By Daniel Nardini
There is no way to avoid it. I have seen demonstrations, protests, and sit-ins with people carrying flags and symbols of the Republic of Ukraine. At this point the light blue and yellow Ukrainian flag has become as familiar to almost all Americans as the red, white and blue. For many Americans, Ukraine is the under-dog in a life-and-death struggle between Russia and Ukraine. There is no doubt who had started this war—Russia. It started in 2014 with the Russian seizure of Crimea from Ukraine, and again the with full-blown invasion of Ukraine by Russia on February 24, 2022, which continues to this day. Despite Ukraine not having enough weaponry compared to Russia, and Russia commanding a numerically larger army, Ukraine has been able to hold out.
For many Americans, Ukraine represents the good guys fighting the evil Russian empire, and has become a rallying point for a growing number of Americans who want not only for their government to help Ukraine, but to stop Russia’s continued aggression. A growing number of Americans are bitterly disappointed with U.S. President Donald Trump seemingly siding with Russia in the war, and his extreme hostility to current Ukrainian President and war hero Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In so many ways, Ukraine has become the symbol of a people fighting to keep themselves free and against Russian tyranny. This is all true. But it is not that simple. Before Zelenskyy, Ukraine was in fact barely a country. Until 1991, there was no Ukraine. There were the Ukrainian people, but no Ukraine itself. Ukraine had in fact only existed a few times in a thousand years of history, and before 1991, it had existed as a country for only a brief time from 1917 to 1921.
During that brief time, Ukraine was far from being a unified state. There were the Ukrainian nationalists who wanted to create a republic. There were the Ukrainian Communists who wanted unity with Soviet Russia, and then there was another faction known as the Makhno anarchists led by the anarchist revolutionary Nestor Makhno. From 1922 up to 1991, there was no independent Ukraine. While many Americans blame Trump for not helping Ukraine in its hour of need, the European Union response to helping Ukraine before the war needs to be explained. When Russia first invaded Crimea in 2014, what did the European Union do? The European Union did nothing to help Ukraine then. Part of the explanation lies in the fact that Ukraine was the second most corrupt and poorest country (only after Russia) in Europe which is one of the reasons why Ukraine was never admitted into the European Union, nor did Europe do anything to help Ukraine in its hour of need.
It is inexplicable why the European Union did not do anything in Ukraine’s hour of need then and in many ways even now. Why has Trump thrown Ukraine under the bus (the clear victim of the war), and sided with Russia? That is something for another commentary another day. But helping Ukraine is MORE in Europe’s national security than that of the United States. Why is it taking so long to realize this? Truth be told, if Trump abandons American allies in Asia like the Republic of Korea and Japan and a friend like Taiwan then that would TRULY be a betrayal not only of our allies there but of America because then the state of Hawaii and the U.S. territories of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa would be under direct threat from China and North Korea.
What Ukraine has become is a symbol, a mass movement in both the United States, Canada (which has a large Ukrainian immigrant population and also many Canadians are descendants of Ukrainian immigrants) and in Europe for the fight of a freedom-loving people against a tyrant. The whole Ukraine mass movement in the United States is cross-secting with the growing anti-Trump movement of many ordinary people who have been affected by Trump’s policies that are greatly impacting this country. In so many ways it is like history is running parallel to what happened in the 1960’s when the anti-war movement cross-sected with the Civil Rights movement. In some ways, we as a nation have come full circle.
The Ukraine Mass Movement
By Daniel Nardini
For many Americans, Ukraine represents the good guys fighting the evil Russian empire, and has become a rallying point for a growing number of Americans who want not only for their government to help Ukraine, but to stop Russia’s continued aggression. A growing number of Americans are bitterly disappointed with U.S. President Donald Trump seemingly siding with Russia in the war, and his extreme hostility to current Ukrainian President and war hero Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In so many ways, Ukraine has become the symbol of a people fighting to keep themselves free and against Russian tyranny. This is all true. But it is not that simple. Before Zelenskyy, Ukraine was in fact barely a country. Until 1991, there was no Ukraine. There were the Ukrainian people, but no Ukraine itself. Ukraine had in fact only existed a few times in a thousand years of history, and before 1991, it had existed as a country for only a brief time from 1917 to 1921.
During that brief time, Ukraine was far from being a unified state. There were the Ukrainian nationalists who wanted to create a republic. There were the Ukrainian Communists who wanted unity with Soviet Russia, and then there was another faction known as the Makhno anarchists led by the anarchist revolutionary Nestor Makhno. From 1922 up to 1991, there was no independent Ukraine. While many Americans blame Trump for not helping Ukraine in its hour of need, the European Union response to helping Ukraine before the war needs to be explained. When Russia first invaded Crimea in 2014, what did the European Union do? The European Union did nothing to help Ukraine then. Part of the explanation lies in the fact that Ukraine was the second most corrupt and poorest country (only after Russia) in Europe which is one of the reasons why Ukraine was never admitted into the European Union, nor did Europe do anything to help Ukraine in its hour of need.
It is inexplicable why the European Union did not do anything in Ukraine’s hour of need then and in many ways even now. Why has Trump thrown Ukraine under the bus (the clear victim of the war), and sided with Russia? That is something for another commentary another day. But helping Ukraine is MORE in Europe’s national security than that of the United States. Why is it taking so long to realize this? Truth be told, if Trump abandons American allies in Asia like the Republic of Korea and Japan and a friend like Taiwan then that would TRULY be a betrayal not only of our allies there but of America because then the state of Hawaii and the U.S. territories of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa would be under direct threat from China and North Korea.
What Ukraine has become is a symbol, a mass movement in both the United States, Canada (which has a large Ukrainian immigrant population and also many Canadians are descendants of Ukrainian immigrants) and in Europe for the fight of a freedom-loving people against a tyrant. The whole Ukraine mass movement in the United States is cross-secting with the growing anti-Trump movement of many ordinary people who have been affected by Trump’s policies that are greatly impacting this country. In so many ways it is like history is running parallel to what happened in the 1960’s when the anti-war movement cross-sected with the Civil Rights movement. In some ways, we as a nation have come full circle.