I have real compassion for all the civilians caught up in the Ukraine war and what they are going through. I have lived and worked in several warzones around the world, including in Chechnya and Georgia, which both suffered directly from previous Russian invasions.
However, I find the idea that the Ukraine “can still win this war,” apparently espoused by Myroslav Kryven, assistant professor of computer science at Amherst College (“Ukrainians reflect on war four years on,” Gazette, March 2) not only ludicrous but also deeply troubling.
Mr. Kryven points out that Russia has failed to make much progress in its war effort since the initial onslaught four years ago. But he neglects to mention that Ukraine has been equally unable to make much, if any, progress during the same period. The battle lines have barely changed since November 2022, with Russia slowly advancing slightly more than Ukraine.
In any case, Ukraine cannot “win” a war with a nuclear super-power nearly 30 times its size in terms of geography and roughly four times its size in population. It has managed to keep Russia at bay with a lot of help from the U.S. and other European countries. But if that level of help were to substantially increase, so would the response from Russia, which is already getting active help from Belarus and North Korea. Escalation from one side simply leads to escalation from the other. And in this case, escalation means the possible use of nuclear weapons and all that implies for the future of the entire planet.
The only way out of this mess and the massive suffering it is causing the people of Ukraine is to negotiate a peace agreement. To continue fighting in the misplaced belief that Ukraine is going to “win” merely prolongs the suffering of the people in Ukraine and increases the risk of a global nuclear war between NATO and Russia.
Timmon Wallis
Northampton