I’m not sure who will be reading this and when, but as I write this we are about a week into Vladimir Putin’s atrocious invasion of Ukraine in 2022. I’ve been meaning to write something the last couple of days but found it hard to collect my thoughts. So I will just briefly jot something down, perhaps mainly as a way to clear my head.
I’ve been watching and reading about the horrors unfolding in Ukraine for the last few days; the endless sorrow of lives lost, the senseless destruction.
If you’ve been reading this blog you know it is about gaming out the Cold War going hot in Europe. One reason that has been my interest and fascination is that we never saw a hot super power confrontation. Turning these hypothetical scenarios into a hobby didn’t have the same baggage as other conflicts for me since this war never really took place (whether that is hypocritical or self deluding of me I’ll leave unsaid.) I started primary school just as the Berlin wall came down, and the notion of a full scale war across Europe has felt like a ridiculous proposition to me my whole life. Until now.
Enormous sacrifices are being made at this moment. By those who defend their homes, family, friends and neighbors. By those who leave everything behind to flee into uncertainty. By those who stand up and say ‘no’ regardless of risk to personal safety, whether in front of a tank in Kharkiv or riot police in Moscow. By teenage conscripts issued criminal orders and left to die cold and alone for an egotistical despot’s delusions.
This Sunday Vladimir Putin announced he put Russia’s nuclear forces on a high alert. This came after the Russian state department had threatened my home country and others militarily. In the night I hugged my four year old daughter as she slept and was struck by the thought that I might wake to a flash and everything would be over. That this might be the last time. To face such thoughts in 2022 feels surreal and horrifying.
I hope that by being confronted by this in the heart of Europe once more we see clearly that war is hell. That its terrible cost is driven home in each and every one of us. That we will not abide those who instigate it.
As always thank you for your time. Take care of yourself and those around you and appreciate what you have.
Please consider donating to the Red Cross.
PS. One final thing. I removed an old post that dealt with the relationship between the US, NATO, Ukraine and Russia after the Cold War. Although it was sourced mainly from War On The Rocks (which hardly can be said to be a Kremlin mouthpiece), I felt that in retrospect (and especially now) the content of the post was a bit too similar to disinformation talking points. The topic should be tackled with nuance and deeper knowledge, not as an aside.
Northern Wedding 