Balkan Witness: Ukraine

The Ukraine War: Misperceptions on the Left

Introduction
1. The present situation
2. The Left
3. Voices from Ukraine, and Russian dissidents
4. Historical background
The role of NATO expansion
5. Ivan Ilyin, Putin’s ideological hero
6. How you can support Ukraine

1. The present situation

For ongoing perceptive reporting and commentary about the Ukraine war, follow Timothy Snyder's articles.

The Putin Files: Julia Ioffe Journalist Julia Ioffe’s candid video interview on Putin and allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election – part of FRONTLINE’s media transparency project for its investigation, “Putin’s Revenge.” (1 hour, 48 minutes) October 27, 2017 More here

Reports from Ukraine, by Tim Judah, New York Review of Books:
Kyiv Under Siege, March 3, 2022 Ukraine on the Brink, March 24, 2022 Holding on in Irpin, April 7, 2022 The Russian Terror, May 26, 2022

White Russian Empire: The racist myths behind Vladimir Putin's power grabs Unlike previous iterations of Russian identity, Putin's Russian nation is explicitly race-based. By Rafia Zakaria, The African American Policy Forum, March 10, 2022

"Genocide" and Putin's war of destruction against Ukrainian society Putin regards a free, democratic Ukrainian society as a threat to Russia. It is clear enough that he wishes to shatter Ukrainian society and its state, not just ambitions for NATO and EU membership. If this is not yet "a genocide," the logic of destroying Ukrainian society is increasingly tending toward a genocidal war. By Martin Shaw, March 14, 2022

Ukraine is "defending all of us" from Putin If the Kremlin misread Ukraine, the West has also failed to understand what Putin was up to: he has an idea of what Russia should be like, and that idea includes controlling Ukraine. Interview with Timothy Snyder (14 minutes), British public broadcast service Channel 4, March 22, 2022

Facts Over Ideology, Peace Over War While Putin would like to see NATO divided and weakened, many see other reasons behind Putin’s invasion: a nationalist attempt to reclaim the Soviet empire, uniting Ukraine and Russia, shoring up his internal support through a successful war and making Russia a major player again on the world stage. As Yale History Professor Timothy Snyder has observed, economically successful democracies close to Russia threaten Russia by their very existence. By Terry Burke and Andrew Berman, In These Times [ITT], March 21, 2022

Ukraine-Russia peace talks conclude, no breakthrough Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey have concluded, with Turkish President Erdogan stating that the negotiations had been the most meaningful to date. Despite the positive signals, the two sides failed to agree upon a comprehensive ceasefire, and the war rages on. Russia has already warned that there will be no extra meetings in Istanbul following the conclusion of peace talks. These talks were the first negotiations for two weeks. In that time, Russian forces have almost completely destroyed the eastern city of Mariupol and heavily bombarded major civilian centres, significantly deteriorating the humanitarian situation in the region. Brussels Times, March 30, 2022
More on the talks in Turkey The first meeting between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators happened on February 28, 2022, in the Belarusian city of Gomel, four days after Russian tanks crossed the Ukrainian border. At that encounter, Medinsky recited a long list of the Kremlin’s demands. It included the replacement of Zelensky’s administration with a puppet regime, Ukrainian troops handing over all their tanks and artillery, the arrest and trial of “Nazis”—a Russian euphemism for any Ukrainian opposed to Moscow’s rule—and the restoration of Russian as Ukraine’s official language. Medinsky even demanded that city streets named after Ukrainian national heroes be returned to their old Soviet names.
“We listened to them, and we realized that these are not people sent for talks but for our capitulation,” recalled one of the Ukrainian negotiators, Zelensky’s adviser Mykhailo Podolyak. Yet to gain time the Ukrainians agreed to keep talking. By Yaroslav Trofimov, Wall Street Journal, January 5, 2024

Putin's Gulag-Based Empire Of Abduction, Deportation, and Modern Slavery. How Russia's mass deportation of Ukrainians is not an accident, but central to the "Ru.Lag" - the Kremlin's new form of political and economic control. By Brad Blitz and Alexandra Lewis, Byline Times, March 31, 2022

