The fact that it’s even being talked about matter-of-factly on CNN…
Russia would only use nuclear weapons in the context of the Ukraine conflict if it were facing an "existential threat," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN International Tuesday.
The fallout of war
Since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, more than 10 million of the nation’s 41 million people have been driven from their homes. A third of the displaced have left the country, producing the fastest moving refugee crisis since World War II, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. This has left Eastern Europe scrambling to provide them with care, schools, and jobs.
They’ve been reportedly well-received so far in neighboring states, in contrast to the racist reception shown to asylum-seekers from the Middle East, Asia, and Africa during the crisis in 2015. But I’m still expecting a new wave of populist, neo-fascist, anti-immigrant violence across Europe.
According to Bloomberg:
Even before the war started, Poland and the Czech Republic leaned on Ukrainians as a source of labor. Some Ukrainian companies have already started to relocate production to the bloc. At the same time, the number of newcomers is beginning to weigh on the resources that eastern European nations have to take care of them. The welcome mat in these countries may start to be challenged.
I hope I’m wrong. But I’ve seen how war can bring out the worst on all sides.
For example, social media is being flooded today with stories of Russian-speaking ethnic Romanis (“gypsies”) being stripped and tied to light poles in Kyiv after being accused of pick-pocketing or stealing food from markets. I have seen the horrendous pictures. But I’m still waiting for official verification.
Hundreds of Romani groups and organizations around the world have condemned the Russian invasion and have called for the human rights of all refugees to be upheld but Romani media seems to confirm these accounts.
I’m still hoping against hope that there’s a negotiated end to the war before it spreads across Europe or escalates into a third (nuclear) World War and a total breakdown of Ukrainian and Russian society.
Yesterday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a possible deal with Russia could include his country agreeing not to join NATO in exchange for a cease-fire and the withdrawal of Russian troops. I’m trying not to think about the fact that these are the same issues that were considered “non-starters” by the US a month ago before the war began.