As of February 28, hostilities in Ukraine are in an active phase. «Fortanga» found out what historians and politicians think about these events.
The «special operation» on the territory of Ukraine (the Russian Ministry of Defense has forbidden to call it a war) began in the early morning of February 24. It led to casualties (no exact data is available yet) and large-scale sanctions, because of which the ruble has been falling for several days. In the past few days, more than 80 cities in Russia have held mass protests against what is happening in Ukraine. As a result, according to «OVD-Info «*, about 6,000 people were detained.
Speaking to Fortanga, the co-chairman of the Ingush regional branch of the Civic Initiative party
Magomed Khazbiyev
noted that the sides should stop the hostilities and sit down at the negotiating table. «I have a negative attitude toward all war and all violence. It is necessary to stop what is happening. What are Ukrainians and Russians dying for? Stop shedding blood! We need to sit down and resolve this issue in a humane way, even a bad peace is better than any war,» Khazbiyev said.
A well-known historian and public figure agrees with him
Yakub Gogiev
. He sees a solution to the problem only in diplomatic terms. «We need to sit down at the negotiating table and stop this war without any conditions. People are dying there, of course, they tell us about point-blank strikes on military targets, but we know that a shell can also hit a civilian. Our soldiers are dying there too, there may be some guys from Ingushetia too. This whole situation just doesn’t make sense, the phrase «Russia is bombing Kiev» sounds wild. It is necessary to come to a compromise, but not to kill people,» he is sure.
Journalist
Isabella Yevloyeva
believes that the decision to carry out the special operation was a mistake for which all Russian residents will have to pay for a long time to come.
«This war is a disgrace and a crime. Putin has long demonstrated by his behavior that he is not interested in domestic politics, improving the lives of Russians, or increasing economic indicators. He imagines himself a great conqueror and wants to go down in history just like that, but there is no greatness in his behavior, and he will go down in history only as Hitler. He has buried the last drops of respect for himself from the world community. Telegram channels are full of pictures of crying Russian soldiers who surrendered and of abandoned equipment. And I do not blame those soldiers who refuse to fight and surrender voluntarily. Unlike Putin, they have a conscience and a will to live, too.
Experts also commented on the possible impact of sanctions on the already difficult economic situation in Ingushetia. The region ranks among the last in the country in terms of unemployment and average wages.
«It was hard enough for our people with miserable wages and inflation, and now it’s going to get even worse. As usual, the price increase will hit the pockets of ordinary people and it won’t lead to anything good,» believes Magomed Khazbiyev.
Yakub Gogiyev also laments the possible consequences for the residents of the republic. «Soon the prices will skyrocket, for food, building materials, and everything else. There’s already rampant unemployment in Ingushetia, and now I don’t know what will happen. If you can still earn something in central Russia, it’s more difficult here,» he said.
Because of the sanctions, the near future promises only impoverishment, degradation and decay, believes Izabella Yevloyeva.
«The country is becoming closed and the population even poorer. At the same time, Putin himself will continue to live as he has been living; his standard of living will not deteriorate. I’m sure he was counting on a blitzkrieg, a kind of blitzkrieg, to take over Ukraine with lightning speed. It did not work. Now the president of the largest country in the world is threatening with nuclear weapons, which, of course, betrays his confusion and irritation,» she added.
* Recognized as a foreign agent in Russia by the Ministry of Justice