What do you call it when someone breaks into your home, sets fire to your living room, and then tells the neighbours it was your fault? Gaslighting. Now imagine this happening on a global scale.

Welcome to the world's most elaborate psychological manipulation, where 3.37 billion people—nearly half of humanity—are represented by governments that refuse to acknowledge what everyone can plainly see: Russia invaded Ukraine. Twice.

The evidence couldn't be more obvious. Russian bombs fell first. Russian tanks crossed the border. Russian soldiers occupy Ukrainian land. There are videos, satellite images, and thousands of civilian casualties. Yet somehow, in the grand halls of the United Nations, this basic reality has become... debatable. What invasion?

Under the Trump administration, the United States now votes alongside Russia, effectively telling Ukraine: "You could have stopped this.” India and China abstains, saying: "Are you sure you were invaded? Maybe you're overly dramatic." As well rehearsed quartet that sing in four parts: "Was there an invasion?" As if this is somehow too complex to answer, like quantum physics or why cats purr.

It is gaslighting on a geopolitical scale: "Don't believe your eyes. Don't trust your memory. Maybe that missile that destroyed your apartment building was actually a Ukrainian bird that exploded mid-flight."

The psychological toll is staggering. Ukrainians watch their cities burn while diplomatic language carefully avoids naming the arsonist. The world witnesses an invasion in 4K resolution but is told perhaps it's just a "special military operation" or, perhaps it is a "geopolitical disagreement with kinetic elements."

When the most powerful nations on Earth refuse to call an invasion an invasion, they are not just playing word games. They are dismantling the very concept of verifiable truth. They are telling us that reality itself is negotiable, that facts depend on your political alignment, and that maybe, just maybe, you didn't actually see what you definitely saw.

So here we are, gaslighted collectively. When nations choose to debate the colour of smoke rather than extinguish the fire, we all risk choking on the ashes of reality.