Estonia’s Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, has become the EU’s most forceful advocate for an uncompromising response to Russian aggression.
by Victor Cherubim
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, more than 20 million people are thought to have been displaced, livelihoods shattered and women and children have been the most vulnerable, not knowing how things will pan out for them or their families.
Husbands left behind, able-bodied men as well as feeble old men, unable to leave their war torn homes or their country as refugees.
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| Prime Ministers Magdelena Andersson of Sweden & Sanna Marin of Finland |
President Putin by his attack on Ukraine has strangely united all women not only in Ukraine but around the world. He wanted to make war in Europe, whereas wars were only known for nearly a century, in far off lands other than in Europe. He wanted to ward off NATO off his borders, but instead by his actions, united NATO and enlisted countries like Finland and Sweden to apply for NATO membership.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has posed a grave threat to Europe. Finland and Sweden have been assessing their decades old neutrality and join the 30 member NATO Alliance. During the years of the Cold War, Finland avoided provoking the Soviet Union maintaining good relations with Moscow as well as the United States. Sweden had other reasons to stay out of NATO?
Women at the top of the struggle
Estonia’s Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, has become the EU’s most forceful advocate for an uncompromising response to Russian aggression. She made a short visit just days ago (13 May, 2022) to attend an event hosted by the Finnish Bar Association. She is reported to have stated: “The Russians want to threaten us, but the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.”
Readers will recall that Estonia, unlike Finland was under occupation by the Soviet Union for five decades, while Prime Minister, Kallas was growing up.
As a NATO member, she has stated:” History is being made by our northern neighbours and pledged a rapid accession process for NATO membership to Finland and Sweden”.
UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, has supported Estonia by sending a crack UK Naval presence to protect Estonia.
Estonia is a small country pressed up against the Baltic Sea and Russia, the northeastern limit of NATO and the European Union (EU) in Eastern Europe.
Finland’s Prime Minister, Sanna Marin (SDP) visited Tallin, the capital of Estonia, in March this year.
Today (15 May 2022), Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister, Sanna Marin, announced that they are in favour for applying for NATO membership. This announcement also makes it all but certain that Finland will join NATO, discussed at the NATO Summit. The Berlin Meeting of NATO Member States ends on 16 May 2022.
Sweden’s application and Prime Minister, Magdalena Anderson was said to lag behind Finland in its bid to join NATO until recently, but now is expected to join the alliance, in coming days changing a whole security landscape.
Germany’s Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock has accused Moscow of extending the war, “a military war, to a grain war” by blocking exports from Ukraine.
How has Russia responded?
Russia has responded by lashing out at NATO since the alliance members started aiding Ukraine. They see it as “a vehicle for western imperialism over mutual protection”.
Today (15 May 2022) Russia in turn has stopped its electricity export overnight to Finland, while Finland says it can make up the difference with imports from Sweden.
Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Minister, accused the West of declaring “a total hybrid war on his country.”
Russian landmass
Though Russia is massive, 70 times the size of UK. Its borders contain more than 10% of the entire earth’s landmass, with over 200 different ethnic groups. Russia is fighting a war of its making, creating more enemies than it intended, due to poor management, low morale and added Sanctions.
But most of all President Putin is fighting a lone war against women and Women Leaders, around the entire world. Women see him as a Male Chauvinist, as their enemy for depriving them of their livelihood and their men to fight a war without end.
Ukraine appears to have won the “Battle of Kharkiv” with President Putin’s forces struggling to make significant progress. The war was due to end on Russia’s Victory Day 9 May 2022 but is hardly over.
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