That Russia has wanted to preserve its historic ties with Ukraine is understandable, but Putin has chosen a counterproductive way to do it—something akin to a divorced man raping his former spouse while claiming he loves her. Like Assyria or Babylon of old, Putin’s invasion is an act of empire and, by today’s moral standards, his bombing of civilians to seek capitulation is analogous to terrorism.
All this could pretty much go without saying, at least for anyone with access to Western media, and I usually forgo saying what can go without saying. I mention it, however, in order to offer some other observations that might be pertinent to the situation.
First, it is in situations like this where we can be particularly grateful to journalists for exposing the true situation on the ground, despite serious risks to their safety. This has not always been the case for some U.S. media. In fact, an estimated 2 million people had died in war in the Congo-DRC before the North American newsmagazine I was receiving at the time devoted even half a page to it. I concluded that racism or geographic prejudice was involved: had 1 percent that many victims been from Europe or North America, it would have been front page news for a long time. My wife, meanwhile, experienced a civil war in Congo-ROC that displaced perhaps a quarter of the population, and the newsmagazine never mentioned the war. I complained about U.S. media then, and I therefore owe it to the media (U.S. and otherwise) to commend them now for the great service they are performing for the world.
Second, postcolonial scholarship has rightly condemned the historic exploitation of the Majority World by Western colonialism. I would only urge that, to demonstrate consistency, scholars critical of past colonialism would condemn no less various continuing expressions of empire and oppression, such as (for example) the invasion of Ukraine; violent “jihadist” movements slaughtering and displacing Christians and even larger numbers of moderate Muslims in northern Nigeria and northern Mozambique; the repression of the people of Myanmar; and other life-threatening acts of injustice. Granted, it takes more courage to challenge those who repress disagreement than to challenge those who tolerate or even embrace it. But while it is understandable that threat of imprisonment or other dangers may make silence wiser in some political settings, those in nations with the freedom to speak frankly should be consistent in what behaviors we criticize.
Third, one practical action for my Christian readers—insofar as we believe in a God who really hears prayer—is to pray for those affected by such injustices. Most of us are noncombatants, and most of us (or at least I can speak for myself) have no sway with human world leaders. While we can send resources to help the displaced, our locations in many parts of the world limit the areas where we can offer hands-on help for many of the crises we know about. (Poland merits praise for its embrace of so many refugees.)
But any of us can pray. Certainly my wife and I have been praying passionately for Ukraine. I have also been praying for Russian soldiers, most of them sent into battle involuntarily or misled through propaganda. And we can pray for a change of Putin’s heart—or at least of his plans and, failing that, of his lethal effectiveness. (Worst case scenario is World War 3. And I definitely pray that God will spare us that!) I have friends in both Ukraine and Russia, and I pray fervently for this war to end.
In the Bible, God raises up empires, sometimes to judge others’ wickedness, and casts the same empires down for their own wickedness. The wreckage of fallen empires litters history. There is plenty of evil to go around in today’s world. May we become voices for justice and peace—especially in the court that counts most, before the throne of the ultimate and eternal ruler, the judge of all.
