Putin's dreams of rebuilding the Russian Empire are based on lies about Ukraine.
Less than a week after the start of the war, it is becoming increasingly likely that Vladimir Putin is heading for historic defeat. He can win battles, but still lose the war. Putin 's dreams of restoring the Russian Empire have always been based on the lie that Ukraine is not a real nation, that Ukrainians are not real people, and that the people of Kiev, Kharkiv and Lviv crave Moscow's power. This is a complete lie, Ukraine is a country with more than a thousand years of history, and Kyiv was a major metropolis when Moscow was not even a village. But the Russian despot repeated this lie so many times that he apparently began to believe it himself, Israeli historian and futurist Yuval Noah Harari wrote in a column for The Guardian.
In planning the invasion of Ukraine, Putin could count on many known facts. He knew that Russia was superior to Ukraine militarily. He knew that NATO would not send troops to help Ukraine. He knew that Europe's dependence on Russian oil and gas would make countries like Germany hesitate to impose tough sanctions. Based on these well-known facts, his plan was to strike hard at Ukraine, decapitate its government, establish a puppet regime in Kiev and wait for Western sanctions.
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But there was one huge unknown factor in this regard. The Americans learned in Iraq and the Soviet Union in Afghanistan that it was much easier to conquer a country than to hold it. Putin knew he had enough strength to conquer Ukraine. But will the Ukrainian people accept the puppet regime of Moscow? Putin bet on it. After all, as he repeatedly explained to everyone who wanted to listen, Ukraine is not a real nation, and Ukrainians are not real people. In 2014, the people of Crimea did not resist the Russian occupiers. Why should it be different in 2022?
But it is becoming increasingly clear that Putin's bet has not worked. The Ukrainian people resist with all their hearts, win the admiration of the whole world – and win the war. There are many dark days ahead. The Russians can still conquer Ukraine. But to win the war, they will need to hold all of Ukraine, and they will be able to do so only if the Ukrainian people allow them. This seems less and less likely.
Every Russian tank shot down and every Russian soldier killed reinforces the courage of the Ukrainians to resist. And every Ukrainian killed aggravates hatred of the occupiers. Hatred is the worst of feelings. But for oppressed peoples, hatred is a hidden treasure. Hidden deep in the heart, it can withstand resistance for generations. To restore the Russian Empire, Putin needs a relatively bloodless victory that will lead to a relatively bloodless occupation. Shedding more and more Ukrainian blood, Putin is doing everything to ensure that his dream never comes true. The death certificate of the Russian Empire will not bear the name of Mikhail Gorbachev, but the name of Putin. Gorbachev allowed Ukrainians and Russians to feel like brothers and sisters, while Putin made them enemies and made Ukrainians define themselves in opposition to Russia.
Nations are ultimately built on stories. Every day adds new stories that Ukrainians will tell not only in these dark days, but also in the coming decades and generations. A president who refused asylum in the United States, saying he needed ammunition, not transportation; soldiers from Snake Island, who told the Russian ship “go nah * y”; civilians who tried to stop Russian tanks by standing in their way. Ultimately, these stories mean more than tanks.
The Russian despot must know this like no other. As a child, he grew up on stories of German atrocities and Russian heroism during the siege of Leningrad. Now he produces the same stories, but plays the role of Hitler in them.
Stories of Ukrainian courage give determination not only to Ukrainians, but to the whole world. They give courage to European governments, the US administration and even oppressed Russian citizens. If Ukrainians dare to stop a tank with their bare hands, the German government may dare to supply them with anti-tank missiles, the US government may dare to cut Russia off from SWIFT, and Russian citizens may dare to demonstrate their disagreement with this senseless war.
We can all be inspired to do something, be it a donation, a refugee shelter or help in the fight against the Internet. The war in Ukraine will determine the future of the whole world. If we allow tyranny and aggression to win, we will all suffer the consequences. There is no point in remaining mere observers. You need to get up and make yourself reckoned with.
Unfortunately, this war can be long… But the most important issue has already been resolved. The last few days have proved to the world that Ukraine is a real nation, that the Ukrainians are a real nation, and that they certainly do not want to live under the new Russian Empire. The main question that remains open is how long it will take for this message to penetrate the thick walls of the Kremlin.
See the special topic: Lavrov said that Russia has declared a “hybrid war” He is convinced that the West wants to “break, destroy, stifle the Russian economy and Russia as a whole.” Hans Zimmer showed a video from Lviv during a concert in London In the video, a Lviv pianist plays to the sound of sirens. Two deputies and the former mayor of Izyum are cooperating with the Russian occupiers – the head of the Izyum city council has been under blockade for more than two weeks, and the northern part of the city is occupied by Russian invaders. APU liquidated Russian lieutenant general According to preliminary information, he died during the “tour to Chornobayevka”. In Kharkov, the occupiers fired on a polyclinic that housed a humanitarian aid station. Four people died.
