Paul Collins

There is indeed a whole lot of truth to be found in the timeworn saying that goes, “I we don’t learn from the mistakes of the past, we are condemned to repeat them.” These words were never truer when seen in the events playing out today in Ukraine in the wake of the horror and carnage that is descending over that nation. Like most American’s, I have been glued to the TV, watching the barrages of Russian missiles, bombs, and artillery shaking the ground as they target the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv and the region around the Black Sea warm water port of Odessa. This unprovoked attack commenced on February 24th. It is a heartbreak scenario that has even the coldest of people shocked, saddened, and in awe of the courage, patriotism, gritty determination, and national pride displayed by the Ukrainian people.

Who would ever have imagined that a former Jewish comedian and television actor would have the character and backbone to rise to become a modern day Ukrainian version of Winston Churchill to rally his people, and the world in their darkest hour as Churchill did during the darkest hours of the Blitz in 1940. One can’t help but be in awe of the 44 year old President Voldodymyr Zelensky. Observing the fluid and unfolding David and Goliath scenario that pits the massive military might of Russia against the outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces, noted Atlantic magazine writer Anne Applebaum recently wrote a feature piece with the title, “There are no Chamberlains in this story – but there are no Churchill’s either.” As seen through my eyes, she was incorrect, for as I say, Ukraine, and the world, have found a modern day Churchill in Zelensky.

On September 30, 1938, Neville Chamberlain, a weak and rather naïve British Prime Minister received a heroes’ welcome upon arriving home to London after signing a peace pact with Nazi Germany’s dictator Adolf Hitler at the Munich Conference. The dark and ominous clouds of war hung heavy over the British Empire. England stood poised on the cliff-edge of war with the military Goliath that was the Third Reich. Much like 21st century Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Hitler, with his insatiable appetite for power and world dominance after having annexed Austria into the greater German Reich earlier in 1938, threatened to invade the German-speaking Sudetenland province of Czechoslovakia if it were not given to him. Without any Czech diplomats present at the Munich Conference, Britain and France caved under Hitler’s intimation and formally agreed to cede the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany. Additionally, they signed a non-aggression pact with Germany. Arriving home the naïve and weak Chamberlain held up a meaningless piece of paper and told the gathered crowd of press people, “There will be peace in our time.” One year later Germany launched a massive invasion of Poland that started World War II.

The world stood by and did nothing, giving into the demands of a mentally unhinged dictator with an unquenchable thirst for power. As Britain slept, the mighty, and seemingly invincible Nazi armed force marched in Czechoslovakia. Again, the old saying of “if we do not learn from the mistakes of the past, we are condemned to repeat them” echoes down the long dark halls of the past as the world watches the Russian army know cutting through the peace-loving nation of Ukraine like a hot knife through butter in a what is a war of choice on the part of Putin. In the unlighted rooms of his twisted and paranoid mind, he fears Ukraine being fully integrated into the European and Western community of nations. It is a manufactured fear that has no basis in fact. He also suffers from the unrealistic dream of gobbling up innocent nations that were once under the iron boot of the old Soviet Union as a means to create a new Russian Empire.

His unchecked incursions into Crimea and the former Soviet satellite of Georgia serve as proof points of his misguided and unrealistic dreams. And yet…for years NATO has seen this coming and has done nothing to stop the Russian juggernaut when they could have, and should have, taken concrete steps to stop Putin in his tracks. Looking through the reality lens, and in the face of the heroic efforts of Ukraine in standing up and going toe-to-toe with the Russian Bear, it is now too late to stop the inevitable fall of Kyiv and the decapitation of the freely elected Ukrainian head of state and his government. They will surely be replaced by Russian political puppets who will gladly do Putin’s bidding. While the bravery that the Ukrainians have shown on the battlefield in a lopsided scenario that is a bit like the Nashua High School football team playing the New England Patriots, is awe-inspiring, and yet it is also heartbreaking.

President Zelensky and his nation are a beacon of light that has illuminated the dark corners of the night that has descended upon their country. They have not shrunk or cowered in the face of overwhelming odds. The world is watching, and Ukraine has shown them the meaning of courage and grace under pressure.

The hammer of massive economic sanctions that the US and its partners have brought down on Russia will, over time, cripple Russia’s economy completely, and President Biden should be commended for ordering and implementing them. However, the United States and its NATO and EU partners should have flexed their military muscle when they had the chance. America has the most powerful military in the history of the world, and the threat of it being unleashed should have been brought into the equation early-on. Much like his friend Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin is a bully who picks on those who are smaller than him. In the final analysis, the only thing that bullies understand is when someone has the courage to stand up to them and hit back.

Again, looking through the lens of reality and the clarity of hindsight, it seems true that when we fail to learn from the mistakes of the past….we are indeed condemned to repeat them. As I write this, my heart is breaking for Ukraine and her people, for this was preventable.

Paul Collins is a freelance writer from Southborough, Massachusetts.