I’ve been following the situation in Ukraine since November 21, 2013. Putin has been ignoring and twisting facts for far longer than that. I will attempt to clarify what has been happening, and why.
These sections are not in chronological order, but roughly according to order of importance.
Ukraine & NATO
Let’s be clear, Ukraine did not pose any imminent threat to the Russia. None.
Ukraine was not going to join NATO, not for a long time. It takes the unanimous vote of all 30 members to make that happen. Hungary, among others, would have blocked it. End of story.
War should be a last resort, not something you start when you wake up with a hangover. This war Putin started is illegal, immoral, inhumane, and dumb. It’s grotesquely backfiring. It did more to unify NATO, overnight, than 30 years of speeches. Now neutral Finland and neutral Sweden are moving to join — to protect themselves from Russia.
40 nations are now helping out. It’s the countries that experienced decades of Russian rule that are first in line to send aid. They know. This is especially true for the Baltic states that know that if they were not part of NATO, Putin would have tried grabbing them.
The island in the circle is Sweden, directly threatened, neutral or not.
Maidan Revolution Of Dignity (2013–14)
When Yanukovych was campaigning for the presidency, he clearly promised that he would work to have Ukraine join the European Union (EU). This is what the people of Ukraine wanted. They needed to look no further than Poland to see how much the EU helped a similar country.
They also needed to look no further than Russia to see how corrupt and inept it is.
Then on November 21, 2013, the Yanukovych government announced that Ukraine would not be joining the EU, but rather some kind of unholy alliance with Putin.
Immediately, citizens started filling Maidan Square. Despite brutal police attacks, they kept at it — for 3 months — in the dead of winter. They kept at it because they knew the very future of Ukraine was at stake. There was extraordinary strength and solidarity among the patriots.
In February, somebody started shooting at the patriots. Their reaction was to take over parliament. Yanukovych fled to his Russian master. A new government was formed.
“Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government” — US Declaration of Independence, 1776
The prospect of having a prosperous, thriving, democratic country on his southern border scared Putin. It would give Russians ideas about what is possible. So shortly thereafter he invaded, and grabbed Crimea and the eastern part of the country.
Resources: “Winter on Fire”, Netflix
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_of_Dignity
Ukranian Character
courage
solidarity — Maidan video
self-organized
smart
