When Will It End?
In the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the options are few, and none of them are easy.
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It’s been a rough week for those of us from countries limiting Russia.
Finnish people have been panic-buying iodine tablets like it’s Y2K ever since Russia took control of the Chernobyl nuclear site. Others are starting to prep for eventual war.
I’m not even in Europe, but I spend my days in futile fights with supposed progressives in Argentina who, out of their deep-seated — and, in many cases, justified — anti-Americanism, refuse to condemn the Russian invasion.
The Argentinian government so far has only given a washed-out statement calling for the end of hostilities on both sides. They call it an “escalation,” not an invasion.
It’s unsurprising that the Peronist government won’t condemn Putin. After all, President Fernández offered Argentina as the “point of entry” to Latin America for Russia only a couple of weeks ago.
It does feel like a slap in the face for those of us who have grown up hearing stories about oppression by our powerful neighbor, both in the times of the Russian Empire and the USSR.
I alternate between Twitter and Argentinian news channels to the one American one I have access to, CNN (apart from Fox, but you know, it’s not really news). My family in Finland is spending the weekend nervously checking social media and news sites while trying to relax.
Finnish politics is also in turmoil, especially over the possibility of NATO membership.
Now, I don’t think that’s ever going to happen. Joining the US-led defense alliance has been an issue in every Finnish election since I can remember, but there’s never been enough support for it. The Kremlin has already warned against Sweden and Finland joining NATO. And while we’re not in the same position of dependence as during the Cold War, Russia is one of Finland’s biggest trading partners. Also, we don’t stand a chance against the Russian army.
Diplomacy and international organizations won’t do much against an autocrat with nuclear weapons, either. The rest of the world left us on our own in 1939. There was condemnation from the League of Nations, sure, but no real…
