Things in the southern region of Ukraine are about to go from bad to worse.
Vladimir Putin has just declared Martial Law in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
This likely is a desperate attempt to maintain control in the regions, but it also has a
much darker and sinister purpose.
What is happening in these Ukrainian states is reminiscent of Nazi Germany, as Putin is
literally trying to change the ethnic makeup of the region.
Let’s examine what Martial Law is, why Putin has implemented it in illegally annexed parts
of Ukraine, and what it could mean for the future.
However, before we dive in, imagine this haunting scenario.
Overnight, your freedom is completely revoked, you can’t leave your house without permission,
and you have to support an enemy in their war efforts.
Every day is a worse nightmare than the last.
You step outside of your house.
The streets are desolate as the sun begins to set over a distant hills.
With everything that’s been going on, you forgot to buy bread this morning, and without
it, your family will starve.
You look down the street to make sure no one is there and run down an alleyway.
On the other side of the street is your local bakery.
You dart out onto the main road when you hear a voice scream, “halt!”
You freeze, knowing if you take another step, you could be shot.
Three Russian soldiers walk up to you; rifles slung across their shoulders.
“What are you doing out after curfew?”
one of the soldiers asks.
You explain that you forgot to buy bread and your family is starving.
The soldier just laughs.
They have no sympathy.
“Well, if you are headed to the bakery, you must have money on you, and all money
should be going to pay the soldiers who are fighting for your freedom, like us.”
You stare at the soldier with pleading eyes.
You ask them to show mercy as you have two little kids and a wife at home.
They just continue to laugh.
One of the soldiers grabs your arms and holds them behind your back.
Another searches your pockets and finds your wallet.
They take the money out of it, throw the wallet on the ground, and, just for good measure,
punch you in the stomach.
“Now go back home, and don’t let us find you out after curfew again,” the Russian
soldier says before spitting on you.
The soldiers walk away laughing.
This is what your country has turned into since Russia invaded.
And now that martial law is in place, the military can do anything they want.
This is the current reality in parts of southern Ukraine.
But what exactly is martial law, and what does it allow Putin to do?
If we think back to several months ago, when the war had just started, the goals of Vladamir
Putin were vague at best and the ravings of a lunatic at worst.
Just to recap how we got to where we are today: Putin proclaimed he wanted to reestablish
a former Russian Empire.
He spewed lies and propaganda stating that southern Ukraine had been stolen from Russia
and that the citizens living there wanted to be re-incorporated back into the motherland.
Some people living in Ukraine did want this, but the vast majority enjoyed the independence
and freedom from the oppressive regime of Russia and the democratic nature of their
government.
This brings us to the real reasons why Vladamir Putin invaded Ukraine.
Yes, he wanted to form a new Russian Empire.
However, it was the democratic nature of Ukraine and the country becoming more westernized
that actually led Putin to invade.
He knew that if Ukraine became part of the European Union, NATO, or allied itself with
the west, it could threaten his rule in Russia.
Paranoia is a common trait among ruthless dictators because if citizens realize that
their lives could be better if they had a say in their government and decide to start
a revolution, dictators tend to lose their lives.
Putin probably always has this thought in the back of his mind, and as Ukraine became
more and more westernized, Putin felt that he had to attack to save himself.
It’s not entirely clear which former Russian Empire Putin wants to reestablish, however.
When the former Soviet Union collapsed, Russia lost a lot of territory in Eastern Europe,
including Ukraine.
However, if Putin is hoping to reform the Tsarist Empire of 1914, then there will be
a lot more conflict in the future.
It’s important to remember that the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions
where martial law was declared on October 19, 2022, were illegally annexed by Russia.
In September, a staged referendum was conducted where voters were met at the polls by armed
Russian soldiers who held them at gunpoint until they voted for their states to be annexed
by Russia.
That’s right, the Ukrainian people living in the annexed regions of Ukraine were given
a choice to vote for their homeland to be incorporated into Russia or die.
