Thomas Friedman: Putin's war is a crime against the planet

American journalist Thomas Friedman

in the American newspaper "The New York Times" in which he dealt with the environmental and climatic effects of the Russian war on Ukraine, and the devastation it is causing to the world's natural resources.

He said that Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, which he described as "stupid and unjustified", came at a bad timing "because it prevents the world's attention and resources from being directed to mitigating the effects of climate change."

It is unfortunate - according to the article - that what is happening between Ukraine and Russia does not remain between them, because the world has become "an arena for more equal competition than ever before" between countries.

The real World War I

For this reason, Friedman explained, he has been arguing that Russia's attack on Ukraine is the real World War I.

He pointed out that he participated last week in "Climate Week" in New York, which was supervised by one of the international non-profit organizations that support indigenous peoples.

Their representatives recounted the extent of the destruction of the forests and natural habitats in their areas.

greedy leaders

The American writer criticized some of what he described as greedy leaders, such as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who said that "the (Ukrainian) crisis is a good opportunity for us, for wherever there are indigenous lands, there is wealth in their core."

He noted Bolsonaro's rush to pass legislation that would enable companies to extract potassium from indigenous forests so that Brazil could produce more of its own fertilizer.

He pointed out that the progress the world has made to protect the environment and those in charge of it, and the norms, laws and treaties that have been drafted, may all evaporate into the air because of a "lethal" war waged by one man.

He concluded by saying that this is why Putin's war is not just a crime against Ukraine and humanity, "it is also a crime against the shelter that we all share, which is planet Earth."