Opinion | Why was the Chinese President in Moscow? Consider: Deadly battle for Bakhmut and Biden's dire situation
By Augustus K. Yeung
INTRODUCTION
It is easy for Jens Stoltenberg, to "visit" East Asia and visualize war against an "assertive" China. He travelled there to instigate war. Why doesn't he travel to Ukraine where the battlefield is and "visit" the wounded soldiers? Does he care about them and the displaced civilians there?
Stoltenberg should consider Bakhmut, or simply go there, where the battlefield is described as "real hell".
Lest the readers forget the horror of war, the following text was reported by Associate Press about Bakhmut, the battlefield – where war has been going on for months, with thousands of soldiers on both sides killed and wounded. And why should they?!
Battle for Bakhmut is 'real hell,' muddy, bloody, and cold
Standing in mud, a group of Ukrainian soldiers armed with military kit and rations wait nervously to be sent as reinforcements to the eastern town of Bakhmut.
Aged 25 to 52, they are bound for the scene of the longest and bloodiest battle of Russia's invasion, a town described by one frontline soldier as "real hell".
NATO has warned Bakhmut could fall to the Russians within days. Moscow says Bukhmut is important, a step to securing the surrounding Donbas region, a major war aim.
Russian mercenary group Wagner claims to control Bakhmut's eastern side, but Kyiv has ordered Ukrainian troops to bolster defenses.
As the group waits in Chasiv Yar, some 5km to the west, to be taken into the trenches, the frozen men adjust their gear, not knowing exactly where they will be sent."
"It's classified," said one soldier who uses the call sign Kit. "We infantry soldiers are told right before the move."
Months into the battle and after a bitterly cold winter, Ukrainian forces are exhausted.
The main aim now is to prevent a complete Russian encirclement. The men are armed with Kalashnikovs, traditional RPG-7 rocket launchers and more modern Swedish AT4s. They are kitted out with sleeping beds and floor mats, as well as cans of food, fruit juice and energy drinks.
"The most important part is interaction within on unit…When you know what to expect from your mates during combat," said Kit.
Both Ukraine and Russians are Keeping Heavy Losses in Battle for Bakhmut Secret…
Both Ukraine and Russians have conceded heavy losses in the battle for Bakhmut, a salt-mining town with a pre-war population of just over 70,000, but neither side has given fatality numbers.
A driver of armored vehicle ferrying soldiers to and from the front, Sergiy, said he regularly picked up depleted soldiers. "Everyday it's snowing or raining. People are very tired but still fighting."
The men concentrated on top of the armoured vehicle and Sergiy drove them to the front through the dirt road of Chasiv Yar.
On its eastern edge, close to the front, most residential buildings have no intact windows. Artillery fire from nearby Ukrainian positions reverberates around the town constantly.
Recent rains have reduced most of Chasiv Yar's streets to mud. Going to and from the front, Ukrainian Soviet T-80 tanks regularly pass through the roads, making them even muddier.
Ambulances also come and go. In one, two doctors in military fatigues sat near a plastic body bag containing a soldier's remains.
"It's very hard to see young boys die, I hope it is not in vain," one doctor said. "They deserve to be buried like humans and not simply in the field."
They also said ambulances were often a target. "It's dangerous if you are new in a position and you don't know where to hide or where the enemy is."
Outside Chisiv Yar, a 22-year soldier name Andriy concentrated over an American M119 howitzer, waiting to receive coordinates for his target.
As he waited, a Russian shell exploded nearby. He took Agency France-Presse to a shelter in a freshly dug narrow trench where the damp earth stuck to his shoes. Two other Russian strikes followed several minutes apart.
After waiting several hours, he received the coordinates. After firing around 15 rounds in an hour, his superiors told him that he had "hit the target'.
An unused shell lay nearly – carrying the name "Da Vinci" – a nom de guerre used by a Ukrainian commander killed in the battle for Bakhmut.
His real name was Dmytro Kotsiubailo, a national hero who fought for Ukraine since the conflict with Moscow-backed separatists in 2014.
For the soldiers going into Bukhmut, the future looks bleak.
"We don't need this war," one said. "The Russians also don't need it, I think." (Source: Associated Press)
CONCLUSION
The Ukrainian soldier is right; they "don't need this war". And "the Russians also don't need it." Being far away from the East European battlefields, we the people in Asia are enjoying the material comforts of peace and prosperity. We don't want war as well.
Guess why the Chinese president was in Moscow holding talks with Mr. Vladimir Putin? Stoltenberg would want to say President Xi Jinping was in Moscow for talks about militarily supporting the Russian army…because they are both "autocrats".
And that Stoltenberg and his American-led allies are "democrats", fighting against the Russian invaders to uphold democratic values, etc. His answer is that simple. Who is the NATO Chief, Stoltenberg trying to deceive?!
For us international observers, we know that to be a broker of peace, a country has to have what it takes such as economic strengths and sincerity – and something or someone that they can trust. China fulfills all these prerequisites. But China will have to be patient.
The vital question is does Washington – which is fighting a proxy war in Eastern Europe – want peace, and when?
For President Joe Biden, the time for peace will come when he can perfectly secure his chance of winning the 2024 presidential election by keeping his archrival Donald Trump at bay; he is a personal threat and a real national threat to American democracy.
So, don't just blame Biden.
The author is a freelance writer; formerly Adjunct Lecturer, taught MBA Philosophy of Management, and International Strategy, and online columnist of 3-D Corner (HKU SPACE), University of Hong Kong.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
Read more articles by Augustus K. Yeung:
Opinion | NATO chief is exploiting Asian weak links and sabotaging Asia's millennium
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