In the Iliad, Homer’s magnificent work, one of his characters, Thersites, says: “War is an obsession of the old who send the young to fight it.” That is what we are seeing from Ukraine, young people dying to satisfy the narcissism of the old politicians. Incidentally the destruction of a country, its infrastructure, hospitals, schools, homes. People who die, a tragedy, those who survive and emigrate, the hell of traumas.
We do not know about the termination of the war. Nor is it known about the process of rebuilding the country. Huge resources will be required, around $750 billion, according to estimates by President Volodimir Zelensky of Ukraine.
At the same time, there is a strengthening of the alliances of countries, a product of global interests, fear and the fact that chance does not rule.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which for a long time was kept on artificial respiration, is now becoming stronger and the most important countries in the alliance have investment programs to significantly improve their defensive military structure. With the incorporation of Sweden and Finland, there are 32 countries and others that are willing to join, such as Ukraine, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
While the United States has a critical role in NATO, European countries have already come to terms with the need to develop their hard power capabilities. They distrust Donald Trump’s “America First” slogan. This position emboldened Putin who saw Europe isolated from the United States.
The Biden administration’s relationship with European leaders is now more consistent based on shared interests. Biden has also strengthened his country’s relationship with Israel. Likewise with Saudi Arabia, which is once again a producer that influences the global oil market, like the United Arab Emirates.
Putin after the invasion of Ukraine is making approaches for a common military and political front with China, Iran and Turkey, the latter, although a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, has a careful neutrality with Russia and Ukraine. Proof of this was his mediation with the governments of Russia and Ukraine to release Ukrainian wheat, 20 million tons so that it could be exported. And in the Syrian civil war, both Russia and Iran supported Bashar al-Assad, unlike the Turkish government that backed rebel factions that fought the regime in Damascus.
Russia intends to send a message to Western countries that it has the support of peripheral powers. It will strengthen commercial ties with Iran to relieve this country of the consequences of economic sanctions. It is also estimated that she will buy hundreds of drones from Iran to use in the war in Ukraine.
