Russia

Putin’s War in Ukraine: How To Get Out of the Catch-22 Situation?

Viewpoint by Herbert Wulf

This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission.

BONN (IDN) — War is back in Europe. What a shock. At the beginning of the year we asked ourselves: Are we back in the Cold War? Now it’s a hot war. It’s not the first war in Europe: Northern Ireland, several Balkan wars, Georgia, Moldova. This time, it seems we are back in the old block confrontation. Western politicians and media call it the third historical turning point after the fall of the Berlin Wall and 9/11.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 23 March 2022

Photo: German soldiers participate in Green Griffin 21, a NATO training exercise, in Lehnin, Germany, on Oct. 4, 2021. Credit: US Army photo by Michele Wiencek via DVIDS. I

Will Ukraine Crisis be Followed by Perpetual Peace?

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Through the fog of war, it is difficult to see blue sky. So it is with Ukraine. Pessimists and poets who have long argued that we humans are unfit for purpose have more grist for their mill.

But let’s step back from the Ukrainian conflict.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 22 March 2022

Photo: Laser Weapon System (LaWS) on USS Ponce. Credit: US Navy

The Ultimate Winners in Ukraine are the World’s Arms Merchants

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The war in Ukraine may not be a head-on conflict between Russia and the United States but it is certainly a battle between the heavily-stocked military arsenals of two of the world’s major military and nuclear powers.

At a press briefing March 22, UN Secretary-General António Guterres was forcefully explicit when he said the war in Ukraine “is unwinnable”.

: Thalif Deen; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 22 March 2022

Photo: A woman holds her new born baby in a makeshift ward at a perinatal centre in Kyiv, Ukraine. © UNICEF/Oleksandr Ratushniak

Ukraine: UN Official Calls in Security Council for Full Investigation of Civilian Death Toll

By UN News

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The magnitude of civilian casualties and destruction of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine cannot be denied, the UN political chief told the Security Council on March 17, demanding a thorough investigation and accountability.

“Civilians are entitled to protection against the dangers arising from military operations,” insisted Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, as she briefed the Council on the latest events.

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 20 March 2022

Photo: Dr Mohamed Chtatou. Source: The African Exponent

Ukraine-Russia Crisis: Africa Concerned About Consequences for the Continent's Economy

By Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW | RABAT (IDN) — In an emailed interview with IDN’s Kester Kenn Klomegah, Dr Mohamed Chtatou, a senior professor of Middle Eastern politics at the International University of Rabat (IUR) and Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco, discusses Africa’s position on Russia-Ukraine crisis, its effects on Africa as well as the implications for future relations. Here are excerpts from the interview:

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; OPINION; 19 March 2022

Photo: A group of school children walk hand in hand after school in rural Nepal. © World Bank/Aisha Faquir

Ukraine War Threatens Development Aid to World’s Poorer Nations

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that the current devastating war in Ukraine has an equally destructive impact on the outside world: an assault on the world’s most vulnerable people and countries.

The worst affected are the world’s poor as food, fuel and fertilizer prices are skyrocketing while one of the world’s major bread baskets, Ukraine, is being bombed—a country which alone provided more than half of the World Food Programme’s (WFP) wheat supply.

: Thalif Deen; SUSTAINABILITY; Global Partnerships; 18 March 2022

Photo: UN General Assembly. Source: The Daily Star

Bangladesh’s Abstention from The UN Resolution on The Ukraine War Is Justified

Viewpoint by M Rafiqul Islam

The writer is Emeritus Professor of Law, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. This article was issued by The Daily Star of Bangladesh and is being republished with their permission.

SYDNEY (IDN) — The UN General Assembly emergency session adopted a resolution against Russia's aggression in Ukraine on 2 March 2022. It was adopted by 141 votes of total 193 members with 5 negative votes and 35 abstentions of which Bangladesh was one. Given the highly polarised geopolitical orientation of current international relations and UN operational narratives, this write-up argues that the pragmatic decision of Bangladesh was justified.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 17 March 2022

NATO Is Far from Obsolete

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — What does ex-president Donald Trump think about NATO? Twice during his campaigning, he rubbished it publicly, saying it was “obsolete”. Three years ago the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said NATO was “brain-dead.

Is it obsolete or brain-dead or both?

: Jonathan Power; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 16 March 2022

Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa met on the sidelines of the 10th BRICS summit in 2018.

Russia, China Build Ties in Africa as U.S. Falls Behind

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — In a new “scramble for Africa”, Russia and China are cutting deals, extending loans, making friends and allies across the continent at a time when jihadists in many countries have posed a growing threat to citizens and national security forces.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 15 March 2022

Photo: 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine—i

Never Too Late for Peace in Ukraine

Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa

NEW YORK (IDN) — Once again, destruction, bloodshed, migration of millions of people, shattered economies, and hardship for average people all over the world.

Russia attacked Ukraine though Russia’s President Vladimir Putin reiterated that Moscow had no plans to occupy Ukraine, and that the "special military operation" is directed at "demilitarization" and "denazification" in Ukraine.