Death Toll In Ukraine

The tragic toll of the Ukraine conflict raises questions about the cost of war, the motivations of leaders, and the broader geopolitical stakes involved.

What Is It All For?

For Ukraine, it's a fight for sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and manipulation of NATO, and its industrial military complex of those NATO countries.

For Russia, it is a strategic and historical necessity to prevent NATO's encroachment and protect its sphere of influence.

The Leaders and Their Roles

On the Ukrainian side, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emerged as a leader, advocating for NATO membership, aligning with Western powers, and resisting Russian historical sphere of influence.

On the Russian side, President Vladimir Putin justified the invasion as a "special military operation" to counter NATO expansion, defend Russian-speaking populations, and secure historical claims over Ukraine.

Why Was This Encouraged?

Russia having the most raw materials in the world?

NATO countries industrial military complex, these multi-billion dollar industries need conflict to make a profit?

Financial institutions of nations of NATO. Hoping to cash in on toppled governments?

Was Ukraine Worth the Cost?

But at what cost?

The devastation of Ukraine, the collapse of countless families, and the death of Russian and Ukrainian youth that leaders on all sides failed to consider the full consequences of their choices.

Did the Ukrainian leadership fall victim to manipulation by the NATO countries to go to war, a losing war of death and destruction of young lives hundreds of thousands of young lives because NATO leaders and their industrial military complex needed to make profits?

Many of the NATO nations would love to have a destabilized Russia to be able to enter that economy and reap the rewards of its raw materials.

Could earlier diplomacy, recognition of mutual security concerns, or regional compromises have prevented this disaster?

A Parallel with the Monroe Doctrine

The comparison to the Monroe Doctrine is significant. Russia's perception of Ukraine as part of its sphere of influence mirrors how the U.S. has historically view its dominance in the Western Hemisphere. While the Monroe Doctrine has often been enforced through intervention, Russia’s actions in Ukraine suggest a similar desire to maintain regional control but on a much smaller geopolitical scale.

Most importantly, we shouldn't forget, in 1991, the NATO countries promised the former Soviet Union and the new Russian nation-state that NATO expansion would not expand past Germany into Eastern Europe. Less than 10 years later, the NATO nations did not live up to their promise to Russia, instead, they continue to expand and encroach into Eastern Europe, manipulating Eastern European countries and getting closer to the border of Russia.

The war indicates the dangers of great-power competition in a multipolar world.