There is little doubt that many Ukrainians were killed during this referendum for refusing
to vote for annexation.
The United Nations and the majority of the world do not recognize Russia’s authority
in these regions.
However, this doesn’t matter to Putin.
Russia has occupied southern Ukraine for several months now, so the question becomes, why did
Putin declare martial law now?
Like many of Vlad's decisions, this one doesn’t seem to be completely thought out.
Martial law expands the power of the military and law enforcement agents in a region.
Occupied Ukraine really didn’t have much freedom, to begin with.
All Putin is doing by declaring martial law is giving a different name to what has already
been happening.
Under the umbrella of martial law, the military can impose curfews, restrict freedoms, take
civilian property, enlist people into the army, and force residents to rebuild any destroyed
infrastructure.
Again, these things were already happening in the occupied territories.
However, since Moscow hasn’t declared martial law since the Soviet Union, this may be Putin’s
first official move to bring annexed parts of Ukraine into his Russian Empire.
But, again, the question is, why now?
What does Putin get out of declaring martial law?
Putin has not just initiated martial law in Ukraine but in the rest of Russia as well.
However, there are different tiers of martial law depending on where you live.
In Russia, Putin has called for “basic” martial law, which means nothing is really
going to change, but citizens should be prepared to aid the military in its war effort by working
in factories or enlisting in the army if asked.
In southern Ukraine, the martial law instated is labeled as “maximum readiness,” which
means that the people in those regions will be asked to make sacrifices immediately to
help Russia fight against the rest of Ukraine.
Putin has continually said that the reason he needed to implement martial law is that
Ukraine's government and its western allies refuse to accept the results of the annexation
referendum as legitimate, which of course, they weren’t.
Putin declared in one speech: “as is well known, the regime in Kyiv has refused to recognize
the will of the people.
We are trying to resolve difficult large-scale challenges on providing security to Russia
and protecting the future of Russia, defending our people.”
What it really comes down to is that Russia has suffered a number of significant defeats
in the war against Ukraine.
Most recently, this happened in the battle to control Lyman, where Ukrainian forces humiliated
the Russian military by holding their ground and forcing the Russian army into full retreat.
It’s also important to note that Ukraine still controls parts of Donbas where Putin
has declared martial law, which means that the citizens living under Russian military
control will be asked to not only support Russia but fight alongside them as well.
Putin needed to declare martial law so that the military had the authority to use the
citizens and resources of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia however they deemed
fit to defeat Ukrainian forces.
Many Ukrainians have fled the Russian-occupied regions in the south.
However, not everyone was so lucky.
Martial law will give the Russian military the authority to compel any civilian under
their control to aid the Russian war effort, which is a breach of the Geneva Convention.
But Vladamir Putin has no concern over the proper conduct of war or basic human rights.
So, he is more than happy to formally increase his military’s authority in southern Ukraine
to allow them to use Ukrainian citizens how they see fit.
The crazy thing is that by instituting martial law, Putin may be trying to mobilize a Ukrainian-style
Territorial Defense Force made up of Russian officers and part-time reservists, which would
be supplemented by civilians.
The martial law also allows the military to have greater control over who comes in and
out of each region.
There is currently a seven-day ban on civilians entering any of the annexed regions.
However, since Russia doesn’t control all of the territory in the four regions, this
ban on movement will be extremely hard to enforce.
The martial law declared by Putin also has a propaganda component to it.
By stating he has the authority to modify the way things are being run in southern Ukraine,
he is reinforcing the false fact that there were elections and that the people living
in the region are now happily a part of Russia.
The decisions that Putin is making are all part of the narrative that he is just trying
to do what’s best for the Russian people.
However, the rest of the world isn’t falling for it, and it seems that Russian citizens
might be losing their faith in Vlad and his regime.
The implementation of martial law will likely be used to secure more resources for Russia.
One main aspect of martial law is that the military can now repurpose any business or
manufacturing center that they need.
For example, metalworking factories that once produced materials for infrastructure can
be repurposed into building weapons and war vehicles.
