Letters

Russia’s war on Ukraine

Public opinion

Fri Jan 27 2023 - 00:11

Sir, – Last year, an Ipos poll published in the Irish Times (April 15th) showed that the vast majority of the Irish people in the Republic of Ireland supported Irish neutrality.

It is indeed very sad that Irish media in general continue to ignore Irish opinion and propagate a pro-Nato position that more military aid will help Ukraine defeat Russia.

However, Geoffrey Roberts gave us a very rare balanced opinion that the West risks war with Russia over escalating military aid (Opinion & Analysis, January 25th).

I would agree with Prof Roberts that sending tanks and weapons costing billions of dollars here could turn Moscow’s proxy war with Nato into a direct conflict, leading to a global nuclear war in which we will all die.

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Since the war in Ukraine began the Peace and Neutrality Alliance has called for a ceasefire and negotiations chaired by the United Nations, a call ignored by our Irish Government. – Yours, etc,

ROGER COLE,

Chair,

Peace and

Neutrality Alliance

Dalkey,

Co Dublin.

Sir, – Geoffrey Roberts accuses the West of seeking to destroy Russia as a great power, urging Europe to “de-escalate” (a polite euphemism for condemning the Ukrainian people to mass rape, murder and plunder by a country known for the unparalleled brutality of its armies) before war between Russia and Nato, the same war which Moscow’s useful pacifists in the West have proclaimed to be on the brink of breaking out for almost a year.

I can only see Prof Roberts as the latest in a long line of tragic figures from academia and the left, whose (understandable) leeriness towards the appalling behaviour of Western Europe and the United States in the developing world has curdled into an inability to accept that countries from other parts of the world, particularly Russia, engage in the same behaviour – and that at times, the West’s cold self-interest is served by genuinely humanitarian action.

This blind spot has ugly consequences, especially among leftist and left-of-centre political parties and activists with long ties to the blue-collar socialist tradition of the 20th century. From the normally compassionate Noam Chomsky arguing that Ukraine should be recognised as within Russia’s sphere of influence against its own people’s will to the German SPD twisting in the wind over whether to allow Kyiv vital arms or not, I have been repeatedly, deeply disappointed by people whose fearless advocacy for vulnerable members of their own societies previously earned my admiration.

In the German case, it was the Green Party – which lacks the Russophile instincts of the SPD’s old guard – that ultimately forced Olaf Scholz to take action. I can only hope that their resolve does not waver.

Sooner or later, a country waging aggressive war on a continent with multiple nuclear powers will use violence against a country that can strike back far, far harder than Kyiv.

Prof Roberts’s unstated proposal to offer Ukraine as a tribute (the inevitable outcome of withdrawal of the West’s commitments) will give Russia the green light to continue down this path, ensuring that my generation will live under the same constant shadow of war that dogged that of my parents. – Yours, etc,

DESMOND MOLLOY,

Graz,

Austria.

Sir, – Geoffrey Roberts contends that Putin has shown “remarkable restraint in the face of massive western military aid to Ukraine”.

Even cursory scrutiny of how Putin continues to conduct this war, from targeting civilians and hospitals to weaponising food, energy and the harshest effects of weather, illustrates to the contrary that he is incapable of exercising restraint.

The Irish Times is to be complimented on offering alternate views and narratives on the war in Ukraine but to be insightful these perspectives should not be undermined by absurd contentions such as Prof Roberts makes in this instance. – Yours, etc,

MICHAEL GANNON,

Kilkenny.