When you wake up last Thursday, it’s as if you could feel the shock wave of the tectonic plates of global geostrategy moving. This is what I felt, personally: Russia invading Ukraine, this time is different.
Posted at 11:39 a.m.
The wars in Iraq (1990 and 2003), in the former Yugoslavia (1991-2001), in Afghanistan (2001-2021), the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union (1979-1989) have given rise to indignation and/or concern… But not this type of concern.
How far back does it take for a superpower to take such reckless, dangerous actions for the order of the world? The 1962 missile crisis, when the Americans and the Soviets looked each other in the eye, at the risk of starting a war?
This time it’s different. Russia invades Ukraine, a dictatorship that attacks a resolutely European democracy, allied with all the liberal democracies in the world.
There is war with tanks and shells. And there is the war with currencies and sanctions. These are two fronts of the same war. Crushing the rouble, freezing transactions with the Central Bank of Russia, hampering banking transactions with Russian entities, banning Russian planes from democratic airspace — in short, the arsenal of Western sanctions imposed on Russia is not not a way to wage war?
Yes, this time it’s different. This time, countries that had no particular desire for war are getting involved: Germany broke in a few minutes with decades of foreign policy, sending arms to the Ukrainians and pledging to raise its military budget to deal with the Russian threat. Ditto for Finland, which is going to send arms to the Ukrainians and which is considering joining NATO. Sweden, same thing.
In my lifetime, never had a war caused such a shock wave in my society, among individuals. The Iraq war in 2003? Yes, in a way. But we were more indignant, we were in doubt in the face of American intentions, which reeked of the stage in the face of the threat of weapons of mass destruction (it was a stage), we were outraged to see the United States deploy their omnipotence to kill this fly, Saddam…
Nineteen years later, it’s different. We felt in 2003 that the risks of conflagration in Iraq were limited. In 2022, with the attack on Ukraine, it’s different. The historical parallels are terrifying. The last time a European power invaded neighbors, it ended pretty badly.
In my lifetime, never had a war caused such a shock wave in my society, among individuals. Do people feel challenged in their flesh by what is happening in Ukraine, by the potential for destabilization that Russian aggression generates? Here, I have just hung up on an interview with Julien Auger: this doctor from Saint-Jérôme wants to go to Ukraine to contribute to the resistance effort, by caring for the sick and wounded.
On Saturday, on the Reddit platform, a group of citizens of the world who want to go to fight in Ukraine had 3,000 Internet users, D tells me.r Auger: “Today, wait… There are 26,000.”
At the end of the week, the Quebec doctor sent $500 to a former soldier from Toronto who was collecting donations to finance his trip to Ukraine, where he wants to go and fight. The ex-soldier answers the call of President Zelensky who openly invites those who have combat experience to go to Ukraine.
For Julien Auger, 35, Russian aggression in Ukraine transcends the Russia-Ukraine standoff. It is an invasion that changes the order of the world, it is an act of war that has repercussions for anyone living in a democracy.
Then, in the middle of his reflections and his discussions with his girlfriend and with Internet users, Julien Auger asked himself: and me, what can I do?
The answer was obvious: care.
“I don’t take up arms, but I want to help in my own way. In this conflict, I think I have a role to play. I am a family physician with experience in emergency medicine, critical care. The Ukrainians are under attack, they didn’t ask anyone. If that happened to us here, I would mobilize. Why shouldn’t I help them? »
I told you louder than ever in my lifetime, a war had never challenged so many people in my society. Maybe it’s just an impression. Maybe my subjectivity takes over. But the story of the Dr Julien Auger is a striking example of what I am telling you here. He is not the militarist type, on the contrary: he was quite cold to the idea of armed interventions abroad, increases in military budgets…
But what is happening in Ukraine has changed his view of the world.
“The invasion of Ukraine highlights the importance of having the ability to defend yourself. »
On February 27, the Ukrainian Ministry of Health sent out an appeal to medical professionals who want to help Ukrainians. Julien Auger followed the procedure, he contacted the Ukrainian Embassy in Ottawa to offer his services. He waits for the answer. He wants to leave as soon as possible, even if it means heading for the Ukraine-Poland border to help the refugees.
– Do you have children, Doc?
– Two, 3 and 5 years old.
The Dr Auger knows where I’m coming from, anticipates the question: “The idea is not to put myself in danger. I will be in a hospital. Hospitals, caregivers are protected by international law, the law of war…”
I evoke courage, in half words. Doctor Auger’s answer is ready: “The Ukrainians are braver than me, as are the American, Canadian or British citizens who are going to fight. Russians who protest Putin are brave. Me, I’m going to work in a hospital, I won’t face the tanks. A hospital is supposed to be protected by the laws of war. And if Putin attacks hospitals, it will be further proof that it is important to act. »
Dr. Auger has multiplied the interviews, since the Reuters news agency quoted him in a dispatch published Monday on foreign volunteers who want to help Ukraine. It is no coincidence that he makes media appearances: “I speak up, he says, to inspire others. So that the Canadian government continues to put pressure, too. I knew it was going to make people talk, react. If I don’t, who will? »
1. https://en.moz.gov.ua/article/news/we-invite-our-foreign-colleagues-to-work-in-medical-institutions-during-this-difficult-time
2. https://www.reuters.com/world/americans-canadians-answer-ukraine-call-foreign-fighters-2022-03-01/
3. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-in-30-minutes-germany-ended-decades-of-policy-on-military-energy-debt/