Steenhuisen implores South Africans to take war in Ukraine seriously

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen says the raging war in Ukraine will have severe global economic consequences, whether South Africans choose to take an interest in it or not.

Steenhuisen on Monday briefed the media in Cape Town on his recent six-day visit to Ukraine.

The DA leader last week embarked on a fact-finding mission to the war-torn country to witness, first-hand, the situation on the ground.

Thousands have been killed and millions forced to flee their homes since the Russian invasion of its pro-Western neighbour began on 24 February.

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During his visit to the eastern European country, Steenhuisen said he met with various politicians, leaders of civil society and ordinary Ukrainian citizens – among others – to understand the effects of the Russian invasion.

Although his trip back home was criticised by some South Africans as a publicity stunt, Steenhuisen said he was angered by critics who did not understand that the “ripples of this war are only just starting to arrive on our shores now”.

“That is why I get angry when I hear people say: This is not our war, we needn’t involve ourselves or speak out.

“That is why the position that our government has taken – which is to avoid saying or doing anything that might offend Russia – is so deeply immoral,” he said.

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Steenhuisen warned the conflict would soon bring waves that would cause great suffering to ordinary South Africans.

“It’s easy to think of it as far away, particularly with everything else that’s going on here in our own troubled country. But I want to implore you not to do that,” he said.

“Think for a moment about the disproportionate amount of disposable income that poor South Africans spend on transport costs, on staple foods like bread and maize, and on things like cooking oil.

“Sharp rises in these products will hit all of us in the pocket, but for those who spend such a large portion of their monthly income on these basics, the effect of this war will be unbearable.”

Fight between good and evil

The conflict in Ukraine was a fight between good and evil, and no country should sit on the fence, Steenhuisen said.

He slammed the ANC-led government’s failure to directly condemn its Brics ally for its military invention of Ukraine.

Steenhuisen said during his visit, he was asked about the ANC’s decision to sit on the fence regarding the war.

 “I told them all the same thing: Our ANC government speaks only for its own narrow financial interests. It does not represent the citizens of South Africa in its immoral support for Russia,” he said.

The DA leader said contrary to popular belief, the overwhelming majority of South Africans were appalled by what the Russian military was doing to the people of Ukraine.

“The ANC most certainly does not speak for South Africa on Ukraine, and that was a big part of my message to the people I met there.”

Steenhuisen added that the war in Ukraine was far from over, describing Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “megalomaniac who is driven by ambitions beyond the reasonable and the rational”.

He also said the DA would continue to support the people of Ukraine and call for the dropping of fuel levies, VAT on more food products and the sugar tax to cushion South Africans from the effects of the war.

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