The agony of Russia, that rushed without thinking into its Ukraine invasion, is perceptible: it bombs cities like Mariupol into a shell; and slaughters armless civilians of Bucha like mad butchers.
Yet, it feels the acute pains of being belittled by own ample folly! It’s a classic top dog/underdog match-up: by the underdog calling its bluff, Russia has earned itself self-ridicule.
Ukraine, on the other hand, has earned global bounce: standing up, with pluck, to its all-muscle-no-brain neighbour. It might be bruised and bloodied for now. But it has more than a moral victory coming its way.
If you doubt, just look at the grim stats. To a little rat and annoying fly like Ukraine, Russia has lost the Moskva (aka Moscow), the flagship of its Black Sea war fleet; and veteran of earlier plucky campaigns in Chechnya and Syria.
Russia has also lost an armada of tanks, some five top generals, a slew of warplanes, suffered routs in nimble Ukraine counter-attacks and forced to abandon its rash bid to take Kyiv, and maybe capture Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as golden prisoner of war, to be paraded in the streets of Moscow!
But on Moskva, the claims are varied. Russia — shamefaced? — claimed an explosion in the ship’s lethal ammo chambers, blew it up. For days after, it denied the Moskva had sunk, maintaining the distressed ship was being towed away for repairs.
A triumphant Ukraine, on the other hand, claimed its nimble, crafty missiles did the do, out-foxing the anti-missile defence systems of the staid and doomed Moskva.
But one fact is stark: the Moskva is sunk and is dead as dodo — and Putin’s Russia is shame-faced.
But Russia has copped own victories too. For instance, it showed a video of surrendering Ukraine marines, numbering a thousand or so, in the besieged port city of Mariupol — a feat Ukraine has ignored with icy contempt. Russia has also given two largely ignored deadline for surrender in Mariupol.
That suggests that though Mariupol might be under harsh Russian pressure — like Kyiv before it — one would be extremely rash to predict the eventual victor or vanquished.
On NATO membership in Eastern Europe — the prime casus belli for the Ukraine invasion — Russia also appears losing the plot. Piqued by Russia’s rashness in Ukraine, hitherto pacifist and neutral Finland (which shares with Russia a long border) and neighbour Sweden are mulling joining NATO for own long-term security.
And what’s Russia’s response to all that? A pathetic threat to unleash its nuclear arsenal and hypersonic missiles! That, to be sure, would put the fear on God in Russia’s minion neighbours. Yet, you could feel that threat comes from a growling dog, scared to own bones!
But the most pathetic, from the Russian camp, is reason its short-and-snappy “special military operation” (a lie Russian tells itself) is lasting so long and costing so much: that America is bolstering Ukraine with defence weapons!
What does Russia expect? That America, NATO and EU would stand by and let Russia roll over Ukraine? At last, the high folly of Russia’s bully thinking is coming forth: it can invade Ukraine but it’s a crime for Ukraine to defend itself!
Then, the tragedy of the strategy that could remove the myth of Russia’s might, once and for all: “tiny” Ukraine is doing the job; and it’s being hailed by the western media. But really, it’s the entire Western Europe, led by the United States, dealing with Russia!
However the war ends, it’s sad requiem for Russia. Next time, it would think before acting. The reverse was the case in its Ukraine misadventure.