At this point in time, more than six weeks after the war has begun, it looks like the nation of Ukraine has been saved. More important, it looks like Ukraine, as a single defined nation, has developed into a unified whole. The Russian speaking Kharkov, the second largest city in Ukraine, is united with Kiev and with Lvov against Russian aggression. In many respects, this has created the modern nation of Ukraine, just like the American Revolutionary War was the defining event that created the United States of America.Â
This has not always been the case with Ukraine, with part of the country identifying closely with Russia, with large parts of the country being primary Russian speakers, including Kharkov and Odessa, in addition to the Donbass. This drove Ukrainian politics, from the 2004 presidential campaign of Russian-leaning Victor Yanukovich, the subsequent Orange Revolution, the 2010 election of Russian-leaning Victor Yanukovich, his subsequent attempt to join Putin’s Eurasian Union instead of the European Union, and of course his overthrow with the Maiden Revolution in 2013-2014 that led to the extend conflict with Russia; the establishment of the Lugansk and Donetsk Republic and the Russian seizure of Crimea in 2014. This set the stage for the current war. What the current war has done is created a unified Ukraine that is independent and clearly willing to fight for that independence. There is now no doubt that Ukraine will remain an independent state for decades, if not centuries to come. It will become part of the European Union, it will not become part of the Eurasian Union, nor a vassal of Russia or a Russian Empire. We shall see if it becomes part of NATO.
That said, it still has a long extended fight on its hands, where a country over three times its population and almost ten times its economy has seized and looks like it intends to hold onto major parts of its Eastern regions. Not sure for how long that will play out, and whether this is a war that reaches a negotiated settlement in six months, of a war that continues on for years, or achieves an armistice for now only to return back to war later. But what is clear, is that Ukraine as a nation is going to continue to stand, and the primary reason for that is they were willing to fight for their independence multiple times, in 2004, 2013-2014 and in 2022. Sadly, sometimes freedom and self-determination have to be earned by blood.
