How Putin's aggression frees Ukraine from Russia

Yuri Maznychenko March 01, 2022

March 1, 2022. Kyiv was unexpectedly snowed in on the first day of spring, but the vagaries of the weather only symbolize a major change Ukraine has been going through. In peacetime, it would have been a Tuesday and a standard workday, but in this special period, people no longer think in terms of days of the week. But they do know exactly what today is the day of war since the start of Russia's full-scale militaristic aggression on Ukrainian territory. This is the sixth day of the war.

Russia certainly did not expect to delay pursuing its interests in Ukraine. If we abstract from the moral side of the issue and speak the language of military strategy, the attacker has an advantage over the defender in the first few days, applying the effect of surprise. If during this period the attacking side does not achieve its goals, it gets bogged down in a position war, which, like a snowball, causes it enormous damage on all fronts - not only military but also economic, social and informational.

And now I will say one important thing. War is always bad. It means maimed lives, bombed cities, economic decline, etc. But it turned out that Ukraine needed this aggression from Vladimir Putin and his occupation troops. It opened the veil of uncertainty that had inhabited Ukraine for the past eight years and began the process of finally freeing our country from Russia.

Since 2014, Ukraine's armed forces and many of our citizens who stood for their rights and convictions on the Maidan in the capital during the Revolution of Dignity knew about the war with Russia. The international community was also aware of this, and most of them supported Ukraine and called on Russia to de-occupy Crimea and stop the escalation in Donbas.

Conscious Ukrainians thought that they were heard and supported by all civilized society. But they were wrong. In the shadows remained an invisible layer of Ukrainians, who all these years had absorbed Russian propaganda and secretly dreamed of a great leader finally coming to free their country from the Bandera nationalists.

Among them were many opinion leaders who repeatedly threw around appeals that the Donbas did not want war and that Ukraine should negotiate peace with the separatist leaders. That Crimea itself has decided to return to Russia, and Ukraine should simply accept the people's choice. "I don't want to get involved in politics," - these words were said by many celebrities, forgetting that they were citizens of a country that had had its rightful lands brazenly taken from it.

It was a very strange eight years of life when our army was fighting for Ukrainian territories and the lion's share of the country's citizens simply turned a blind eye. As if everything was fine and life was the same as it was before 2014. After all, it is easier to pretend that nothing is going on. No missiles are flying, no one is shooting, and therefore life goes on.

But the missiles flew, and the enemies started shooting. The Russian invasion in Ukraine has forced the eyes of even the most stubborn of fellow citizens to open. Putin's "liberation" operation shocked even those Ukrainians who could not have imagined such a thing in their worst dreams. There came a moment of total sobering up.

The eight-year juggling of concepts is over. It has become clear to everyone that Russia is the enemy, and 41 million people need to do everything possible to free Ukraine from its Soviet past and the sphere of influence of a "brotherly" country, to defend its independent status, and to finally begin to build its own future.

Right now it does not matter what the Russian armed forces achieve on Ukrainian territory. Ukrainians know for sure that the AFU will not give our enemies a single meter of our land. And they believe that as a result of this war, Crimea and Donbas will fully return to the borders of our state. But even in the case of a potential capture of any city, town or village, the occupiers will face resistance of unprecedented strength.

Fear and uncertainty in the first days of the war have been replaced by determination and the strong belief of Ukrainian society in victory. Putin's regime can complain about Europe’s and the USA's assistance to Ukraine and hint at more drastic military measures, threatening to launch a Third world war. But Russia is not destined to start a full-scale war in Europe, because it has not yet understood what it is facing in Ukraine.

On Monday, Kyiv finally exhaled after a two-day curfew and began to flock to the big stores. Hour-long queues at the entrance, trolley jams between rows of shelves, tedious waits at the cashier's desks - the shopping procedure would have caused a wave of indignation in peacetime. But wartime began to produce in many people that quality which our people lacked so much in order to grow into European society - collective responsibility. Stuffed carts with food and non-food items, medicines and clothing are sent directly to the volunteer headquarters, from where everything necessary is taken to the final destinations. Often they are the territorial defence centres and AFU defensive positions.

