25 October: Closing remarks

WAR TRUTH 600: Closing remarks

I have decided to discontinue this Substack blog. It began on March 3 last year, one week after the start of Russia's “special military operation”, aggression and violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Since then, I have written a commentary every day – 600 altogether – although sometimes with a delay of a day or two. I believed that the day of February 24, 2022 would mark a major turning point in the twenties decade of the twenty-first century. For the first time since the end of the Second World War, two states were again at war in Europe. Two states – Russia and Ukraine – who had been fraternal republics under the umbrella of the Soviet Union. Even at the time of the Soviet Union's dissolution, almost nobody could have predicted that about thirty years later two of the former republics would be at war.

Opinions about the Russia-Ukraine war were diverse, especially at the left end – however you may define this or include or exclude whatever organizations – of the political spectrum. Western governments – U.S. imperialism and the EU – firmly chose the side of Ukraine. Hypocritical as they are, not to assist the Ukrainian people to defend themselves against outside aggression, but as a handy occasion to cripple a major adversary: Putin's Russia. Putin framed the operation as a fight to de-Nazify and de-militarize Ukraine. He saw it as a continuation of the Soviet Union's fight against the Nazis, conveniently forgetting that it was Nazi Germany that attacked the Soviet Union, but it was Russia which attacked Ukraine. It wasn't “unprovoked” – NATO had expanded up to the borders of Russia, posing a threat to Russia's national security – but being provoked doesn't mean you have to stumble blindly into the trap. Ukraine also framed the war as a defense against a cruel dictator which it sometimes also compared to the Nazis. Meanwhile the war has bogged down, with neither of the belligerents able to defeat the other.

Who could have thought that February 24, 2022 would be eclipsed by far by October 7, 2023, when the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians – which had been raging and simmering on and off since 1948 – would erupt on the world stage? Palestinian fighters from Hamas and other groups broke out of the Gaza open air prison, killed about 1,400 Israelis and took 222 hostages. Israel and the Palestinians have waged numerous limited wars, interspersed with long periods of an uneasy status quo and under-the-radar violence. The Israeli government was quick to characterize October 7 as the blackest day for “the Jews” since the Holocaust. The Zionist entity responded with a brutal assault on the Gaza strip, killing more than 5,000 – and counting – innocent Palestinians, in what will turn out to be a giant war crime.

This new development on the world stage could not be ignored. News from Ukraine disappeared from the headlines. Inevitably, I also started focussing on the war between the Zionist entity and the Palestinians, diverging from the topic of this Substack blog: Ukraine War Truth. The situation in the Middle East is expected to escalate further. Israel is preparing a ground assault on Gaza, almost certainly triggering an invasion of Northern Israel by Hezbollah. Israel has already violated the territorial integrity of Syria, bombing the airports of Damascus and Aleppo, and of Lebanon by launching artillery strikes against Lebanese villages. Even the danger of a nuclear conflagration has now moved from Zaporizhzhia to Dimona.

Changing the topic of the blog from Ukraine to Palestine would be difficult, as the title and the linked email would both have to be changed. Despite the ferocity of opinions about the Ukraine war, discussion was still possible. Some on the “Left” found themselves in an uneasy de facto alliance with the U.S. and the EU in support of Ukraine. Others firmly chose the side of Russia – even some “communists” – ignoring the fact that Putin vilified Lenin and tried to revive the tsarist empire. Arguments about Zionists and Palestinians have been bouncing around since 1948. There is little more to add. The discussion will be settled on the battlefield.

I opted to write this Substack anonymously to prevent personal attacks and hacking if arguments would get out of hand. In hindsight this turned out not to be necessary. Anonymity prevented drawing in friends and acquaintances and limited the number of readers. Anyway, I would like to thank all readers, including those who made unfriendly remarks such as calling me an “idiot”. I am happy to return the compliment. I never limited or censored any comments, everybody is entitled to have an opinion. Overall, there were few comments and no discussions, but I hope reading the Substack made some readers think about the subject at hand and inspire them to better inform themselves. Once again, thank you all.

On a final note of silly wishful thinking: may peace be restored all over the world soon!