Justification of genocide Russia has openly declared its desire to exterminate Ukrainians as a nation. A Russian state-owned news-agency article justifies the need for mass repression against Ukrainians to force them to abandon their own nationality, culture, and language." Ukrainian Crisis Media Center, April 4, 2022

Russia's genocide handbook The Russian official press agency published an explicit program for the complete elimination of the Ukrainian nation as such." Denazification" in official Russian usage just means the destruction of the Ukrainian state and nation. A "Nazi," the publication explains, is simply a human who self-identifies as Ukrainian. By Timothy Snyder, April 8, 2022

Ukraine: Russian Forces’ Trail of Death in Bucha Russian forces committed a litany of war crimes during their occupation of Bucha in March. By Human Rights Watch, April 21, 2022

The Belarusian railway workers who helped thwart Russia’s attack on Kyiv A clandestine network of railway workers, hackers, and dissident security forces wreaked havoc on supply lines. By Liz Sly, The Washington Post, April 23, 2022
When Russian troops first streamed across the Belarusian border into Ukraine for what they had assumed would be a lightning assault on Kyiv, they were intending to rely on the region’s extensive rail network for supplies and reinforcements.
The Russians hadn’t taken into account the railway saboteurs of Belarus.
Starting in the earliest days of the invasion in February, a clandestine network of railway workers, hackers and dissident security forces went into action to disable or disrupt the railway links connecting Russia to Ukraine through Belarus, wreaking havoc on Russian supply lines.
The attacks have drawn little attention outside Belarus amid the drama of the Russian onslaught and the bloody aftermath of Russia’s humiliating retreat. Fierce Ukrainian resistance and tactical errors by an ill-prepared Russian force were likely enough to thwart Russia’s plans, analysts say.
But the Belarus railway saboteurs can at least claim a role in fueling the logistical chaos that quickly engulfed the Russians, leaving troops stranded on the front lines without food, fuel and ammunition within days of the invasion. ...

The War in Ukraine Is a Colonial War When Vladimir Putin denies the reality of the Ukrainian state, he is speaking the familiar language of empire. For five hundred years, European conquerors called the societies that they encountered “tribes,” treating them as incapable of governing themselves. As we see in the ruins of Ukrainian cities, and in the Russian practice of mass killing, rape, and deportation, the claim that a nation does not exist is the rhetorical preparation for destroying it. By Timothy Snyder, The New Yorker, April 28, 2022

The War in Ukraine Is a Colonial War Interview with Timothy Snyder on Democracy Now (16 minutes) May 5, 2022
Russia is responsible for invading Ukraine, and we have to recognize that.
... a significant part of the U.S. peace movement is on the periphery, focusing on the United States and NATO role, not on Putin’s invasion. On March 6, Code Pink, Stop the War and No to NATO organized a March 6 Global Day of Action in 125 cities that faulted NATO for the war: “We recognize that the expansion of NATO and the aggressive approach of Western states have helped cause the crisis and we demand an end to NATO expansion.”
Those on the U.S. Left who are not joining in solidarity with the Russian and Ukrainian protesters and demanding that Russia end its war on Ukraine, are missing an historic opportunity to join together with millions of people around the world and with the large Ukrainian-American community in a powerful anti-war movement. Unfortunately, many U.S. peace organizations have a history of viewing wars through a U.S.-centric lens, blaming every conflict on the U.S. military, ignoring the malevolent intent of President Vladimir Putin and other dictators.
Putin’s seven years of bombing Syrian civilians did not bring about worldwide protests and sanctions like the invasion of Ukraine has. Foreign policy analysts say that the lack of repercussions for Russia’s role in Syria emboldened Putin and “paved the way for his attack on Ukraine.”
Experts accuse Russia of inciting genocide in Ukraine and intending to 'destroy' Ukrainian people The report, signed by more than 30 leading legal scholars and genocide experts, accuses the Russian state of violating several articles of the United Nations Genocide Convention. It warns there is a serious and imminent risk of genocide in Ukraine, backing the accusations with a long list of evidence including examples of mass killings of civilians, forced deportations and dehumanizing anti-Ukrainian rhetoric used by top Russian officials. By Ivana Kottasova, CNN, May 27, 2022
Putin's thugs dismantled and steal Ukraine's largest solar power plant in huge energy blow Invading Russian troops entered the Tokmak solar power plant and dismantled and captured its solar panels. Express (UK), June 23, 2022

Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner publishes memorandum on the human rights consequences of the war in Ukraine It addresses Russian violations of international humanitarian law, including arbitrary killings and enforced disappearances; violations of the right to property, including massive destruction of civilian infrastructure; cases of torture and ill-treatment, gender-based violence and war-related sexual violence; and violations of the right to liberty and security, including abductions and arbitrary or incommunicado detention. July 8, 2022

Self-rule and Survival What the war in Ukraine (and the Coup in America) is Actually About. By Timothy Snyder, July 23, 2022

The State of the Russo-Ukrainian War Russia's decision to invade Ukraine was a crime, but it was also a mistake. It is hard for any government to admit such a thing (one still awaits a judgment on America's Iraq War debacle). But it is particularly hard for a tyrant whose power rests on his image as a strong man with infallible judgment. Russia has reached the stage in the war in which it is fighting because not to fight would be embarrassing. It has reached this stage quickly. By Timothy Snyder, July 26, 2022 Subscribe

As Ukraine Goes, So Goes the World Sometimes it helps to take a step back from the news. This lecture provides five ways to think about the war in Ukraine: as a military conflict, as an example of colonialism, as an example of genocide, as a crucible for new forms of language, and as a test of democracy. This was delivered to the Human Rights Workshop of Yale Law School. By Timothy Snyder, September 1, 2022 (Audio)

Russia's Obscene "Referendums" Putin must present Ukrainian territory that the Ukrainians are taking back as Russian territory; and he must have a media exercise to pretend that “referendums” have taken place, and that people in Ukrainian regions want to join Russia. A tyrant’s wish, a few lines of script on Russian television, and territories become Russian! This postmodern improvisation will convince no one beyond Russia, and it might not even convince Russians. But now that Putin has decided, the media exercise to support his magical thinking must go forward. By Timothy Snyder, September 22, 2022

The West didn't halt Ukraine's peace talks with Russia Russian diplomacy was always a smokescreen. By Volodymyr Artiukh and Taras Fedirko, Novara Media, October 17, 2022

The War in Ukraine and the Question of Genocide Russia’s war against Ukraine has been genocidal from the beginning. Genocide is a matter of actions, and a matter of intentions. In this lecture, gives examples of all five of the crimes that are designated genocidal by the 1948 convention. In Russia’s war against Ukraine, the problem is not the absence of expressions of genocidal intention. If anything, Russian officials and propagandists provide so many of them that we risk being overwhelmed, becoming jaded, and demanding even more evidence. Snyder recognizes that there are objections to the thesis of genocide; he begin with them. In his view, the core problem is that we do not want to believe that a genocide is going on, because that would make us bystanders. But it is this sort of reaction, precisely, that makes bystanders of people. Lecture by Timothy Snyder at Boston University, October 28, 2022 (53 minutes)

The Nova Kakhova Dam in Ukraine in Ukraine, controlled by Russia, has been destroyed. One consequence is a humanitarian disaster that, had it not taken place within a war zone, would already have drawn enormous international assistance. Thousands of houses are flooded and tens of thousands of people are in flight or waiting for rescue. Another consequence is ecological mayhem, among other things the loss of wetland and other habitats. A third is the destruction of Ukrainian farmland and other elements of the Ukrainian economy. So much is happening at once that the story is hard to follow. Here are a few thoughts about writing responsibly about the event. By Timothy Snyder, June 7, 2023

Prigozhin's March on Moscow Ten lessons from a mutiny. By Timothy Snyder, June 26, 2023

Russia's aggression against Ukraine leaves no room for negotiations Instead of attempts to bargain with Putin, it should now be obvious that the only way to secure a lasting peace is via Ukrainian victory and the decisive defeat of Russian imperialism. Supporters of a land-for-peace deal typically claim to be realists motivated by a desire to end the carnage in Ukraine as quickly as possible. While some are no doubt entirely sincere in their intentions, all of these so-called realists are united by a fundamental failure to recognize the true nature of the Putin regime and the genocidal character of the Russian invasion. By Peter Dickinson, euronews, July 24, 2023