Companies that procure natural resources such as fossil fuels or minerals can be forced
to give their supply directly to the military.
Basically, martial law allows the Russian government to convert any and all parts of
its economy into a war machine.
However, the most atrocious part of the martial law implemented by Putin is it will allow
for easier deportation of certain populations out of Ukraine and into Russia.
This is where things get a little too close to how Nazi Germany acted in World War Two.
It’s no secret that Putin wants to enact mass deportation of certain Ukrainian populations
to parts of Russia.
The reason he wants to do this is to change the ethnic majority in the region.
In Putin’s eyes, Ukraine and much of eastern Europe should still be a part of a Russian
Empire.
By deporting problematic people who claim to have a culture separate from Russia’s,
Putin can create a more homogeneous state that is made up of people who are loyal to
him.
Putin’s regime has claimed that they are only using force to “temporarily resettle”
people.
However, the fact that certain people are being targeted for deportation strongly suggests
there is a much more sinister agenda at work.
Experts estimate that somewhere between 900,000 and 1.6 million Ukrainians have been deported
from their homeland into Russia.
It’s not entirely clear where these people are being sent or what they are being forced
to do, but there is a chance they are being put in camps where they are required to aid
the Russian military by working in factories or dangerous mining operations.
Obviously, this looks really bad for Putin and his regime.
So, they released a statement shortly before announcing that martial law would be coming
saying that residents were free to evacuate from southern Ukraine and the government would
not only help them relocate “in any part of Russia” but would provide housing vouchers
as well.
This was a thinly veiled distraction from what was about to happen.
Every freethinking individual knew it was just more propaganda to make Putin look sympathetic
as his military forced people onto transports and sent them deep into Russia.
Martial law also allows Putin to send more troops to annexed regions of Ukraine without
admitting he is losing the war.
The Russian people are becoming more and more disheartened.
Those who believed in the cause are starting to wane.
Hundreds of thousands of Russians have fled the country to make sure they are not conscripted
into the military.
Putin is losing the support of his own people.
However, by declaring martial law, he can ensure that the military keeps Russian citizens
in line while also giving him a reason to send more troops into Ukraine.
For propaganda purposes, Putin says that martial law will help ensure that the ideals of Russia
are being upheld in the annexed regions.
But the more likely reason why Putin needs more troops in Ukraine is that he is afraid
he will lose the war.
This also answers the question of why now?
Russian forces have been defeated and pushed back several times in recent months.
A war that was only supposed to last a month or two is quickly approaching a year.
Putin will never admit it, but in the back of his mind, he is likely scared.
If Russia loses the war in Ukraine, or if the war gets drawn out for much longer, the
people of Russia will see Vladamir Putin as being weak.
There is a good chance if this happens, he will be overthrown and executed by his own
citizens.
Therefore, Putin must maintain as much control and influence as possible.
He is doing this by using his military and giving them more power through martial law.
This will force businesses and defense contractors to align with his goals and provide him with
the soldiers and resources necessary to continue fighting in Ukraine.
It will also allow Putin to not only control the populations in the annexed regions more
easily, but will also allow him to control his citizens at home, especially if they start
to become unruly or try to start a revolution against him.
Putin and the rest of his regime believe that enacting martial law across Russia and southern
Ukraine is a show of strength.
However, many think it indicates how desperate they have become.
The fact that Vladimir Putin needs to position his military in a way that ensures his citizens
will continue to support him and his war effort is a telling sign that things are going very
badly for him.
These desperate tactics are less strategic and more of an indication that Putin and his
allies are losing control.
The sad part is that marital law will likely cause more death and despair in occupied Ukraine.
As Putin becomes more desperate, he will continue to escalate his tactics to ensure he remains
in power and the war can continue on.
However, if Putin ever loses control or Russia is defeated, it will not only be the end of
Putin’s reign but likely his life as well.
Now watch “Why Putin's Invasion of Ukraine is a Failure.”
Or check out “How War in Ukraine Will Cause Russia To Collapse.”