The Ukrainian president wants to drive Russian troops out of Ukraine and bring all of Ukraine under his control. NATO, USA, EU and German government are arming him to do so: with weapons and many of our taxes.
Even if he manages to do that in a war that will last for years, it would mean:
Many, many more deaths and destruction in Ukraine.
And for the rest of the world and also for us:
Even if it doesn't come to world war and the use of nuclear weapons, we would then all be poor. Already our incomes are being radically reduced by price increases. We see this with every purchase and on the electricity, gas and heating oil bills. More and more people and businesses are already experiencing existential problems. There is already a shortage of many state social services, health care and teachers in schools and universities, to name just a few. This will continue to deteriorate radically with the course of the war supported by the West.
Climate protection has already been taken off the agenda. We will get more, faster and more radical environmental disasters.
And we will have to take in more and more of the politically wanted refugees (while at the same time the EU is raising the walls for the refugees from the global south).
But also in many countries of the global south, the living situation already deteriorated radically. All this will destabilize states, create more violent conflicts. The causes of flight are growing and will drive even more people to the better-off part of the world or to death outside the walls of Europe.
Do we really want to let this happen? Do we not want to interfere, enforce measures for peace, not forbid to send weapons and demand to end the war as soon as possible.
I had said: everyone is becoming poor. But that is not quite true: many wealthy people and the banks are earning splendidly from the war: they are shifting their capital to the arms companies, thus having a guaranteed outlet and even greater profits. And many war supporters do this to keep their well-paid positions. For them it would be a greater risk to oppose the course than to support it: They have good social security and don't have to die in this war. They would only be in for it, too, if it came to nuclear war. But many of them are risk takers, so they are up there.
What can we do?
Discuss with acquaintances, friends and family members the consequences of current policies.
Inform ourselves and others about the antecedents of the war, because not only Russia bears responsibility for it getting this far, but also President Zelinskyj, the US, the EU, the German government(s).
We can make the Manifesto for Peace even stronger. We give more ideas through the links below.
Then when the argument comes that such breaches of international law must be punished as Russia is committing, we should interject, and what about NATO's wars of aggression on Yugoslavia and Libya and Afghanistan, which were against international law, the U.S. war on Iraq and the invasion of Syria, where U.S. troops are still. Why didn't we impose sanctions against these countries, didn't we also supply the attacked peoples with weapons?
All of this establishes that there is no reason not to call for an end to the dying in Ukraine now through a ceasefire and a negotiated settlement. Reason is on our side.
Wolfgang Lieberknecht
(Let's fix the country! Let's fix the world! International Peace Factory Wanfried)
what cab we do?
our email: info@internationale-friedensfabrik-wanfried.org