'Russia will emerge bruised and weakened from Ukraine war'

Mysore: A former joint secretary, who served in RAW and the diplomatic service, a key member of the Indian Think Tank in New Delhi, Ravi Joshi, said that Russia will emerge weakened and bruised from the Ukraine war.

Joshi was addressing a select gathering at the Kalp Vriksh auditorium, explaining the implications of the Ukraine war.

Ukraine has seen action and a phase of turmoil since 2014. Now a proxy war was going on for the past 25 days. Joshi said Putin could have used the KGB to topple the government in Ukraine. Many have been bumped off in the past in London and elsewhere. He could have tried using other methods to get rid of unfriendly politicians but he has chosen the path of war which seemed to be heading nowhere. Some observers feel The Ukrainian resistance has sallied the image of the rusted Russian forces, and the supplies crunch, the economic sanctions, and gradual isolation will only add to Russia’s woes. Joshi pointed out that the civilian protests in Russia were encouraging signals.

Joshi justified the Indian stand on neutrality and multi-alignment. He said most Indian students who had returned from Ukraine would want to be back, as conditions were quite different there and attractions were many.

Answering a question on India’s stand, he said we have not condemned in the past, why should we now?  Clearly, there was little need to take a moral position. International politics is a jungle, where the law of might prevails.

Joshi said from being a global player now Russia would be reduced to regional power and its dependence on China would increase, whichever way the war eventually ends.