Foroyaa has been following the war of attrition in Ukraine and has been explaining the implications of not having a swift settlement of the conflict.
The first strategic objective of the Russian government was to take over a defeated Kyiv, overthrow the government, help install a new government to have an ally instead of a foe in Ukraine. This would have put an end to the war with little loss of life on its side.
The failure to immediately take over Kyiv left it with the only option of razing the city to the ground and not install a government that can act on its behalf.
Since it decided to withdraw, it left a breathing space to the Ukrainian government to continue functioning as a government.
This was the first opportunity to negotiate for a ceasefire and a political settlement that may not even come into effect immediately but could have stages in implementation. Instead of conducting investigations of any possible war crimes in secret and concentrate on keeping the war away from the city and the western part of Ukraine and leave the rest for ceasefire and settlement, the Ukrainian government decided to use the media to emphasise its victory in the city and its capacity to defend itself.
The claim of Russian troops in disarray coupled by the sinking of a naval vessel was followed on that same day by missiles of fury bombarding Kyiv and other cities, thus telling these people in these cities that that the withdrawal was not a sign of weakness but to save its troops and focus on a high-tech war. Since then, no part of Ukraine is safe.
The political move to show the world that the west are with Ukraine by giving it billions of dollars worth of arms is being interpreted in Moscow as Nato fighting a proxy war Russia. This has the tendency to consolidate narrow nationalism in Russia.
The continuous bombardment is also splitting Ukraine into two with some being identified as collaborators and cementing narrow nationalism in Ukraine. The end result is more destruction. The danger now is the use of weapons given by Nato to hit Russian soil. Such weapons do have trade marks and that is where the dangers of the escalation of the war lie. How far the Kremlin will go is already evident in the bombing of Kyiv while the UN Secretary General was paying a visit.
It is not unlikely that leaders from Europe and the US could be trapped in Kyiv during any of their visits as a result of this missile attack.
The war in Ukraine should be put in its proper perspective. Nato has nothing to gain by attacking Russia. Russia has nothing to gain by attacking Ukraine. The leaders of these countries are very clear about this.
The war is in Ukraine. Hence focus should be put on how to end the war in Ukraine. The war should not be enlarged. How it is to be contained should be addressed by brilliant minds. This is how civilization is affirmed.
This is the time when the destruction is most intense to work out the political agenda and the initiation of the diplomatic initiatives for its realisation.
How could the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence be affirmed and the sovereignty of her people ascertained while maintaining the principle of good neighbourliness with Russia is what the political agenda political agenda should define. And this is when the diplomatic initiative should be undertaken.
The war is now more than a month and can take many months and years and nothing is done. The president of Ukraine whose country is being destroyed must demand an end to the war and must take the political agenda that is defensible under international law and then put it before the international community as a negotiating position.
This is what should be stated in the media over and over again rather than stating that they are willing to fight to death and are winning the war.
Every death and destruction of property in a country is a loss. Hence the leader of Ukraine should know that those who give him solidarity will always echo what the government says even if they disagree just to give solidarity. It should be clear in its strategic objective and guide the world towards a solution.
