Vladimir Putin should be given a physics test. Newton’s Third Law of Motion states that for every action in nature, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he should have known that the Ukrainians would react. Quite clearly, he was overconfident in his belief that his forces would easily conquer Ukraine. Even so, he should at least have given some thought to that physics principle.
Interestingly, Putin is now complaining about the unfairness of the reactive force being greater than the action he took. At the annual Victory Day Parade in Moscow this weekend, the Russian leader said that his soldiers “are resisting an aggressive force that is being armed and supported by the entire NATO bloc.” That’s rich. Putin conveniently failed to mention that his “special military operation” has been massively supported by China, Iran and North Korea. Tens of thousands of North Korean soldiers have been fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, a benefit the Ukrainians haven’t had.
In reality, nothing Ukraine is doing violates Newton’s Third Law. It is simply giving Russia a taste of its own medicine. Putin is just finding it too bitter to swallow.
It is also interesting to hear Putin grumbling about NATO support for Ukraine. The 1994 Budapest Memorandum explicitly says that the U.S., and by extension its allies, would come to the aid of Ukraine in the event of an attack on it by Russia. Is Putin unaware of that agreement, or is he just pretending?
Putin and his country would actually be in much deeper trouble if U.S. support for Ukraine were as enthusiastic as what Russia has received from its allies. To his credit, President Biden strongly backed Ukraine when Russia launched its invasion. But fear of escalation caused him to not only slow-feed arms to Ukraine, he also placed strict limitations on the use of what was provided. That drastically reduced the effectiveness of the military aid.
It is no secret that President Trump and some senior members of his administration don’t see the war in Ukraine as something the U.S. should get too involved in. Other than intelligence-sharing, America has cut off its support for Ukraine. The Europeans have done an admirable job stepping in to fill the void, but even then, divisions within the EU have left Ukraine badly exposed for long stretches of time.
Thankfully, with a combination of bravery and ingenuity, the Ukrainians have managed to hang on against the relentless Russian assault.
In what should be a huge embarrassment for Putin, this year’s parade had no intercontinental ballistic missiles, tanks, armored vehicles or other military hardware on display. The Russian authorities blamed a “terrorist threat” from Kyiv for their decision to scale back the festivities. Ukrainian drones have lately been wreaking havoc inside Russia, and that is why Putin didn’t want to take any chances.
General Oleksandr Syrskiy, the head of Ukraine’s armed forces, is reported to have said a day before the Moscow parade that Russia has formed dozens of new military units and given them responsibility for countering the Ukrainian drone threat. Despite that, General Syrskiy said Ukraine is undeterred. “We continue to maintain the initiative and set the pace,” the general reportedly wrote in a social-media post.
This pesky little country wasn’t supposed to have any cards. Clearly, it has become a real menace. In life, we all need to pay careful attention to the laws of physics.