Editorial: Mr Putin, stop this war now!

After days and weeks of massing his troops at the border between Russia and Ukraine, Russian President, Vladimar Putin finally ordered his troops onto taking offensive action against Ukraine This is most unfortunate and despicable.

Putin is basing his right to strike at his neighbour on the fact of Ukraine’s closeness to the North Atlantic Reaty Organisation, NATO. According to him, feelers are that the Western-inclined military alliance is getting set to admit Ukraine into its fold.

Putin’s claims, excuses and tales do not add up. It is not for him to choose Ukraine’s friends for her. Both are sovereign states.  Besides, Ukraine’s application to join NATO is a process that has been ongoing for a long-time. If the Western allies wanted Ukraine in, they would have done so a long time ago. That they have not speaks to the fact that they had long tried to avoid a situation like this where an empire-building Putin would latch on that very point to strike.

Added to the primary burden of the war is the associated toll on women, children and civilians. After the first few days of hostilities, United Nations estimates were that the numbers of people who had fled the country were now well over 500,000., For a country with a population of 44m people, this is a tough one. This is also not counting the numbers of the dead and wounded among other associated casualty statistics.

Mr Putin should walk his troops out of Ukraine today. This newspaper stands with the good people of Ukraine against the reckless war-mongering of a bitter and insidious bully who threatens all of the world by an action such as this invasion clearly portends.