Irish Examiner view: The Kremlin will not back down easily on Ukraine deal
If Donald Trump is more of a deal maker than a peace maker, a cessation of the Ukrainian conflict is a lot further from anyone’s reach than predicted by the US president. Picture: Alex Brandon/AP
Securing a deal which will end the almost four years of bitter fighting since Russia illegally invaded Ukraine in 2022 is something most world leaders — with one notable exception, it would appear — want to see achieved quickly.
US president Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, held intensive talks in Florida at the weekend, and both remain positively upbeat about progress. But the truth of the matter appears to be that the little they agree upon will appease Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
If, as seems to be the case, Trump is more of a deal maker than a peace maker — despite his unashamed pursuit of a Nobel Peace Prize — then a cessation of the Ukrainian conflict is a lot further from anyone’s reach than predicted by the US president.
Despite the ongoing and seemingly determined efforts to achieve a permanent and workable peace, the continued audacity of Putin and the Kremlin seems certain to stymie all and every effort to get them to stop a senseless and unwinnable war.
That, tied in with Trump’s ongoing unwillingness to put the hammer on Russia — in the shape of draconian sanctions or the supply of heavyweight military hardware to Ukraine — suggests that yet another US deadline for the cessation of the conflict will simply vanish into the ether.
Throughout this process, the basic fact of Russian intransigence has remained a constant with their steadfast position being the war will only end when its “root causes” — a vague concept that would see Moscow retain some form of military and political control of Kyiv — have been addressed.
Putin has shown no inclination of moving away from his stated goals, despite Trump’s most recent assertion that a deal is “95%” at hand.
The remaining 5%, unfortunately, includes the small matter of getting Putin to agree to whatever has been concocted. That appears unlikely.
Until the pressure on Russia is ramped up to the point where Putin caves in, there will be no backing down in the Kremlin.
Nailed-on heroes are hard to find in a world dominated by misinformation and AI-generated slop, but the man who single-handedly prevented further carnage and death in the recent Hanukkah shootings at Bondi Beach is certainly one.
Ahmed Al-Ahmed, who leapt from behind a parked car and disarmed one of the Bondi shooters before being himself shot five times, is without doubt such a hero.
In his first interview since the December 14 massacre in Sydney, the modesty of the man who saved countless lives shone through clearly.
He stated calmly that, while he knows his selfless bravery saved many lives, he was still saddened for those killed in the attack.
He said he “didn’t worry about anything” as he disarmed Sajid Akram on that Sunday afternoon, other that the lives he might save. His aim was simply to protect the lives of the innocent.
He asserted that the simple emotion of not wanting to see people screaming and begging for help drove him to do what he did. His actions came from within his soul, he said.
That sort of naked courage is the thing which, in war and conflict, sees men and women decorated with the highest honours for bravery, and which becomes legend through being recounted in any sort of media — newspapers, television, or film.
The 44-year-old, who is reported to be recovering well from his injuries and the three rounds of surgery they necessitated, has become a global exemplar of the difference one person can make in completely dire circumstances.
His extraordinary actions have given hope to us all that, in unreal and unexpected circumstances, we too could make the difference between life and death for others.
He is now, thankfully, a living icon of hope — the hope that we, each and every one of us, should never lose the belief that we too can be agents for change.
The Danish postal service will today deliver its final letter, ending a tradition which has spanned more than 400 years.
It may be a portent of what is facing mail delivery services across Europe in the coming years.
The announcement of the cessation was made earlier this year when PostNord, an amalgamation of the Swedish and Danish postal services, said it would cut 1,500 jobs and remove 1,500 red post-boxes amid the “increasing digitalisation” of Danish society.
The company cited the “drastic” falling demand in Denmark for letters as its primary reason for ending mail deliveries. It said that the increase in online shopping persuaded it to focus solely on providing a parcel delivery service.
Danish people will still be able to send letters through a delivery company, Dao, which already delivers letters throughout the country.
It delivered some 30m letters in the past 12 months and expects to increase that to 80m next year.
The downside of this arrangement is that customers will have to go to a Dao shop to post letters, or pay extra to have them collected from home. They will also have to pay for postage either online or via an app.
In this country, where the postal services are such an intrinsic part of the fabric of our rural society in particular, we have already seen the impact on communities of post office closures and can only imagine the effect of house-to-house deliveries being shut down.
The human aspect of people calling to isolated homes and their residents is inestimable and, even in an age where digitisation is beginning to rule our lives, we cannot underestimate the role played by the people who connect daily with the wider community. Danish postal services have been ongoing since 1624 and, while the Irish equivalent has not been operational quite as long, it would be a set-back for many if it were to end the same way.
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