In the early months of the Russia/Ukraine war, the United States’ Defense Department entertained fears that weapon supplies to the Ukrainian government would end up in the hands of the Russian Army, who they believed, would eventually overrun their smaller and less equipped adversaries.
Some 80 years earlier, when the second world war started, the U.S government had the same fears that Britain would surrender, just like France and weapons supplied to the British government would end up in German hands. The British didn’t cave in and eventually, the United Sates’ government would end up supplying $50 billion worth of military hardware and other essentials to its European allies. $31 billion of that aid went to Britain in the form trucks, airplanes, tanks, food and petrol. Russia, on the other hand got $11 billion in military aid, including about 14,000 tanks. However, they were not enough to bring the war to an end. The U.S government had to draft its own military into the war before it could be successfully brought to an end.
Today, most of Europe sees Russia as the aggressor. On February 24, 2022, it invaded Ukraine with President Vladimir Putin justifying his action by suggesting that Russian speaking people in eastern Ukraine were victims of a genocide. Putin also told his countrymen the military exercise in Ukraine was needed to rid the country of Nazis. But almost immediately, the war became about much more than Russia and Ukraine. It became an issue of European identity and values.
And there are echoes of the second world war are playing out in the conflict that started out strictly between Russia and Ukraine. Countries like Poland, which were the earliest casualties of the German aggression back in 1945 are now aggressively pushing for the arming of Ukraine by the major powers, particularly Germany and the United States. Poland, as much as any other country deserves credit for getting the German government to agree to supply Ukraine with some of the most sophisticated war tanks in use today, the Leopard 2.
Germany produces most of Europe’s modern tanks. While the German Army is reported to have 320 Leopard 2 tanks, the country has produced some 2,000 of the tanks that are spread out amongst European allies, including Poland. Yet, none could be exported to Ukraine without German export licenses.
Last week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced he would send 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. US President Joe Biden also announced that he was providing 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine to defend themselves against Russia. According to a statement from the German government, “This is the result of intensive consultations that took place with Germany’s closest European and international partners.”
As expected, the Russian response to the announcement was swift and blunt, reminding the German government of its historical responsibility in crimes committed against the Russian people during the second world war. Russian Ambassador to Germany, Sergei Nechayev said, “This extremely dangerous decision takes the conflict to a new level of confrontation. It would cause irreparable damage to the already deplorable state of Russian-German relations.
“Berlin’s choice means the final refusal of the Federal Republic of Germany to recognize its historical responsibility to our people for the terrible, timeless crimes of Nazism during the Great Patriotic War, and the consigning to oblivion of the difficult path of post-war reconciliation between Russians and Germans. With the approval of the leadership of Germany, battle tanks with German crosses will again be sent to the ‘eastern front’, which will inevitably lead to the deaths of not only Russian soldiers, but also the civilian population,” Nechayev said.
But the real driving force behind arming Ukraine has been the government of the United States. So far, it has spent about $50 billion in military aid to Ukraine in the one year the war has lasted. It also seems to be following exactly the path as it did way back in 1941.
And for Africa and maybe the rest of the world, the very worst scenario would be for the United States of America to become an active participant in the Ukrainian war, which is a very real possibility considering the level of intelligence and military advice and trainings they are providing the Ukrainians. Almost no country would come out unscathed if this conflict turns into a third world war world.
In the opinion of this newspaper, it is time for world leaders to be more aggressive in seeking a negotiated solution to this growing conflict. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been adamant about not making any concessions to Russia. He has also been consistent in questioning the sincerity of the Russian president in wanting to sit down and negotiate. We urge other world leaders to make it plain to both Russia and Ukraine what the true cost of a protracted conflict could look like. What is certain is that it won’t be good for the world.