My wife and I contributed hygiene products, socks, clamps, and heavy-duty bags. When we got to the nearest volunteer headquarters with the parcel, though, we were amazed at the scale of the assistance. The headquarters was literally filled with boxes of long-term food, household goods and medicines. And when asked what there was a shortage of, the guys there could only shrug: "Specialized military medical supplies, but don't even go to the drugstores”.

The population continues to actively enlist in territorial defence, a trend common to both Kyiv and other settlements throughout the country. The desire to defend one's land from the enemy and a written application to join are no longer a guarantee of receiving weapons, as was the case in the early days. There are too many people who want to join, and people are just signing up for the reserve. Right now, there are twice as many people who want to join the territorial defences as necessary. To compare: 20 years ago, the youth in Ukraine was only thinking about dodging the army, and now the number of people who want to fight the aggressors is unlimited. It's always scary to live with thoughts of war, but when it came, it awakened a huge national identity.

On my way home from the volunteer headquarters, I see broken cars and shell casings on the pavement in the streets. During the daytime, the city is more or less calm, but as darkness falls, the territorial defences on duty take on an extreme character. Members of Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups are being exposed in all the districts by the associations of volunteers. And many of those who did not get weapons do it collectively and literally with their bare hands.

During the first days of the war, Ukrainian blood centres were in particular need, given the fierce fighting between the AFU and Russian troops in a number of areas. Regional and city blood centres immediately received an influx of people who wanted to donate blood. And as of Monday, all regions of Ukraine had blood supplies of all blood groups and rhesuses.

The Kyiv city state administration appealed to residents of the capital for help in transporting means of fortifications, food and basic necessities. And literally within a day, several thousand drivers responded to this request.

The popular cab services Bolt and Uklon also launched volunteer freight and passenger transportation in Kyiv. And petrol and diesel fuel, which were in terribly short supply last week during mass attempts of Kyiv citizens to leave the city, are finally available at filling stations.

It should be said for sure that on the sixth day of the war everyone has found and already has been realizing himself in the new circumstances of life. Someone, who could not in any way wait for the law of possession of weapons among civilians, went to the roadblocks with the guns. Some have used their multitasking skills in the volunteer staff. Some joined the information war that Ukraine lost to Russia in 2014 but now does not repeat that mistake. Some just take care of their neighbours and help according to their needs - delivering food and basic necessities.

The most important thing that unites all these people is the desire to defend their land and fight back against what is probably the most hated man on earth since the death of Adolf Hitler. Putin has managed to unite an aura of hatred from around the world around his person, but the epicentre of opposition to the Russian dictator is now Ukraine.

Now and in the days to come, Russia will try to intimidate the Ukrainian people, hoping to break them psychologically. Russia needs peace negotiations. Every day, the enemy suffers great losses, not only on the military front but also within its own country. Already, the ruble's exchange rate is hitting rock bottom, disconnection from SWIFT will damage the country by about 5% of its annual economy, all sports teams are cut off from international competitions, and the world is sending everything connected with Russia following the Russian ship. But Russia cannot agree to President Volodymyr Zelensky's conditions for withdrawing its troops from all of Ukraine. This would mean the return of Crimea and Donbas to Ukrainian territory and Putin's political, or perhaps even more than that, suicide.

Therefore, Russia is trying to pressurize the information field and wage war with the help of fakes. To do this, the enemies blow up the television tower in Kyiv, throw misinformation onto the Internet about the Ukrainian government's decision to capitulate, intimidate the civilian population with panic calls, and even call for women and children to be evacuated so that, having captured people, they can continue the attack on the capital.

Ukraine uses very different methods, trying first and foremost to convey to Russian mothers where their sons are now and to reach out to ordinary citizens blinded by the most powerful propaganda. That their troops are not saving the oppressed Russian-speaking population, but invading an independent state. That Russia does not strike Ukrainian military infrastructure but bombs Ukrainian cities. And most importantly, Russia is killing the civilian population of Ukraine, and anyone who has not spoken out against this crime will be held responsible for it in any case.