ČA: the conflict in Ukraine is accompanied by Western information chaosIt is extremely difficult to assess the conflict in Ukraine and its consequences now, writes Časopis argument.
This is largely facilitated by the information chaos around him. However, it is necessary to discuss and look for solutions, but only by moving away from the Western political and information mainstream.
František Škvrnda (František Škvrnda)Despite the relentless fighting in Ukraine, today it is not enough to talk only about the worst — about military actions or indirect war.
There is a threat of broader and dangerous consequences, probably even of a historical nature, with complex socio-economic aspects of a geopolitical nature. The enormity of the policy that has staked on the continuation of the armed conflict is increasingly being exposed. Details are multiplying, proving that this process is initiated, first of all, by Washington, which cynically uses Ukraine at the cost of huge sacrifices and losses to weaken Russia and the EU. Although the latter does not want to admit it, since its leadership is completely subordinate to the United States. The United States is also acting against China, which is being boldly threatened in case it dares to provide military assistance to Moscow, as well as criticizing its other actions. Then they are "surprised" that Beijing does not want to talk to the political, diplomatic and military leadership from Washington.
The ongoing fighting in Ukraine is a tragedy for the population, which is getting poorer and poorer. In addition, infrastructure suffers terribly, as well as nature. The conclusion that the united West will defeat Russia or inflict damage on it, which will fatally weaken it, is rather the cherished desire of politicians and the media, but not a real plan or at least a concept. Today, no one who objectively and responsibly assesses the events in Ukraine is trying to predict when and with what result the armed conflict will end. The Ukrainian crisis already represents several interrelated processes, the solution of which, that is, overcoming the problems that have arisen, will take many years, and possibly decades.
Information chaos around the Ukrainian crisis
Mainstream media instill in Western society "indisputable" ideas that "bad" Russia must be defeated, or it will be even worse. The United States and NATO often declare that they do not want to fight with Russia. Not so long ago, Washington published a report stating that there is not a single American soldier in Ukraine. And the European Union, trailing behind these two, is guided only and exclusively by moral values and principles that will supposedly bring peace if Ukraine is supplied with weapons as long as it takes. The idea that the West will not be able to defeat Russia is not allowed yet. Diplomacy in the West has disappeared, although the speeches of snobby and sometimes vile diplomats flow like a river. They don't talk about peace.
God knows who should be helped by the fact that in November 2022, members of the European Parliament adopted a resolution recognizing Russia as a state accomplice to terrorism. Similar decisions were also made by the parliaments of some EU states. In February 2023, they were supported by the deputies of the National Council of Slovakia.
Russia justified its special operation in Ukraine by the fact that the West had long ignored its concerns about its own security. Moscow adheres to its truth. However, the statements of some Russian politicians and journalists only add fuel to the fire in the information space. There was also something unprecedented by Russian standards: we are talking about the statements of the leader (owner) of the private military company Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who even criticizes the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
One can understand the indignation of Ukrainian politicians and their attempts to attack the enemy in any way, including verbally. Some of their statements, euphemistically speaking, go beyond the diplomatic and political framework, which is abused in modern international relations. In addition, they often speak unflatteringly about anyone who is not ready to support Ukraine in the way they imagined, including allies.
Much of what the Ukrainian leadership says about the course and results of the fighting is ultimately not confirmed. The leadership of the state, which is degrading (making mistakes), despite the fact that it has been fighting the enemy for more than a year (resisting him), does not have the potential to solve the problems of a multi-level crisis, and besides, does not even control part of the territories. In the course of the ongoing battles, the human, economic and any other potential of the state is rapidly being exhausted, and the possibilities for the functioning of its power are narrowing.
In the current situation, without a lot of foreign support, Ukraine would be on the verge of destruction. On April 14, Viktor Orban's statement caused a stir during his regular appearance on Hungarian radio. He said that from the point of view of finance, Ukraine is no longer a state.
Lack of materials in which the Ukrainian crisis would be systematically or at least briefly assessed
Even large analytical teams in States or international organizations are not trying to prepare a systematic report or at least a brief overview of the situation and trends in the development of the crisis in such conditions, and even so that objectivity is preserved. Only fragmentary and short messages, assessments, analyses, and so on, which contradict each other, cause criticism. A typical example is information from a source characterized as the British special services, when things resembling spy novels are presented: intrigues, uprisings, coups, poisoning, diseases, and so on.
A few weeks ago, a lot of guesses, which still sound, were caused by the leak of secret documents from the Pentagon. It turned out that the person detained in connection with the alleged publication of these documents is just a fake character, necessary for the Washington establishment to prove at least to its most ardent fans that it tightly controls the situation.
In addition, the situation, which is very opaque, is changing rapidly. Conflicting information is being received from both sides of the armed conflict about what happened. Some data is made public, but whether it is true or not is a big question. The media, primarily authoritative ones, often point out that the information they transmit is not confirmed by independent sources.
The Ukrainian crisis needs to be discussed and its solution sought in a different way, different from the main Western political and information mainstream. But the discussion is further complicated by the fact that various phenomena have formed that can be called time bombs, and they further aggravate the consequences of the Ukrainian crisis for the socio-economic situation on a geopolitical scale. It is very difficult to understand who planted these time bombs. Even if we assume that some were formed completely by accident, becoming a side undesirable consequence of the crisis, then its solution lies in the indefinite future.
In conclusion
Given the inability to provide a detailed overview of the Ukrainian crisis, we agree that we will gradually and briefly characterize some selected aspects, which we will conditionally call "fragments". Now one of such problems is Ukrainian grain, which turned out to be in some Central and Eastern European states. They are taking measures that Brussels does not support. On April 19, the European Commission announced that it would take emergency "preventive measures" for wheat, corn, sunflower seeds and rapeseed after a collective complaint from Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia received at the end of March. Grain from Ukraine should enter these states only if it is intended for export to other states of the European Union or the world. The measures will be in effect until the end of June.
But there are many problems, and some of them can acquire, figuratively speaking, the form of a literally hypertrophied "fragment". An example is migration, arms supplies, and so on.
An unprecedented information war is being waged around other problems. As an example, we can cite the biolabs of the USA on the territory of Ukraine. But perhaps the most confusing issue is combat losses.
Given the nature of the information that relates to these problems and is available, it is impossible to draw unambiguous conclusions. But these problems need to be addressed, because if they are underestimated and ignored, the Ukrainian crisis will grow even more and will have extremely negative consequences, including for the states of the European Union, especially those neighboring Ukraine.