The Ukrainian have demonstrated the resilience, creativity, courage and sacrifice inherent in a mature, sovereign polity. But, most crucially, the people of Ukraine have demonstrated will. It is the kind of will that many Western nations, with their short attention spans and avoidance of personal and political risk, appear to have in short supply. As we recognise two years of sacrifice by the Ukrainian people, we must also look to them as an example of moral courage for our politicians and citizens to heed.
In the past week, the long and brutal battle of Avdiivka reached a crescendo, with the Russian Army forcing the withdrawal of Ukrainian units. Secured by the Ukrainians in 2014, Russian forces in late 2023 significantly expanded their attacks, and have inexorably enveloped the city while pounding its buildings and defenders into bloody ruin.
As we reach the two-year mark of Putin’s war against his sovereign, democratic neighbour, Russia’s “capture by destruction” of Avdiivka is a metaphor for its approach to this war. As it became clear that Russia’s 10-day plan to politically subdue Kyiv and its government had failed, Russia decided that it would rather destroy Ukraine than allow it to exist as an example of self-determination and sovereign resilience for Russian citizens.
The revelations of the widespread Russian torture and murder of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha was horrifying. Further discoveries of Russian torture centres in liberated towns in eastern and southern Ukraine featured electrocution equipment and standardised layouts. It indicated that Russia had adopted institutionalised rape, torture, kidnapping and murder to subdue Ukrainian citizens in Russian-occupied territory. Ukrainian prisoners of war have been routinely starved, beaten, castrated and murdered.
The millions of Ukrainians who remained outside lands captured by Russia were not free of its strategic and political campaign to cower them into a political accommodation and acceptance of Russian suzerainty. Thousands of Russian missiles, drones and ballistic rockets have been launched at civilian infrastructure such as power plants, shopping malls, schools and hospitals. Putin thereby hopes to demonstrate that Ukraine’s government cannot defend its people, and that eventually, the only possible outcome in this war is a Russian victory.
Ukrainians, and citizens across much of the world, were given heart by the stout and courageous resistance of Ukrainian military personnel (supported by local citizens) in the country’s north. Bolstered by the strategic influence of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his speeches to global parliaments, multinational institutions and social media, the Ukrainians demonstrated that most central aspect of sustaining the life and prosperity of any sovereign nation: will.
You can read the rest of my article in the Sydney Morning Herald here.
Thank you Mick. What resonated most for me is that Zelensky and his fellow citizens are not only a rebuke to dictators but also to many western political leaders. Perhaps Ukraine is such a shining example of will (not Nietzsche’s but the will for everything good about freedom and democracy) it presents an inconvenient truth for too many people to continue existing. I don’t mean to be cynical but am trying to explain the inaction to help them.
I am in awe of what Ukraine has accomplished over the last two years. It's a shame that light shines this brightly only in horrific darkness.