Dear Malcolm



Dear Malcolm,
It is by no means certain that I will be going to Ukraine at all. Yes, we are having a fundraiser on 16th, but maybe Martin will not need my driving skills. Perhaps he has already chosen someone else. I do not know. Whatever happens, the van will just be going a short distance into Ukraine, in order to deliver humanitarian supplies (mostly medical things, clothing, soap and so on). Yes, lots of countries are supplying weapons to Ukraine, but that is nothing to do with us. Martin has made this trip several times, so I hope that he will know what he is doing.
Much though I love my dear wife, I cannot agree with her and I think that she (and the tightly-controlled Russian media) are wrong. Yes, of course it is true that each side is using the media and that Zelensky is (or was) a professional actor, but the reality is that the Russian forces have invaded Ukraine. It wasn't the other way round or even fifty-fifty. The Russian invasion has done terrible damage to the Ukrainian economy (the World Bank reckons that it has destroyed about 45% of Ukraine's GDP), not to mention the appalling war crimes, the destruction of thousands of homes, children made orphans and families torn apart. Who is responsible for this carnage in Ukraine? Zelensky? Joe Biden? No, I do not think that either of them is in command of the Russian army. 
You say that this is "meaningless slaughter". I do not think that it is "meaningless" when a country is attacked and then it defends itself. The Ukrainians know what they are fighting for: their homes, their families, their country. 
Just before the Second World War, many politicians followed a police of "appeasement". This meant giving Hitler what he wanted, so that there would not be a war. If the Nazis wanted to march into Austria or into the Rhineland, then that was okay. If Hitler wanted a bit of Czechoslovakia, the Sudetenland, then I suppose we must let him have it. But this policy of "appeasement" did not lead to peace. It led to war, as Hitler became more and more certain that France and Britain were weak and divided.
Why did the forces of the USSR leave Afghanistan? Why did the USSR collapse? Because their losses in Afghanistan were so terrible. The same is happening in Ukraine. Already the Russian losses might be as high as 10 or even 15,000 soldiers. Russian morale is crumbling and the Russian troops are surrendering or refusing to obey their officers. Every indication shows that Ukrainian morale is high, that they will never give in or surrender. When the Luftwaffe started to bomb London in the Second World War, did Britain surrender? Or ask for a ceasefire? No, it made Britian even more determined to fight to the end, whatever the cost.
Why did the Americans lose the Vietnam War? Did the North Vietnamese have more soldiers, more tanks and more planes? No. They lost because the American soldiers had no desire to fight, so they took drugs, murdered Vietnamese civilians and "fragged" their officers. Many young Americans tried to dodge the draft, but many young Ukrainians have left the US and other countries around the world in order to return to Ukraine and to fight.  
Perhaps a ceasefire may be acceptable to Putin if the Ukrainians were to give up all claims to the Crimea and the Donbass. Perhaps a ceasefire would have been acceptable to Hitler if Britian had given up Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Wight. But my guess is that the Ukrainians will go on fighting until every Russian soldier has either surrendered, been killed or left Ukrainian soil. (That is what the Russians themselves did, back in 1812 and then again in 1941.) The terrible destruction and massacres will only make the Ukrainians more determined. Yes, peace would indeed be a wonderful thing and it could be achieved by Putin withdrawing his armies, but so far he has shown no enthusiasm for doing this.
Some Russians do know what is going on, that it is a full-scale war and not a "special military operation", and they are doing what they can to show support for the Ukrainians. Some Russian and Belorussian soldiers have even joined forces with the Ukrainian army, as have thousands of volunteers from all over the world.
You do not seem to be a fan of NATO. I am sure that Putin does not like it either. But if Ukraine and Georgia want to join NATO, why shouldn't they? Why is it okay for Germany and Italy to be part of NATO, but not Ukraine? NATO is a defensive alliance. Many of the NATO members are small countries, that have no intention of invading anyone and they just want to be left in peace. Are all the members of NATO American puppets? I do not believe that every European leader is totally stupid and incapable of independent thought. More and more countries are sending weapons and other supplies to Ukraine, not because they are Yankie stooges but because they genuinely want to help Ukraine resist the aggressors who have invaded their country.
As you know, I did teach in Saudi Arabia and in one or two other countries in the ME. The ME is not an area of the world where democracy, human rights and international law are always respected. (I don't think that the Yemenis were about to invade Saudi, so why do the Saudis keep bombing them?) In Europe, however, we have learned the hard way that these things must be defended and that is what Ukraine is doing.
Best wishes from Bulgaria,
Simon

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