The fighting women of Ukraine

People fleeing the conflict cross a Moldova-Ukraine border checkpoint on March 14. The number of refugees who have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24 has topped 2.8 million, according to the United Nations. (Photo: AFP)

Valiant Ukrainian women are playing their part in defying the invading Russian forces

News reports streaming out from Ukraine show the courageous resistance and the unity of Ukrainians in the face of the almighty Russian army of Vladimir Putin, the tyrant ruling Russia as an autocracy.

This is an immoral war, with the killing and indiscriminate bombing of civilians denounced by Pope Francis and world leaders. Nothing can justify it. While the fighting men of the Ukrainian army are on the front line, holding back the advancing tanks in a David and Goliath confrontation, the power of the women of Ukraine is seen working too.

Women worldwide are a power unto themselves and must be celebrated and admired for their talents, intelligence and courageous action for justice and resisting evil. The Ukrainian women are doing this and a million are saving children from cruel Russian bombs and bullets.

The greatest weakness of a portion of the male population has been underestimating and refusing to acknowledge the power, influence and importance of women in shaping and guiding society, and in some nations ruling with wisdom.It is the women of the world who ensure the survival of the human species, not only through their unique nature and willingness and ability to bear children and nurture them but also through their great contributions to many fields of education, law and science. For many, they are the strength of the family and agents of social change in society.

They battle for their rights because weak and depraved males prey upon them and abuse and exploit them. Millions of women suffer violence, physical, psychological and sexual abuse and are exploited in many unjust ways. They bravely resist, fight back and speak out against the powerful abusers and hold them to account by the #MeToo movement whereby their voices are heard and amplified. Many abusers have been brought to justice, including corrupt royals, for abusing them as minors.

"When a Russian tank passes below an apartment window,
that Russian tank can expect brave, valiant Ukrainian women
to light the cloth and throw it on the tank close to the engine"

The Ukrainian women are showing the strength of power of women to overcome the hardship of war and many have joined the Ukrainian resistance. They are learning to use weapons and others are in basements making camouflage nets and Molotov cocktails. These are petrol bombs in a bottle with soap powder mixed in and a petrol-soaked cloth on the top. They are moving from the kitchen to the front line.

When a Russian tank passes below an apartment window, that Russian tank can expect brave, valiant Ukrainian women to light the cloth and throw it on the tank close to the engine. That’s the most vulnerable spot where the soap powder makes the flames stick to the metal and they are sucked into the engine air intake and it ignites the fuel. Imagine a tank taken out with a few bottles of petrol and sticky soap. The Russians fear urban warfare and street fighting.

The war has stagnated near the capitol Kiev due to a huge strategic mistake by Putin. Like Hitler, he wants to direct the war personally. He imagined the war would be a swift tank and bombing attack, with swarms of Russian troops all over the cities in a few days, and the Ukrainian government would surrender. Then he would install his puppet government and rule from Moscow. It has not happened.

The Ukrainians are fighting back strongly and are bringing down helicopters and planes with Stinger ground-to-air hand-held rockets and air defense missiles. Several Russian generals have been killed. Western nations cannot join the war or it will become a wide European war. The most lethal Western-supplied weapon is the shoulder-fired anti-tank missile, the Javelin.

Many Russian tanks have been destroyed and verified Russian planes and helicopters shot down number at least 20, but Ukraine claims 48 Russian aircraft have been shot down. European nations and the US are supplying thousands more weapons and assault rifles and ammunition.

This Ukrainian resistance is an unprecedented challenge to an overwhelming modern Russian army. Led by charismatic president Volodymyr Zelensky, a former actor who played a president on TV and became president himself, he is a powerful leader in this time of crisis. His TV experience in using the media to rally the people to fight back is invaluable.

"To launch a war of aggression for no cause other than the lust for power and control
is the most evil thing one can do. It is as stupid as stupid can be"

Putin might eventually overwhelm Ukraine and destroy the cities and rule a total ruin. He is paying a heavy price already and it will be a pyrrhic victory. When he does, there will be a Ukrainian government in a secret base fighting and directing an underground guerrilla resistance attacking Russians at will. It will be at a huge cost to Russia to try and occupy Ukraine.

Another big miscalculation by Putin has been the unity of the world’s nations. Asian nations and all free world nations except China, India and some others have joined in unity to stop Putin. He has united the EU, Nato and all nations against him. He has defeated himself in the long term, made himself a war criminal and turned the world against him.

The sanctions against Russian banking, trade, oil and gas and economic boycotts against products are growing. All will eventually cripple his economy and turn his people against him, too. Investors are fleeing and many thousands of Russian people are now unemployed.

The buyers of Russian oil and gas, the source of national revenue, are backing out and seeking alternative supplies. The oligarchs that surround him are losing their wealth, million-dollar villas and yachts are being seized, their bank accounts frozen and their shares and stocks are in free-fall. There is nothing to be gained and much to be lost in the war made by Putin. The corrupt tyrant has fallen victim to his own corruption. Putin can’t win this war. He can only pretend to do so.

His massive crackdown on the media is not enough to stop the news eventually getting out to the Russian people that the war is doomed. They will realize they have been led into a quagmire with hundreds, if not thousands, of their teenage soldiers killed in a failed war. Weep for Ukraine but save a tear for the duped and misled Russians and their thousands of dead children and destroyed economy.

To launch a war of aggression for no cause other than the lust for power and control is the most evil thing one can do. It is as stupid as stupid can be.

* The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News. Father Shay Cullen is an Irish Columban missionary.