Several years ago, during a discussion with a neighbor, I made the mistake of identifying her nationality as Russian. Her last name sounded very much Russian, her physical appearance and accent looked and sounded Russian, and I was not familiar at all with the distinctions between Russians and Ukranians to know the difference. She very politely, but firmly, helped to set me straight.
"I am not Russian," she said, "I am Ukrainian."
And she proceeded to point out the differences, including the language, the culture, and a sense of national pride that Ukraine, which had been adversely affected by multiple wars, including both World War 1 and 2, and because of geography and economics, had "suffered" (her term) under Russian domination and control under both the Czars and the Communists, had won its sovereignty and independence. She noted that the difference in both national pride, and in the culture was quite visible upon crossing the border from Ukraine into Russia, which she said was "run down and bleak," the people are not happy and the cities are dirty.
Of course, the long history of being part of both the Czar's empire and the Communist Soviet Union led to a lot of shared history as well. The large Russian speaking population that is almost predominant in the Eastern provinces of the Donbas is the result of the migration of Russian workers for the mines and industries, and the Crimea, which Russia used for military and naval bases to protect its only year-round, ice-free ports, is of strategic importance to Russia which, without Ukraine's black sea coast, and the peninsula, is bottled up along the eastern shore of the Black Sea.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, and gaining independence, Ukrainians have enjoyed a measure of economic prosperity along with the independence of their sovereign country. Because of its location, and the flat, fertile plain on which most of it sits, it was the most productive farmland in the Soviet Union. To the north, the climate is too cold for a long growing season so Ukraine has been an abundant producer of food for itself and for Russia. The mineral wealth underneath the Donbas region, led to its development as an industrial region.
Defined by language and culture, though many Russians migrated to the Donbas because of the economic prosperity, mainly the jobs, that existed there, the current boundaries of Ukraine were defined when it was made into one of the Soviet Union's "socialist republics." At that point, Russian speakers living there had to decide whether to return to Russia or become a Ukrainian citizen, and most chose the latter.
This particular war actually had a previous stage, in 2014, when Russia invaded and occupied the Crimea and the Kerch Peninsula. Whether the current war could have been forseen or not, the fact that Russia sees some of its strategic needs as being met by Ukraine more or less made an eventual attack inevitable. It's kind of an old fashioned style European war, where one large and more powerful country sees raw materials or industrial production for which they are already the single largest customer as easy prey.
A Fair and Equitable Peace That Demonstrates Morality
There is no question that Russia was the aggressor in this war, and that the pretenses that came blubbering out of the Russian government about Ukraine being "Nazis" and about the war being conducted on behalf of the Russian speaking citizens who live in Eastern Ukraine who were being "oppressed" by the Ukrainians is ridiculous garbage. What really happened is that after throwing out a corrupt, pro-Russian President, who had allowed himself to be bribed and manipulated by Trump, and electing Zelenskyy, the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO grew exponentially larger. That, perceived as a threat to Russia, was the reason behind the attack.
Russia certainly has security interests involving the Crimea. The main base for their Black Sea Fleet, which is the only ice-free sea access Russia has in the west, is at Sevastopol. Having the Crimea as part of Ukraine's sovereign territory is something the Russians consider enough of a threat that they moved most of the fleet. But that's something both countries could have worked out through diplomacy.
I don't see any reason why a fair and equitable peace, in a war Russia started and for which they are responsible, would include anything but the restoration of all sovereign Ukrainian territory to Ukraine, including the Crimea and the Donbas. It should also include reparations for all of the property the Russians destroyed.
NATO is a defensively postured organization. Ukraine's belonging to it should not be considered a threat to Russian security.
The Ukrainian government, elected before the war, should remain in power until there are elections. And the Ukrainian military should be armed and trained by NATO.
Anything less than that, and Putin will succeed in demonstrating to the world that Trump is, indeed, both a sucker, and a Russian asset.
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