The other day, a friend of mine shared a set of photographs of angel-like babies with Santa celebrating Christmas and New year in Ukraine. It was all warmth despite winter, reflecting the mirth. There were many photographs and videos shared by many, capturing the beauty of the place called Ukraine…  Then I saw many other images – of the desolate streets, bombers over the skyline, monuments under the threat of the mushroom cloud. I kept silent for a while! Where we are heading? Then I saw the Facebook post that again reflected the same pain:

“And horror, and blood, and death, and despair,
And the cringe of the predator horde,
The little grey hubby
The beginning of black trouble.
This is a beast of a disgusting breed,
Loch ness of cold neva.
Where are you looking, people?!
Today we, and tomorrow you…”~ By Alla Berest

As I went through the maps of the full-scale attack on Ukraine by the Russian troops that crossed the borders and moved toward the capital city of Kyiv, the port city of Odesa. It is a real onslaught from all corners. Without any escape route.

While writing this, I read the news that Russian and Ukraine may hold talks but the tension is not yet over. While Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has agreed to have Ukrainian officials take part in talks with Russia “without preconditions”, President Vladimir Putin has further escalated tensions by placing his nuclear forces on alert. Will the talk fructify? The Russian has been there over Ukraine, which according to Putin’s claim had never been an independent nation! So? Is war the answer?

Once again my friend, who is also an aviation professional, shared an image – a woman with a placard that said ‘Stop the War’!

That’s it! No one wants a war. Still, war is a reality that is cutting across continents, within the nations, within the society. But what for?

Being an Indian, from where hundreds of students are pursuing various courses, I was pained to watch their ordeals while they tried to cross the borders in an effort to get home. But this is not the plight of a few students; this is the condition of hundreds of boys and girls, elderly and the kids, patients and the pregnant women, who are forced to flee their home and walk miles and miles fighting the climatic extremity into equally extreme uncertainty face now.

On the other hand, the Ukrainian airspace is also closed and there has been no flight since the Russian invasion began on February 24. Being an industry professional, the closure of the airspace is an equally worrisome development, not because of the economy but because we feel the heat much stronger than others.

Ultimately, who wins a war? Like anyone else I too ask the same question. I also go through the war photographs and that often leads me to sleepless nights. The other day I was reading that in the aftermath cockroaches were the only thing to survive where the explosions occurred, and they were seen roaming through the rubble. But the truth is that even the cockroaches would not be there to ‘inherit the Earth’ in the event of a nuclear war, which the Putin regime is threatening.

Wherever there is war, life is miserable. From food and shelter to travel, education and profession everything is a casualty of the war. Then the soldiers and civilians who lose their life and also the injured ones who become invalid for life!

The same is the scenario here. President Putin has kick-started the invasion in the name of the safety of the Russian-speaking population of Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine, part of which had been under the control of the Russian-backed separatists. In the name of safety and security, the innocent ones are suffering and no one has a clear answer to their questions. In war there is no right and wrong, there is only pain and loss…

So, let us tell the same thing as legendary John Lennon, acclaimed English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as the founder of the Beatles has said: ‘Give Peace A Chance’! War will never give any hope for the world where you and I live.