‘Russia has violated the Budapest Memorandum’

Dr Mridula Ghosh, who now teaches in Kyiv, minced no words while condemning the Russian attack

International affairs expert Dr Mridula Ghosh said what is happening in Ukraine is not a danger for it alone, but also for any other country. "Russian President Vladimir Putin is out to destroy the country. Can he win the love of people here by bombing them?" she asked.

An academician from Kolkata, who now teaches in Kyiv, she minced no words while condemning the Russian attack. She said the Russian president was spreading lies by distorting history, and his forces have been attacking the Ukraine for a long time. "The issue of falsifying history is proven by top historians like Timothy Snyder and Serhii Plokhy of Harvard University," she said.

"Russia attacked in a covert manner in 2014. They sent in soldiers to join hands with the separatists. The war has been on for the past eight years. War is not new to this country. It is sad that this is happening to us here," she said. She said there could be some sort of negotiations "but don't know what they would be''.

Before we spoke, Ghosh had been to the bank, and was preparing to go out again to buy supplies. "It's quiet. The streets are empty though there was a mad rush in the morning after the explosions. I just heard one more explosion. People are shopping and working. It's a strange feeling out here," she said.

Dr Ghosh said Russia has violated the Budapest Memorandum of 1994. "Ukraine gave up its nukes. The newly independent country had the third largest stockpile of nuclear weapons until then. In exchange (of denuclearisation) the memorandum promised that Ukraine's sovereignty will be maintained by Russia and others (the US and the UK). Why couldn't the West do more than just impose sanctions and supply some weapons to Ukraine?" she asked, hoping that the whole democratic world would come forward and stand with Ukraine.