation, lies and stealth? I hope the US and EU and NATO nations will not allow or sanction further aggression into other parts of Ukraine, and that includes Starobilsk, the village where I lived for two years. My friends there are living under the same threats as the brave citizens of Mariupol.
"The stress is unbearable at times," my friend Olga writes, echoing Marat's sadness. "We do all we can to live normally, one day at a time. We are proud Ukrainians, and we are strong. But our hearts are broken; we weep in fear and in silence. Does anyone hear our cries?"
It's the little guys vs. the big guys, an underdog against a superpower, David vs. Goliath. It took a while to get here, to descend to this level of war and destruction. Donbas destroyed. Crimea occupied. Rule of Law toppled. This CNN graph tells the story. It's a few years old, but not much has changed. It makes me weep.
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