President Putin’s cruel abuse of Ukraine affects the whole world. Even those of us who were born well after World War II now have an idea of ​​what the European continent went through during the ravages of Adolf Hitler.

Like World War II

Despite the fact that there are three quarters of a century between the atrocities, the images of the battlefield give the impression of great similarities. Tanks are burned and abandoned along country roads. Dead soldiers lie strewn under a warm spring sun, left as stinking carcasses without even a nod of honor from their Russian superiors. The ruins of bombed houses remain as skeletons. Innocent civilians are in despair and must deal as best they can between despair, hunger and the disappearance of their loved ones.

For someone who has never been close to a war (conscription was served at the Defense Data Center at Akershus Fortress), it may seem like time has stood still. Hasn’t technology advanced since World War II? If the images from Ukraine had been black and white, many scenes could have been mistaken for the tragedy of the forties of the last century.

But the development has been great

Although time may sometimes seem to have stood still, technology has actually evolved. It took large skipped over the 75 years that have passed since an all-powerful despot last threatened Europe. The impression that nothing happened is due to several factors.

• Ukraine has good morale in its defense forces. President Zelenskyj is the new wine for those concerned about leadership under pressure. Smart warfare pays off.

• The Russians obviously have demotivated forces. This reduces the advantage of having supreme military technological superiority, both in volume and technology.

• Additionally, the Russians were ill-prepared and failed in logistics regarding both fuel and food for the troops. They come across as amateurs, given their huge and advanced arsenal.
• The forces as a whole also lack sufficient communications knowledge and technology. They are regularly listened to by the civilization they are trying to eradicate.

• Ukraine’s effective ground-to-air defenses made it difficult for the Russians to gain dominance in the air.

• More importantly: the Russians have (so far) not used their tactical nukes.

No reason to believe in Putin

Of course, we shouldn’t be naive in this picture either. The impression that Russian forces are demotivated and disorganized does not rule out the possibility that they actually manage to fire tactical nuclear weapons or empty some of their large stockpile of chemical weapons over Ukraine. Putin’s arsenal of weapons of mass destruction must be well stocked. Hopefully, we will not have to answer the question whether the use of these weapons can also be done without annoying military blunders.

There is also no reason to believe Russian indications that they will now limit their attacks to certain parts of Ukraine. The negotiations currently taking place in Turkey seem like a game. Believing in Russian proposals for ceasefires, refugee corridors or peace agreements is difficult. Putin and his men have made it difficult themselves. They are no longer believable.

ancient faith in god

For those of us who were already agnostics before the war in Ukraine, the road to faith in God seems even longer than before. The patriarchs of the Russian clergy support the slaughterhouses of Putin & Co. to excess. In contrast, the belief that a devil actually exists was reinforced. The average Russian will also feel this if the current regime remains in power.

For Norway and our neighbors in the EU and NATO, the priorities are obvious. We must cooperate even more closely, increase our defense efforts – and jointly develop new and even more effective defense technologies. Our defense is better when it is at the cutting edge of technology.

But above all, we must help those we can among Ukrainians and Russians who have been exposed to Putin and his followers from hell in their rampant exercise of evil.