Ukraine has regained its place in Europe; now it must preserve democracy - historian Serhii Plokhy

American-Ukrainian historian and Harvard professor Serhii Plokhy said this in an interview with Espreso journalist Vitalii Portnikov.

“Today in Europe, Ukraine has appeared as if in the armor of a knight, a defender of the European border. Ukraine went to war with the Russian army, which only the Finns did in 1940. The Poles, for various reasons, could not fight for two sides; in 1968, Czechoslovakia did not even try to do so, and neither did Hungary. That is, in such a large-scale industrial war, we appear in the role of a warrior,” the professor said.

But protecting Europe from Russia does not mean becoming Europe. Democracy and the rule of law must be preserved, Plokhy emphasized.

“Then there is the question of entering the social, economic, civilizational, and cultural sphere. And here, the biggest question for us is not even democracy, although now there are big questions about how we will be able to survive the war experience and remain a democracy. I remain optimistic here. But the question here is to what extent we will be able to be a people, a nation, a country that will put the law above any other ethnic, social, economic interests of certain groups. This is the key question,” the historian said.

“It seems to me that from a purely military point of view, we have won a place (in Europe - ed.). We are extending the border of Europe further to the east. So, in my opinion, the integration of Ukraine in the sense of ensuring the security of Europe is a matter of time,” Plokhy concluded.

• In the same interview, Serhii Plokhy set a new task for Ukrainian historical scholarship: to carefully study the events of the current war with Russia.