Attack on Crimea

A Ukrainian attack on Crimea with US-supplied missiles has triggered a sharp response from Russia. Calling the strike ‘absolutely barbaric’, Moscow has blamed it on the US and warned that retaliation would follow. The Russian foreign ministry has claimed that the missiles were programmed by American specialists on the basis of intelligence data from US satellites and a nearby US reconnaissance drone. Four persons, including two children, were killed and over 150 were injured in the attack on the Crimean city of Sevastopol, where locals were enjoying a holiday.

The incident has triggered a fresh escalation of hostilities in the Russia-Ukraine war, which has entered its 29th month. The civilian casualties have put Ukraine and the US on a sticky wicket, even as the Russian President has been accusing Washington of using Kyiv to undermine Moscow’s security and sovereignty. The spectre of a direct confrontation between Russia and the US-led NATO alliance is looming large, a worrisome throwback to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. This is bad news not only for eastern Europe but for the entire world in both geopolitical and economic terms, considering the adverse impact of supply chain disruptions over the past two years. One grave provocation after another will only make the war drag on, with no end in sight.

A way out has to be found to bring both warring sides to the negotiating table. Unfortunately, the recent peace conference on Ukraine, held in Burgenstock, Switzerland, turned to be an exercise in futility. Some of the attendees, including India, did not sign the joint communique. Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis candidly admitted that most of the decisions taken at the conference could not be implemented without Russian participation. As suggested by New Delhi, there is a need for a ‘sincere and practical engagement’ between Moscow and Kyiv for a peaceful resolution to the protracted conflict.