Russia-Ukraine war vs Israel’s genocide in Gaza

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OPINION

By Benjamin Musanjufu Kavubu

Are Washington and Brussels overreacting toward Russia when it comes to its actions in Ukraine? There is a high likelihood that the European Union and the United States are very biased in how they have handled Russia since the escalation of the situation in Ukraine in 2022.

At the moment, there are about 57 major Conflicts in the world, for example, the Sudan Civil War that has claimed about 13,000 lives in just 2025, in places like Myanmar, Sahel insurgency, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Somalia, and Eastern DRC, where multiple armed factions are operating. But the Ukraine situation is getting more diplomatic and media attention.

For a moment, let’s take a closer, critical look at the EU and the US’s very contrasting approaches to various conflicts worldwide. Their response to Ukraine and Palestine seems like there is an alternative universe with a rule-based order that is applied selectively, on one end, as Russia faces isolation and accountability for its invasion of Ukraine, Israel is enjoying full impunity despite evidence of an active genocide and apartheid.

The two situations have exposed the double standards of the West, which, in the long run, is going to undermine the credibility and legitimacy of the already failing multilateral organisations, as they perpetuate violence against Palestinians or any other race that is not white. When there is no consistent application of international law, screams of justice and human rights are becoming hollow and are setting a blueprint for future massacres.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, Western powers right away started providing weapons, intelligence and security guarantees to Kiev, NATO swung into a logistical mode to ensure the resistance to Russia’s campaign was armed to the teeth. After October 7^th 2023, when Hamas mounted a major resistance campaign against the Israeli blockade of Gaza, Israel was given the green light to kill everything living in what Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister, referred to as an open-air prison, and many experts have referred to as a concentration camp.

Russia has faced sanctions that now number in tens of thousands for being an aggressor while in the case of Palestine, the Western powers led by Washington decided to defund UNRWA a vital aid agency in Gaza, Israel has not even for a single day faced any arms embargo or conditions, but instead the United States has rewarded them with United Nations Security Council vetoes to avoid Ceasefire opportunities.

Every aspect of Russian society has been sanctioned, from its massive oil sector to its financial system and trade, cutting it off from the rest of the world. Russia was even suspended from international forums like cultural events and sports organisations, while Israel is sending singers to the Eurovision and its football clubs tour Europe week in week out. When South Africa was still under apartheid, they were suspended from the Olympics; in the case of Israel, it is getting more sports event invitations.

Every Western capital has ordinary people protesting Israel’s actions in Gaza and the occupied territories of Palestine, but their governments have decided to pay no attention to them. In the United Kingdom, organisations that stage protest events are being labelled as terrorist organisations. When Russian drones strike civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, every EU member will put out a condemnation statement, but Israel in Gaza has bombed all Universities, all schools, and all hospitals with weapons being provided by the West.

When the ICC put out an arrest Warrant for the Russian President, the United States and European Union welcomed it, and fully supported the move. The then-President of the US, Mr Biden, called it “justified.” When the same court issued the arrest Warrant for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Same powers rejected it and went ahead to call it “outrageous” and denied the court’s jurisdiction. The United States has gone ahead to retaliate against the ICC by sanctioning key members of the court, and through Congress, they have even invoked the Hague Invasion Act to protect Israeli officials.

The United States has even decided to make enemies of countries like South Africa that took Israel to the ICJ, which ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal and found plausible evidence of genocide. President Trump has decided to hike trade Tariffs on South Africa and has gone ahead with counteraccusations of genocide of whites.

As the European Union and the United States have resolved to be steadfast with a comprehensive diplomatic condemnation of Russia and rapid military aid for Ukraine, when it comes to Israel’s “apocalyptic” actions, according to the UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, the reaction has been completely different in the two similar situations. She has even accused Israel of using Gaza as a testing ground for new weapons without restraint, as she has recommended for an arms embargo that the West has ignored and instead slapped her with Sanctions.

Western-backed mainstream media has put forward a narrative of Ukraine being a democracy that is resisting Russian Tyranny, with the whole population suffering against Moscow’s atrocities. On the other end, Palestinian casualties that are in 60,000+ are being decontextualised as collateral damage for self-defence to justify the Israeli genocide, and all this is being done while echoing Israel’s mage worldwide web of propaganda that paints Palestinians as collectively guilty.

One thing is profound out of all this, the hypothetical stance on global conflicts in the face of Washington and Brussels is clear and the Russian, Ukrainian situation with the Israeli genocide in Gaza makes the writing on the wall clear, as one side is dealt with condemnations, massive sanctions and functional legal mechanism the other catastrophe of our time is being greenlighted with active diplomatic cover never seen before. There are double standards and they are very much based on race as certain lives are given more value than others.

The writer is a research fellow at the Development Watch Centre