Opinion
Guest opinion: We’ve passed the point of no return
Jens Ulrik Høgh
This article is more than 2 years old.
When thousands of Putin’s Russian tanks violated the Ukrainian border in February, few imagined Ukraine would still be an independent nation this autumn. I certainly didn’t. I honestly thought that my sincere support of Ukraine would be futile when their ill-equipped troops had to face the second largest army in the world.
A catalogue of disasters
I grew up in Denmark in the 1970s learning that the Danish military would be able to hold back an attacking Soviet army for a matter of hours. At best. I was therefore surprised to see the Russian army struggling – and quickly failing – to take Kyiv.
Since then, the brutal war that Russia chose to start in Ukraine seems to be a neverending Russian attempt to break all historical records of military incompetence. From dozens of Russian commanders failing to stay alive for longer than mosquitoes to massive missile cruisers, military airbases and strategic bridges wiped out in spectacular “smoking incidents”.
Thousands of wrecked Russian tanks litter the Ukrainian landscape, and tens of thousands of Russian soldiers will never return to their families. And yet the Putin regime keeps pouring ill-prepared troops willingly into the meat grinder.
Russia’s war to end
The Russian assault on Ukraine was a brutal rape attempt on a national level from the beginning. However, nobody expected the victim to fight back with such determination, efficiency and courage.
I was wrong when I initially predicted a swift Ukrainian defeat. As the situation looks now, I am convinced that Ukraine has a good chance of throwing the invaders out of their country if this war continues to be fought by conventional means.
All Ukraine needs is our unwavering support – and lots of it – because the least catastrophic outcome of this war is the complete annihilation of all Russian forces on Ukrainian soil. Nobody invited Russia to invade, murder, bomb, burn and rape the people of Ukraine.
Let us all keep reminding the Russian regime of that fact and ensure that Ukraine never runs out of ammo. Russia is losing this war in a spectacular manner. They are welcome to cut their losses, leave the scene and pay the bill any time.
We must hold firm
And what if Putin eventually pushes the big red button in desperation? Then we’re probably all gone anyway. Just as the free world will be reduced to a distant memory if we yield to the demands of the rapist. This is no time for fear nor reluctance.
The only thing left to negotiate is the amount of damage that Russia must pay for its historical temper tantrum. There is no solution to this crisis other than teaching the beast some manners.
About
Jens Ulrik Høgh
Jens Ulrik Høgh, 51, is a full-time Danish freelance writer who has been living in Sweden for the last 18 years. He is a family father with vast travel experience and a keen interest in our world. Over the years, he has participated in the ongoing public debate in most Danish mainstream newspapers.