The state of the war When the war does not end quickly, we jump to the idea that it is a "stalemate," which is a situation that lasts forever. This is false and serves as a kind of excuse not to figure out what is going on. This is a war that can be won, but only if we are patient enough to see the outlines and the opportunities. By Timothy Snyder, reporting from Kyiv, September 7, 2023

How the best chance to win the Ukraine war was lost By Yaroslav Trofimov, The Washington Post, January 9, 2024

Stand Against Genocide & Imperialism, from Palestine to Ukraine Both Ukraine and Palestine are facing wars waged on them by powers that seek not only to subjugate them militarily but to erase them as a people with their own national identity. Ukraine Solidarity Network, February 20, 2024

Russia turns Ukraine's occupied areas into an armed camp After ten years of war, and two years of all-out invasion,Russia is turning the parts of Ukraine it has occupied into a giant military buffer zone, from which further assaults may be launched. By Simon Pirani, People and Nature, February 21, 2024

How to Understand Russia's Imperialist Attitude Toward Ukraine Once the article gets moving, it gives a good explanation of Putin's and the Russian establishment's ideological basis for negating the nationhood of Ukraine. That's what leads to the genocide. The centuries-old Russian tradition of empire expansion centers around controlling Ukraine, although actual Russian control of Ukraine has only taken place in the last couple centuries of Ukraine's history. By Hanna Perekhoda, NewPolitics, Winter 2024

NEW The Weak Strongman: Trump, Impotence, and Unfreedom The weak strongman undermines the rules, but cannot replace them with anything else. He creates the image of power by his rhetorical imperialism: America will control Greenland, Panama, Mexico, Canada, Gaza, etc. From there, it is hard to say that others are wrong when they invade other countries. The weak strongman is left endorsing other people’s invasions, as with Russia and Ukraine. He lacks the power to resist them. And he lacks the power to coerce them. By Timothy Snyder, February 13, 2025

NEW "Recoup the Costs" Ukraine has kept the conflict local, thereby preventing global economic instability and financial losses that would have been incalculably greater than the sums discussed here. Ukrainian resistance to Russia, coming as it did at the end of the Covid era, was one of the preconditions for global economic recovery. The Ukrainians have essentially fulfilled the entire NATO mission, absorbing the force of the entire Russian army on their own, and sparing others, including the United States, the far greater costs of a larger war. By holding off Russia, the Ukrainians have also deterred Chinese aggression in the Pacific, by demonstrating just how costly and difficult offensive operations can be. Until 2022, that was the most feared scenario for a global war, the costs of which, in human and financial terms, would have been orders of magnitude greater than US aid to Ukraine. Should the United States continue its policy of weakening Ukraine and strengthening Russia, all of those costs, stupendously greater than the costs of aid to Ukraine, will have to be paid by Americans.
The amount of US aid to Ukraine, a country of forty million people fighting alone the largest war since 1945, is less than half of the personal wealth of a single US taxpayer, Elon Musk. In fact, the increase to Musk's wealth since Trump was elected president three months ago is greater than all of the American aid given to Ukraine over the last three years. Musk could personally pay an annual share of US aid to Ukraine and still be the richest man in the world. By Timothy Snyder, February 21, 2025

Ukraine World Includes regular updates on Russian disinformation warfare. On July 14, the site reported that, after a Russian missile attack on the Vinnytsia city center killed 22 people, Russian propagandists stated that the attack hit a Ukrainian military base and "killed Nazis."

How you can support Ukraine

Contribute to Ukraine TrustChain. Its teams provide urgent food, medical supplies, and rides to safety. See the group's Weekly Reports.

Donate to support humanitarian aid. If you can, consider supporting a group working to offer medical, material, and humanitarian aid to people in Ukraine, and to people fleeing the Russian invasion and seeking refuge in neighboring countries. Thirty verified ways to contribute financially are listed on this resource page by Global Citizen.
Come Back Alive, a Ukrainian NGO that supports soldiers on the battlefield and veterans
United 24, the Ukrainian state platform for donations, with many excellent projects

RAZOM, a US NGO, which cooperates with Ukrainian NGOs to support civilians; tax-deductible for US taxpayers

Documenting Ukraine, a project run by Timothy Snyder that helps to give Ukrainians a voice; tax-deductible for US taxpayers