It’s official at last: Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine has finally been declared a “war,” and by Vladimir Putin himself. And it only took 21 months.

In his address to the G20 leaders on November 22nd — his first since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022 — Putin, attending virtually from Moscow, first said that some leaders had expressed shock at the ongoing “aggression” of Russia in Ukraine. His unsurprising response to that was:

“Yes, of course, military actions are always a tragedy. And of course, we should think about how to stop this tragedy. By the way, Russia has never refused peace talks with Ukraine.”

While far from acknowledging any blame for having started the “tragedy,” this was by far Mr. Putin’s most conciliatory remark to date. And, to everyone’s surprise, he finally used the “w” word:

“I understand that this war, and the death of people, cannot but shock . . .”

. . . before then launching into a statement claiming that the Ukrainian government itself had persecuted its own people in eastern Ukraine, apparently referring back to the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in Crimea in 2014.

He further commented on the present Israel-Hamas war, touched off by Hamas’ October 7th unprovoked attack on Israel, the slaughter of 1,400 Israeli citizens, and the kidnapping of another 240 innocent women, children and elderly civilians, as follows:

“And the extermination of the civilian population in Palestine, in the Gaza Strip today, is not shocking?”

. . . somehow managing to ignore those Israeli deaths that precipitated Israel’s retaliation.

But my principal point today is that Putin has finally, after nearly two years of dancing around the reality of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, used the word “War” to refer to what the whole world has long since identified, acknowledged, and castigated as such. Was it a slip of the tongue? Or could this be the first step toward a genuine effort at ending the “tragedy” in Ukraine? Might he even be willing to offer some conciliation in order to move things along? Is he finally feeling the pinch from the censure of most of the rest of the world?

And if so, wouldn’t that be the best holiday gift of all!

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
11/24/23