According to the historian, Ukrainian victory is the only way to achieve peace. This is particularly important for the Baltic States, Poland, Romania and Moldova, as well as all world democracies.
Timothy Snyder – American historian, professor at Yale University and one of the most famous and best connoisseurs of the history of Eastern Europe and Russia. Speaking at the invitation of the Kyiv Security Forum, he named ten reasons why, in his opinion, Ukraine's victory in the war with Russia is important not only for Ukraine but for all mankind.
1. Ukraine's victory is the only way to achieve peace (according to the historian, this is probably the most fundamental reason).
“Obviously, all conscious people want this war to end. And I am convinced that Ukraine's victory is the only way this war can end. Russia's victory will lead to further Russian aggression. Ukraine's capitulation will mean the continuation of Russian atrocities on Ukrainian soil. I think that the only way the war can end is with Ukraine's victory, that is, Ukraine's success on the battlefield, which will make Russia understand that negotiations are in its interests. “
2. Ukraine's victory is important for the security of the region .
“The only way to protect Ukrainians is a Ukrainian victory. At the same time, it is very important for the peoples of the Baltic States, Poland, Romania, Moldova – that Russian aggression does not succeed.”
3. There is no other way to protect Ukrainian citizens than the victory of Ukraine.
“While the war continues, Ukrainians are under deportation and other atrocities under Russian occupation, Ukrainians in the unoccupied territory are suffering from shelling and bombing. The only way to secure 40 million Ukrainians is to end the war, and the only way to end the war is to win Ukraine.” p>
4. Ukraine's victory is very important for the defense of democracy.
“This war is because Ukraine is a democracy. It has this unpredictable political system that gives birth to unpredictable combinations, unpredictable leaders. And this unpredictability, the inability to know what to expect, is so unbearable for Putin and the Russian regime. So another one. the reason why Ukraine's victory is important is to protect democracy. “
5. Ukraine's victory is important for democracies in general.
“If Russia wins this war, it would be a great victory for all forces opposed to democracy, for all those who want to use this or that violence to The overthrow of democracies. Ukraine's victory is the victory of those who believe in the law, seek elections and hold their leaders accountable. Especially for those who are willing to take risks. “
6. The victory of Ukraine is the victory of a state that has traditionally been considered peripheral and colonial in terms of power, which considered itself the center and empire.
“Imperial wars, especially as we know from the history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, fall into certain stages of political development. Imperial wars will continue as long as the imperial forces are confident that they can win. European and other forces have always come to the point where they realize that the imperial war will exhaust them, and that is very good. In other words, Ukraine's victory is another impetus for the post-imperialist world. “
7. This reason is related to the memory of the Second World War.
“For Putin, the lessons of World War II are that he needs more war. For Putin, the lessons of victory over fascism are that he needs more fascism. For Putin, the lessons of defeating imperialism are that he needs more imperialism. For Putin, the lessons of World War II war is that the word fascism means anything he wants, and that word can be used as a language of hatred against those he has chosen as his enemy.This reading of World War II cannot be won. , as is often the case, in the light of World War II. In particular, see it as an opportunity to defend values that have been or should be reinforced by this war. For example, tolerance of otherness, the rule of law and pluralism, cooperation between democracies. p>
8. Ukraine's victory is very important for Russia's future.
“I would like to emphasize that I do not expect Ukrainians to think about this factor. But for all of us who are concerned about the security of Europe and the world, it is very important which Russia we will live next for decades. In which Russia's interests are important to its leadership, it is very important that Russia is defeated in this war. to think about Russia's future and its real interests, and while I wish there was no war at all, defeat on the battlefield would be a step forward for this type of Russia, where citizens can think about a future without imperialism. a myth that so strongly influences the decisions of the present. Russia, where it is possible to take into account the interests and future “.
9. Ukraine is a huge food producer for the rest of the world.
“In the history of the twentieth century, Ukraine has been colonized on all sides by its chernozems. In the current war, we see Russia expropriating Ukrainian food and blocking Ukrainian agricultural supplies around the world. If this continues, people in Africa and around the world will be threatened This may lead to not only famine and death, but also political instability. Ukraine's victory and the resumption of world trade will prevent this. “
10. Ukraine's victory will help not only Ukrainians, but all of us to turn our attention to the future.
“The problem with Russian propaganda – and the problem we all have, albeit in a milder form – is that it is based solely on the past. It is based on finding a point in history when they were right and the rest are not. It's not. We all need a future, we need a policy of the future, we need an event that will take us out of the routine and point us to the future. in terms of EU membership and powerful assistance that will enable Ukraine to rebuild
But this is a two-way process. If we are open to the way we look at Ukraine and this war, we can see that Ukrainians offer us a future. If Ukrainians did not fight, if they capitulated, our future, the future of democracies, would be very gloomy now. Ukrainians give time to other democracies through their struggle. I think we need to use this time to think about the future. Not only about the future, when Ukraine joins other democracies in various forms of cooperation, but also about the future in a broad sense – when, and this is demonstrated by Ukraine's victory, individual actions are important, people can take responsibility, the possibilities are wider than we think , and events that may happen in the future may be better than we think. Ukraine and Ukraine's victory show us the way. “
Earlier, Timothy Snyder explained how Vladimir Putin invented the causes of the aggressive war against Ukraine . immortalize yourself as a ruler.
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