Carthage may have been right in war with Rome, but we will never know

The history of the loss of Crimea is not a few weeks in 2014, but 23 years in a row. Moreover, it was a test drive of technologies aimed at seizing territories. Then we would lose everything bit by bit. The success of the Crimean operation gave rise to the next stage of the invasion - not on Donbas, but on the whole of eastern Ukraine, because we already started to forget about Kharkiv and Dnipro in the spring of 2014. Odesa was to be next. But something went wrong - the microscopic remnants of Ukraine's Armed Forces, Security Service, and the first wave of volunteers stopped the "Russian Spring".

The current phase of the war is the last bloody song of the empire, which has realized that there is no chance of a repeat of Crimea 2014, and the chances of success of the military operation are melting every year.

“The current phase of the war is the last bloody song of the empire, which has realized that there is no chance of a repeat of Crimea 2014, and the chances of success of the military operation are melting every year.”

Ukraine gave up its statehood gradually. The decline of institutions, corruption, strengthening of the de facto power of clans and oligarchs seemed to invite a strong neighbor to take the failed state under its wing. Belarus is not yet an extreme case, because there is a cunning rat that resists. Yanukovych would not be able to play like that.

The Maidan averted the greatest mortal threat that loomed over Ukraine. So the empire resorted to other, more overt means. If it weren't for the Maidan, some of us would now be hopelessly partisans in the Carpathians, others would have left, and still others would be lying in their graves. And the whole civilized world would welcome Putin, who averted a humanitarian catastrophe and saved millions of people from Nazism. Because history is written by the winners, no matter how unfair it sounds. So now, in 2022, Russian tanks would be standing in Vilnius, preparing to march on Warsaw, and German and Polish politicians and generals would be biting their elbows, because there is nothing to fight for. And American voters would be looking for Estonia on the map, convincing each other that it makes no sense for guys from Oklahoma and Ohio to die for something that is not even visible on the globe, on the other side of the globe, especially since Berlin and Paris only express deep concern, remembering that in fact Eastern Europe together with the Baltic States is a traditional Russian sphere of influence, promised in 1943, and we need to hear Russia and give it the opportunity to preserve its areas of interest.

“Maidan averted the biggest mortal threat that was hanging over Ukraine. So the empire resorted to other, more blatant means. If it were not for the Maidan, some of us would be hopelessly partisan in the Carpathians, others would have left, others would be lying in graves.”

Conclusions

1. As long as we remain a half-failed state, with weak institutions, personalistic power, restriction of freedom of speech, corruption, clan power and an unfree economy, we are under threat.

2. No one will make our country for us. History is written by the winners. Perhaps, Carthage was right in the war with Rome, but we will never know, as our descendants (those who survived) would never know the truth about the terrible Kyiv junta, about the drugged oranges and about the brave Russian soldiers-internationalists who saved the fraternal people (and in fact one people) from a humanitarian catastrophe. Finally, we learned the truth about the Holodomor only thanks to Ukraine's independence - no matter how this memory was cherished in individual families, it would not have survived for four generations.

“Crimea can be Ukrainian only if it is Crimean Tatar (and vice versa - it can be Crimean Tatar only if it is Ukrainian). Crimeans are the living foundation of this land.”

3. Crimea can be Ukrainian only if it is Crimean Tatar (and vice versa - it can be Crimean Tatar only if it is Ukrainian). Crimeans are the living basis of this land, the only force that can return it to prosperity and order. Neglecting this understanding cost us dearly.

4. And most importantly. Never again. Russia will not pose a threat to us only in one case - when it ceases to exist.

Source

About the author. Valerii Pekar, lecturer at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

The editors do not always share the opinions expressed by the authors of the blogs.