I'm amazed at the way the war in Ukraine has taken over from Netflix as my 'must watch' television at the moment. I find myself sitting at home watching the BBC news channel watching Ukrainians pushing themselves on to trains or taking cover underground in a dingy basement to avoid Putin's bombs. I watch it until it starts to repeat itself, like all rolling news does, and then I get up and make some tea, or search around the house for a hot cross bun.
Like a lot of people around the world, like most people perhaps, I find Putin's invasion of Ukraine to be totally unacceptable in these modern times. We keep hearing people talking about how it's 2022 and this sort of thing shouldn't happen. They're right, it shouldn't be happening, haven't we learned anything from history? I find myself constantly thinking about the Ukrainian people and the fact that Putin's attack was totally unprovoked and now they're all finding their houses blown up, their livelihoods destroyed and their worlds turned upside down because of one man, Vladimir Putin, who wants to turn back the clock to the dark days of the USSR. Why? There's absolutely no point whatsoever.
I wish somebody would overthrow Putin. It can't be too difficult. The world has had enough of nutters and The Bastard is a particularly nasty breed. I feel sorry for the Russian people, some of whom are escaping across the Finnish border just in case Putin imposes martial law on the country in an effort to quell dissent against his unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Russians are not allowed to refer to the war in Ukraine as a war, they have to call it something else, like a 'special operation'. Let's be honest: it's a war.
I am glad that the international community is imposing widespread sanctions on Putin. His airlines cannot fly over EU, UK or US airspace, his awful so-called oligarchs are having their assets stripped, - Abramovich is selling Chelsea FC - Russian banks are feeling the pinch, companies like Apple are shutting up shop and credit card companies, like MasterCard and Visa are pulling out too and let's not forget Russian and Belarusian athletes being banned from competing in Beijing. This is all great news for us in the west and extremely bad news for Putin.
The media, of course, have been appalling. I'm finding the BBC's Clive Myrie very annoying and also a bit smug. He appears on a roof top somewhere in Kyiv and seems to be treating the whole thing like Springwatch. He even found time to promote Mastermind in a selfie on Twitter from the Ukrainian capital. I'm always amazed at the media covering wars. As Ukrainians get the hell out, television reporters stay put and while I suppose it's brave to stick around as the Russians advance, I wonder how they will escape the carnage. Do they have some kind of special arrangement with the aggressor? Are there locations 'out of bounds' for Russian bombs? I guess that's a question for John Simpson, a journalist I greatly admire.
I've decided to listen to coverage on the World Service. I normally listen to Radio Three in the mornings, preferring to relax with classical music, but since the war broke out in Ukraine I've switched channels. I like Ros Atkins' coverage too on channel 231, the BBC's world news television channel.
What I don't like about the media generally is their constant promotion of NATO getting involved in the conflict. NATO itself has been quite clear that to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine is tantamount to declaring war with Russia, something nobody wants, especially considering Putin's nuclear threats. But the media constantly asks the question even if they already know the answer. Zelensky knows the answer too: we can't get involved militarily.
I think the Ukrainian conflict is here to stay. It's not going away any time soon. I think the Russians will 'win' based purely on superior firepower, but they won't 'win' completely. The Ukrainians have already put up a brave fight and I'm sure they will continue to do so; in fact, going forward, I think they might turn the tables on Putin eventually and possibly force a withdrawal. But until then there will be a strong insurgency similar if not more intense than the French Resistance against the Nazis during the Second World War.
Ultimately, I think Putin will fail. Worldwide condemnation is already upon him. Perhaps he will 'win' the war, but at what cost to his own credibility at home and internationally? I think Putin is finished and will either be toppled by his own people or by those close to him, but I'm not going to hold my breath. It's all a big shame as Russia is a great country, it's people too, but Putin is forcing everybody to turn against it and them.
Lastly, when it comes to National Anthems, the Russians have one of the best; it's moving, it's rousing, it's (ahem) anthemic and everything a National Anthem should be, and I must say that I love it. What a shame, therefore, that such a great country should be vilified by the world for the actions of just one man. Stop Putin now.
