Strikes and counterstrikes have intensified somewhat in the Ukraine war over the days. Peace efforts have been made, there have been exchanges of prisoners of war and the parties have shown interest in talks directly several times. But the war — which started with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — has not yet ended. It has rather been continuing for more than four years and has so far killed more than 300000 and injured more, and there is no indication of ending the Ukraine war, leading to concerns. But, importantly, the continuation of the war will further impact human development of both parties by reducing the scope of realizing human potentials.
Human development is the development of human beings. Human development is the development of the self to the highest possible extent with the realization of human potentials and surmounting animality. Human beings realize human potentials through four subsequent stages, such as consciousness, choice-making, planning, and realization. Through these stages, human beings turn out to be realized selves with one predominant identity. Conducive societal conditions and individual capabilities are vital for human development. But various individual and social reasons, including wars, a lack of conducive political grounds, and physical and mental illness, put hindrances to human development by impacting combined capabilities, such as conducive societal conditions and individual capability. The Ukraine war has impacted the human development of millions on both sides, though differently.
There are various reasons for the war and its continuation. Russia -West geopolitical rivalries, the nourishment of the Cold War rivalries, and the post-Cold War mentality of dominance are some crucial reasons. Geopolitical rivalries commenced between Russia and the West after the Second World War, though they together fought against the Axis Powers such as Germany, Japan, and Italy. Even if the Cold War parties have cooperated on various grounds, including fighting terrorism, rivalries have remained. These rivalries are reflected in the direct and immediate reasons such as Ukraine’s NATO and EU aspirations — which Russia sees as threats to its security but the West sees as the right of a sovereign state — and the Russian invasion in 2022.
The unwillingness of the parties and conflicts of interest over territories and post-war security have also been playing a vital role in the failure of peace efforts and the war’s continuation. While Russia is unwilling to leave the territories it occupied in Ukraine since 2014, the latter is unwilling to compromise on this ground. But an insightful look clarifies that these are related to long rivalries between the West and Russia over dominance in geo-economic and geopolitical terms. For these, Russia will probably be unwilling to leave the land it occupied in Ukraine, including Crimea and Donbas, and the West will probably continue to support Ukraine in the costly war.
But a vital side of the Ukraine war is that human development has so far remained less heeded in its continuation and mediation efforts. The war has — by this time — significantly reduced the capabilities of millions of Ukrainians and Russians, though to a different extent, much more for Ukrainians than Russians. There is a lack of conducive societal conditions, such as economic, social, political, and law-based conditions, and limited individual capabilities, including the ability to make choices for the highest form of human development. Millions of people have so far been forcibly displaced and are being provided with humanitarian assistance, a passive way of living, not an active pursuit of reasonable choices.
Moreover, the education of millions has been halted, and the income of millions is reduced significantly or stopped altogether. Many have physical injuries and profound mental health crises. Frequent attacks on power and other facilities disrupt primary care and rehabilitation access. More importantly, due to the continuation of the Ukraine war, it remains uncertain when their lives will be ended, their temporary living place will be destroyed, the existing economic opportunities will be stalled with a sudden drone or cruise missile attack, and they will return to normal life. This leaves uncertainty over the combined capabilities of human development for the future too.
Geopolitical rivalries are not surprising at all. Since nations have differing interests and threats, they compete with each other — sometimes leading to long rivalries. But a pertinent aspect is whether the rivalry between Russia and the West will end. This is unlikely in the near future, due to the extent of the rivalry, even if many past rivals have later turned out to be friends and cooperative, including Germany versus the US, the UK and France. Sacrificing human development for rivalries is not reasonable. Human development is the right of everyone all over the world, and many international treaties and conventions have put importance on human prosperity.
The Ukraine war needs to be ended, at least on the grounds of the human development of millions. The end of the war will provide better societal conditions for those who are alive and make them more individually capable of making choices and plans and pursuing their reasoned choices for their development as human beings. But the war needs to be ended earlier. The earlier the war ends, the fewer people will be killed and impacted further. But it is practically difficult to find a completely ideal and just solution to the war. The parties have probably realized it. A negotiated resolution is possible and may still be beneficial for the parties.
For this, talks need to be held between the EU leaders and the Russian President. But the leaders of the warring parties need to hold talks directly for a negotiated settlement on territorial and other areas of disagreement, rather than strictly holding to respective positions. Unless the war ends, it is vital to reduce its impacts on human development. Attacks in civilian areas and infrastructures, including residential buildings and oil infrastructure, need to be avoided.
