A world in crisis , Covid, Ukraine and Climate destruction - what next?

The terrible scenes from Ukraine over recent weeks have shocked the world. The unleashing of violence by Russian President Vladimir Putin against people of another country, under no pretext, is very hard to fathom War always amounts to a total breakdown in human relations, a grotesque failure, leading to untold damage. Since the Second World War, all manner of laws, conventions and diplomatic structures have been put into place to prevent armed conflict taking place The UN, though imperfect, has played an important role as a place where people talk and resolve differences, rather than leap to violence. There have been conflicts over the past 77 years, such as Korea in the 1950s, Vietnam, Afghanistan (twice) and Iraq (twice). But in the main, it has been a period of peace compared to what went before. What is so difficult to understand is how President Putin can justify the huge amount of destruction unleashed. The thousands of deaths, the millions of refugees and demolition of much of what was a modern country. Is it all about imperial dreams of a greater Russia? Whatever the motivations , the actions and resulting devastation do not justify Putin's actions. The remainder of the world has held back from military intervention, which given the nuclear angle could bring the end for us all. Economic and cultural war though has been declared. Sanctions and boycotts have isolated Russia as a world pariah, but will it be enough? Is this a way to restrain violent conflict? Only, time will tell. What is for sure is that there needs to be a new push for peace and reinstatement of means to avoid war. The precedence of international law needs to be restored, something that took a severe knock when the US and UK invaded Iraq in 2003. Something, that President Putin no doubt noted, prior to invading Ukraine. It must be hoped that among those means is not a new arms race. The.tills of the arms manufacturers across the world have already been ringing loud and clear, as a result of the Ukraine conflict. The world has massive problems, like climate and biodiversity destruction, to focus upon. Huge resources are required to deal with these threats. Another arms race, amid an even more unstable world, is the last thing required. These certainly are turbulent times, first a worldwide pandemic killing millions, now war in Ukraine. It was hoped that life might change for the better coming out of Covid, a realisation that we all need to come together for the common good of all. Let's hope that when the Ukraine conflict is over, and peace returns, that a similar sentiment prevails. The generosity and support of ordinary people in the street for the stricken in Ukraine has been overwhelming. It is these sentiments that need to be plugged into in order to create a better, more peaceful world, not more arms sales and carbon emissions.