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Today marks the third anniversary of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s brutal full-scale war against Ukraine. Actually, it’s an escalation of a frozen conflict in Donbas that has lasted since 2014. That’s when Putin’s Russia first seized parts of Ukraine through the annexation of the Crimean peninsula and areas in Donbas. The number of people killed in Putin’s assault is probably somewhere between 500,000 and 1 million.

Fight for democracy, against a dictator

The war is due to Putin’s dream of restoring the old Soviet empire. Putin was foolish enough to believe that he would gain control of the entire Ukraine in a few days. That’s not how it went. Ukrainians stand united against the Russian dictator and his brutal war power.

For Ukraine, the war is about preserving Ukrainian democracy in its own country. Most Ukrainians want closer cooperation with the EU. Many Ukrainians also see NATO membership as absolutely necessary to preserve peace in the long term.

The war is costing Ukraine a great deal. Massive destruction after Russian attacks on infrastructure and civilian targets. Thousands of Ukrainian civilians have lost their lives. War crimes have been documented in large numbers, committed by Russian forces. When Ukraine retook areas outside Kyiv, mass graves were found and civilians were directly executed.

Peace agreement on Putin’s terms is a capitulation

Western Europe and the US (before Donald Trump) have given Ukraine support in the form of weapons and financial support. This has been crucial for Ukraine to continue its fight for freedom. After the US managed to elect the Putin-friendly Donald Trump as president, US support has turned into systematic opposition to Ukraine and its rights.

Putin is presenting a kind of peace plan that he is trying to force Ukraine to accept. The peace plan as it stands now is in reality Ukrainian capitulation. Trump wants Ukraine’s large mineral deposits in exchange for continued aid, or as a payment for the aid Ukraine has already received from the US. In Trump’s plan, Ukraine is likely to give up large areas of land in exchange for peace. Trump says that Ukraine must get some kind of guarantee for its own borders. He does not say what this guarantee is. Trump rules out Ukrainian membership of NATO both now and in the future. This is of course good news for Putin.

Ukraine does not trust any Russian guarantees to respect Ukraine’s borders after a peace agreement. The reason is simple. Russia has violated such agreements several times in the past. In 1994, Ukraine handed over its nuclear weapons to Russia. In return, they received a guarantee for the country’s borders. The guarantee was signed by the US, the UK and Russia. Feel free to read my blog about this.

After Russia and Russian-backed rebels took control of parts of Ukraine’s eastern territories, non-aggression agreements were signed several times. These agreements were broken by Russian-backed rebels each time. Ukraine has zero confidence in Russia and Putin’s so-called agreements.

Support for Ukraine

Ukraine’s struggle for democracy and independence is not just a local struggle in Ukraine. It is also a struggle for the whole of Europe. The battle is being waged against the greatest dictator of our time.

Ukrainian soldiers sacrifice their lives for democracy. Ukrainians suffer for what they believe in and think is so important. Ukraine’s struggle is the struggle of all of Europe. A fight for freedom, against dictatorship.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_War

https://www.dw.com/en/what-is-known-of-donald-trumps-peace-plan-for-ukraine/a-71598106