In the ancient kingdom of Babylon, King Nabuchodonosor was out of patience. None of his magicians and astrologers could explain the meaning of a terrifying dream that haunted the monarch. Night after night, Nabuchodonosor saw a magnificent statue with a golden head, a silver chest and bronze thighs. But on the ground, the feet of the statue were made of clay.
Frustrated, he ordered the murder of his disappointing claims. The massacre continued until Daniel, a young Jew chosen in captivity, was heard and reveals that the statue represented the Babylonian domination system as it was going to progress through successive empires. Precious metals represented powerful and prosperous years. But the clay feet illustrated an empire unable to maintain its greatness. An empire that would end up collapsing under the weight of its contradictions.
It is very difficult not to conclude that modern Russia is about to undergo the same fate. In February 2022, when the Kremlin ordered the illegal invasion of Ukraine, the Russian armed forces first deployed some 160,000 soldiers. But they have encountered courageous resistance and have since fled to the Russian border. Many did not believe that such a defeat could arrive at one of the supposed “great powers” of the world.
Demonstration of weakness
However, after retirement, the crisis worsened. In July, Evgueni Prigojine, the leader of the Wagner group, toured Russian prisons in a desperate attempt to recruit soldiers for the war in Ukraine. It was not a fruitful research. A few months later, thousands of Russians fled the country to avoid being thrown into the wild beasts after the Kremlin announced the conscription of 318,000 civilians.
The clay feet of the Russian Empire are also revealed by its decision to avoid military fight with Ukraine and to bomb our civil infrastructure. Far from being a sign of strength, it is an obvious demonstration of the weakness of the Kremlin. This war will not end tomorrow or in a month. But we have already reached a turning point. There is no doubt that the Ukrainian defense forces triumph over the Russian invaders on the battlefield and that they will continue to do so. As President Zelensky pointed out, this success is conditioned, to a certain extent, to the fact that Ukraine beat Russia in the Battle of Opinion. The extraordinary and unprecedented aid provided by our allies and partners – military, economic, humanitarian – is proof of this.
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