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Whither Ukraine—Ruin with War or Hope with Peace
The nation is perishing, yet the war grinds on.
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Can a policy that is most in keeping with the welfare of the people of Ukraine be adopted in present-day conditions if the truth regarding the existing situation is better understood and widely known?
It is with this question in mind that Iuliia Mendel has written a widely discussed article published recently (15 September 2026) in The Spectator. This article is titled ‘Zelensky’s Strategy is National Suicide’. Mendel’s criticism of Zelensky’s policies here should be seen in the context of the facts that she is also a strong critic of Russia, that earlier she was a supporter of Zelensky, and that she was in fact his first Press Secretary..
Describing the highly distressing conditions in Ukraine, Mendel writes that the number of people dying in Ukraine is approximately four times the number of births. The population has been reduced to less than half its size at the time of emerging as a separate country about 35 years ago.
Pointing out the desperate conditions, Mendel writes: “In the 5th year of the full-scale war, the state’s offer to civilians in the worst affected regions is often simply: leave. People on the frontline who have no money and no means are told to go somewhere else.”
At the same time, “there are reports of the disabled being pushed to frontline combat, of men dying mysteriously in recruitment offices, of women fighting to save husbands from being kidnapped in broad daylight.”
Corruption in forced recruitment is running into billions of dollars as those taken away forcibly can later escape by paying bribes. Wartime corruption at other levels is high too and many in the government are making millions of dollars from this war.
Mendel has also drawn attention to increasing economic problems, with public debt being over 110% of GDPGross Domestic ProductThe total monetary or market value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a specific time period. already. She also warns of the ‘humanitarian catastrophe that will arrive with the winter snow’.
After describing many increasing problems, Mendel concludes: “The nation is perishing, yet the war grinds on.”
Mendel makes a very strong case for ending this war as early as possible, and concentrate on rebuilding the nation. So why does the West think otherwise? Mendel replies, “There is a feeling that the western establishment would rather see Russia burn than Ukraine saved.” More specifically, she says that while Ukraine has suffered very heavily, “since 2022 European countries have paid Moscow well over $230 billion for fossil fuels, more than they have given Kyiv in aid of all forms.”
The overall situation that emerges from this widely discussed article is that the nation and the people of Ukraine really need the war to end, but the West, particularly the European establishment, as well as corrupt elites within Ukraine (making millions of dollars from war), may want the war to continue.
In an earlier article in the Spectator (April 28, 2026), the journal’s associate editor Owen Mathew was critical of both Russia and Ukraine. Speaking of conditions in Ukraine, he wrote (in an article titled ‘How the Ukraine War could End in Revolt’): “Even though the draft age was earlier expanded to every man between 25 to 60, the Ukrainian army found a desperate shortage of manpower, exacerbated by mass desertion. There are more than 300,000 official cases of absence without leave, representing a third of the total Ukrainian military. The widespread practice of ‘busification’—the tactic of hauling unwilling conscripts into buses by force—has become a key focus point of popular anger.’, the tactic of hauling unwilling conscripts into buses by force has become a key focus point of popular anger. Just 20% of Ukrainians say they would vote for Zelensky in the next elections, according to the Kyiv School of Economics; such is the level of unhappiness. There are daily videos of recruiters knocking men off bicycles with vans, dragging them into cars, pepper spraying them at pop concerts, in shopping malls and in restaurant kitchens.” This article adds that several of them are kept in detention center like conditions from where they often escape only by paying bribes.
This article has quoted from a previous article by Iuliia Mendel which stated, “Hundreds of thousands of young Ukrainians have been killed or maimed, families are exhausted, the economy is in ruins…a slow motion catastrophe dressed up as a moral virtue.”
These situations convey a very strong sense of the need to end the war as early as possible. As elections have not been held in Ukraine under martial lawTemporary Military RuleThe temporary imposition of military rule over a civilian population, usually during a time of emergency, war, or rebellion, suspending ordinary law. conditions, we have a situation here of people wanting peace but those in key decision-making positions being more addicted to their excessive power and large-scale corruption in present conditions. Due to the big gulf between people and selfish power-wielders, the war is continuing.
To end the extreme war-related distress of people, conditions for peace must somehow be created, and everyone committed to peace and to the end of war-related suffering should strive for this. The urgency of peace increases further due to the fact that as long as the war continues, there is the risk of escalation and widening of the war with very frightening possibilities.
All peace-loving persons in the West, and particularly in the most powerful European countries, should campaign for peace so that a few top leaders here are not able to continue imposing their non-rational agenda of continuing the war. They should make it clear to people that the very narrow aggressive thinking which supports war is also harmful for Europe and can even be self-destructive. Respected people committed to peace all over the world, with religious and spiritual leaders, including the Pope, also playing an important role, should come forward for ending the war as early as possible. The entire hypocrisy of instigating a proxy war and then cloaking this instigation and the resulting ruin of Ukraine in false morality should be exposed by the Western people themselves. and then cloaking this instigation and the resulting ruin of Ukraine in false morality should be exposed by the western people themselves. The global south should keep emphasizing the need for peace and lending a helping hand for this whenever possible.
I think peace is best achieved through direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Efforts should be made by both sides to try to end the war on a note of goodwill so that persisting problems do not continue to again give others opportunities for creating discord between two neighbors who should strive for not just ending the war, but also for a future of peace and cooperation which will be helpful for both countries. There is always precious space for peace even in terrible times of war, which should be seized with both hands.
Disclaimer:The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Rift.
