Fratricide: The Russia–Ukraine War

Death… Blood… Tears… Pain… Destruction…

Collapsed buildings, crying children, frightened eyes, torn bodies, cities in ruins, faces covered in dust and dirt, looted shops, the smell of gunpowder mixed with blood and hopes come to an end… These, in the simplest terms, are what war brings.
As if the world had not had its fill of death in recent years, the fuse of a new war has been lit. The stones have been laid for an oppression whose pain will not subside for years, whose images will not be erased from memories and which will drive millions of people from their homes.

No Struggle That Sheds Innocent Blood Is Just
As the British philosopher Bertrand Russell said: “War determines not who is right, but who is powerless.” Russia, at the peak of its military power, claims that in launching this attack it has “just” reasons that almost no country other than itself accepts. As for Ukraine, on whose rightness almost the whole world agrees, it will struggle to get through this war with as little damage as possible in the helplessness of being weak and all alone. In the course of history, the rest of the world will face the moral responsibility of not having made any significant effort to prevent this war, which came in plain sight. There are hundreds of anti-war organisations and institutions in the world.

Almost all countries declare that they are against this war. If such an operation has nevertheless been launched, it means sufficient deterrence was not achieved. Or, worse, it can be inferred that those who say they are against the war are secretly supporting the aggressors. Whatever anyone says, humanity has failed a very great test. From now on, the responsibility for every life lost rests on the shoulders of all humanity, above all those in authority.

For those who do not know the destruction and pain it brings, war is seen as a heroic struggle, a way to gain new territory and defeat one’s rival. But for those who know its real face, it is a chaotic environment to be avoided at all costs. It cannot be said that even the smallest war is better than the most troubled peace process.

It is clear that, whoever wins the war, it will bring nothing but destruction and pain. Where the difference in power parameters is this obvious, the war is likely to be less destructive and shorter. But this neither lessens the savagery to come nor makes it legal. This will be neither the first war the world has seen nor the last. As a nation we have witnessed many conflicts and massacres in the recent period. As people who have witnessed first-hand the suffering on our borders in particular, should we not raise our voices louder? Yet in world public opinion we see the name of our country among the countries that want the war to start or continue, and those who govern our country among the leaders. How could it be otherwise! Those who supported terrorist organisations and shed the blood of innocents in the war in Syria are fanning this fire too, for the weapons and equipment they will sell.

The Psychological Gulf Between Men in Times of Peace and War

Those who start wars are the merciless people who sell countries and the materials of war. But this situation also has the dimension of those who fight. How sad that people who kiss their wives, hug their daughters and stroke their dogs’ heads when they leave home turn into monsters in wartime! What else but a great paradox is it that men who would not harm a hair on the heads of their loved ones kill unarmed women and children when it comes to war, rain bombs on them and even commit war crimes such as rape and looting? Is it ordinary behaviour to be as relaxed as if using a game console while fingers go to the trigger and bombs are dropped on homes, parks and hospitals? Let no one think that all those who behave this way are sick-minded people with psychological problems in normal life as well. There are psychological theories that men change and become aggressive in war. It is said that in war they quite naturally commit many acts and show many reactions they would never commit or show in normal times. While sitting in your warm armchairs, I suggest you also look from this angle at what Ukrainian women and children are likely to go through in the process.

Just as the Russians, invaded by Germany in the Second World War, needed a helping hand, the Ukrainians now need help to the same degree. It must be humanity’s ill fate that yesterday’s victims turn today into bloodthirsty vampires poisoned by power. The countries that are elements of power in the world balance must find a solution as soon as possible that will make Russia give up these attacks. Given their position, they owe this to humanity.

The Snake You Do Not Touch Today Will Bite You Tomorrow
Unfortunately, the world is full of people with the mindset of expecting the oppressed to be on their side before standing with them. It is a dark way of thinking that deems the oppression suffered by those who do not follow them appropriate and remains silent. If Ukraine had been a NATO country, neither could Russia have launched such an operation nor could other states have remained silent. Yet Ukraine had begun initiatives and even taken steps in this direction. But neither the US nor the other NATO countries showed Ukraine any loyalty beyond condemnation and simple financial support. Those who say nothing about a snake that does not touch them should not forget that tomorrow they will be exposed to that snake’s venom…

The history of humanity consists of fratricidal quarrels that began with the struggle of Abel and Cain. Since that day, fratricidal quarrels have been the most common form of conflict. What is happening today is in fact similar. If asked, both the Russian and Ukrainian peoples, who are like siblings to each other, would say that they are brothers and that the war is entirely uncalled for. Just like the Turkish–Greek, American–British and French–German tensions, a fire of quarrel that the peoples do not want but that ill-intentioned politicians try to kindle.

Wars are in fact great gambles. An ugly and ruthless gamble played with the blood of soldiers and society. As in gambling, in war too those who win most are the “house”: those who profit from these affairs without shedding their own blood.

At the point we have reached, those who want war and blood, those who sell weapons and military materials, and those who feed on fear and violence have won. Humanity and consciences have lost. The start of the war was not prevented. I hope this destruction ends before too much blood is shed, before thousands of innocent people lose their lives and before consciences are numbed any further. For, as the Lithuanian-born writer Emma Goldman said, “All wars are wars among thieves who are too cowardly to fight and who therefore induce the young manhood of the whole world to do the fighting for them.”

Since they are so eager for war and blood, we too must strive for peace and tranquillity. As İsmet İnönü put it: “Unless the honest people of a country are at least as brave as the dishonest, that country will not be put right.”