What I see in Indian media now is the dominant position which can be described as "Poor Russia, NATO threats it, expend its influence to the East so that it did not have another choice as to start protecting itself, start to react, start the war". This narrative is contradictory from the very beginning.
From one side Russia exposes itself as a world superpower, storing the second most powerful army in the world, but at the same time declares itself as a victim of some superior powers. I want you to ask the first question:
Is someone powerful will shout from every corner that he is threatened by half of the world?
I propose the mental operation here: please, imagine the US is crying that China is threatening it, or imagine Great Britain complaining that someone becomes a threat to her. At least imagine India in such a role. Do you accept such a country as a superpower? Just try to feel it: would you respect such a person/country and treat it as strong? Is it a modus operandi for a real superpower?
So, it is what Russian Federation does. Victimizing itself but at the same time claiming its strengths. And now I will try to explain why the so-called "expansion of NATO on East" exists only in Mr. Putin's head and Russia's victim position is a myth, an empty bubble to justify the war and its brutal actions on the territory of the sovereign neighbor state.
Yes, Ukraine does take help from NATO. Yes, Ukraine does develop its army after 2014 when Russia occupied the part of its territory – Crimea, and a great piece of Donbas. The war there had been waged all these 8 years. Ukraine's biggest neighbor – Russia – showed clearly that it is a dangerous neighbor, which intends to dictate to Ukraine how to provide its domestic and foreign policy, which will not lose a chance to establish the puppet government in Ukraine and simply rule it from Moscow. So, in your opinion, how Ukraine should act in such a situation? To sit calmly and passively in the hope that Russia will not dare to come to Ukraine's land again?
I will tell you more. Truthfully saying Ukraine didn't expect Russia to proceed with its imperialistic march. Otherwise, we would have been much more prepared. But we simply could not be unprepared at all in such a situation – of course, our government did some steps "in case" because doing nothing would mean giving up, or that we are not ready to fight for ourselves. At least, doing nothing would mean that we are naïve and stupid not to accept the thread coming from Russia. So, at this stage, I would ask you to think about another question:
Would you sit passively on your ass doing nothing if someone threatens you? Don't you try to take some measures "in case" this threat will turn into action?
So, what Russia calls "NATO expansion to East" Ukraine calls "natural right to protect itself facing the threat". From this point of view "Russia is a victim" has no sense.
Who is protecting itself here?
This wrong precondition that "Russia is protecting itself" turns into the conclusion that Russia as a victim has the right to brutally intervene in the sovereign state, occupying its territories, destroying its cities, and killing its civilians. Is everything ok with such a conclusion? My dearest, are you sure?
Furthermore, this wrong precondition that Russia has a right to do it leads to the point that “we have to stop to escalate the conflict, we have to give Russia what it wants”, "It would be unwise on the part of Biden and the Western alliance to escalate the Ukrainian crisis by waging a proxy war with Russia” © *
What you call “escalation" here is called the fight for existence. Existence of sovereign and independent Ukraine. “Stop escalating” means accepting the fact that the world, which is, I still hope, strives for democracy and keeping universal human values, just allows such atrocious and brutal things to happen right in front of its door. It looks like the situation when you, a vegetarian, following ahimsa, see someone is beating the dog and not only pass by but observe the scene saying: "I have to stop this dog to provoke the conflict somehow, he is probably barking so loud".
I do not want to victimize Ukraine in any sense; I do not want to put Ukraine in any victim position because it will mean that I accept the absence of Ukrainian subjectivity. There are enough such things in media, where the Ukrainian voice is hardly heard (and I agree that it is partly Ukrainian fault). But do not you think that such Indian and Western experts, whose quote I put above, made a little confusion about victims here?
*Thomas Mathew is a retired civil servant who has served in the Indian Defence Ministry, Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis and writes on security issues. His article on the topic was published in Indian Express on the May 31, 2022 under the title “The West must not test Putin’s resolve”.
15.07.2022
