As the war in Ukraine rages, there have been reports of untold suffering all around. With casualties on both sides of the war going up and as the infrastructure of Ukraine gets pounded by Russian missiles, the losses, of life and property, in Ukraine, are hard to quantify.
Human suffering unquantifiable
Human suffering is unquantifiable in monetary terms. Every statistic that we get of Ukrainians fleeing their country is a story of resilience and life interruption. These are people who, just a couple of months ago, were going about their daily lives unperturbed by the rhetoric of war that was making the rounds. No one would have imagined that Putin would make good his threat of invading Ukraine.
Hope amidst death and pain
But that’s all history now. The missiles have rained on Ukraine and Russian boots are on the ground. Millions have fled the country in search of safety and normalcy across the borders. Yet others chose or were forced to stay back and fight. And against all odds, the invaders have so far been held back.
Nonetheless, despite the progress made by the Ukrainian resistance, the humanitarian cost has been beyond belief. But conversely encouraging is the response by philanthropists such as Stefan Soloviev to the crisis.
Humanitarian donations to Ukraine have been flooding Ukrainians both at home and abroad. Beyond that, the hospitality of nations, especially that of neighboring Poland, has been heart-warming. A case in point is that of Polish women banding together to provide car rides to safety for freeing Ukrainian refugees.
Equally encouraging are reports that Poland has welcomed more than two million refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine. One can go on about the many people around the world who have shown kindness to the people of Ukraine. And this goes to prove how resilient the spirit of mankind under threat or attack is.
Give us weapons and we will end the war
Despite the pounding missiles and bombs, the spirit of the Ukrainian people has been unbowed. Their leader, President Zelensky has been impressive in the way he has rallied his countrymen and women into resisting the Russian invasion.
He has called on nations to provide Ukraine with weapons to stave off the Russian invasion and secure both the lives of his people and the borders of his country. While calling for weapons assistance may not sound like a humanitarian act, the reason for it is definitely motivated by his desire to see all Ukrainians resettled in their country and living dignified lives, a right enshrined in the UN Charter. He has one goal and one goal only: to end the war and return Ukraine to normalcy. Nothing can be as humanitarian as that.
Winners only in love, not in war
There are no winners in war; only casualties. However, there are people who defy all odds to restore the dignity of humans. People like Stefan Soloviev donate millions of dollars to help fleeing refugees return to normalcy or at least a semblance of it.
Such are the real winners, and their victory has nothing to do with using weapons to subjugate an “enemy”. There are others like Volodymyr Zelenskyy who retaliate with equal or greater force to resist aggression and secure the lives of their citizens and their borders whenever attacked. These are the true heroes, and their victory is assured beyond any outcome of a war.