Can it be that the world is witnessing an international bully getting his comeuppance not only from the nation he seeks to bring under his control but also from the people over whom he rules with an iron fist?
Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine. One sovereign nation has attacked another one for reasons that remain something of a mystery to me and to others around the world.
Russian goon/strongman Vladimir Putin’s invasion was thought to be a cakewalk. It isn’t. The Ukrainians are putting up a stout fight against the Russian invaders. The Russian army isn’t racing headlong across the Ukrainian landscape without resistance.
President Biden has levied a series of punishing economic sanctions. Today the president announced sanctions against Putin himself and against his top aides. Moreover, commercial air carriers are severing ties with Aeroflot, the Russian national airline. The Russians are being banned from international sporting activities. Top-flight Russian athletes — tennis stars, hockey stars for instance — are declaring their public opposition to the war that Putin has launched.
Then there’s this: Russians in Moscow are demonstrating against the war. Russian police are arresting protesters. Putin is hearing from city streets that the people he governs are rising up against his seemingly pointless invasion of Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin has been cast as a pariah. It is good to wonder how he likes the role he is playing on the world stage.
Still, we are witnessing a dangerous event in world history.