Russia-Ukraine War: One Year Later Teach-Out

In this reading, we hear from Roman Oleksenko, who is enlisted in the reserves of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and is volunteering with Ukrainian Action, a U.S.-registered NGO, to support humanitarian missions in Ukraine. Roman offers his unique insights as a Ukrainian citizen and humanitarian worker and discusses the realities of war for Ukrainians.

A Short History Lesson

For the living generations of Ukrainians, this war with Russia began on February 20, 2014, when the Russian Federation treacherously invaded Ukraine’s sovereign territory, and occupied the Crimean peninsula first, and parts of the Donbass few months later. Between February 2014 and February 2022, thousands of Ukrainians were killed and over a million were forced to leave their homes. Eventually, the hot phase of war turned into a stalemate giving an illusion of a frozen conflict.

Eight years later, on February 24, 2022, Russia brutally attacked Ukraine on all sides. Since then, over 13 million Ukrainians have been displaced, tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians may have lost their lives in this war, and there are signs that Ukraine’s economy could shrink by as much as 45 per cent because of the invasion (source:  NPR ). There have been hundreds, if not thousands, of documented cases of genocidal war crimes committed by Russian Armed Forces and mercenaries. Russian federal channels openly call for the extermination of Ukrainian language, culture, and people.

While this recent unprovoked Russian aggression may have taken many westerners by surprise, a closer look at Ukrainian-Russian history can reveal that Ukraine’s Independence War began few centuries ago. Previous generations of Ukrainians had seen the Russian invaders burn their cities to the ground, kill and starve millions to death, and attempt to suppress and eventually eradicate Ukrainian language and culture. Russia was never a democracy. Whether it was ruled by tsars, communist leaders or presidents, it has always used various types of warfare, such as economic, informational, religious, linguistic, cultural, cyber and, ultimately, military, to colonize and subjugate Ukraine and many other neighboring states and ethnic groups. In other words, this war has been going on for way too long. What we are seeing right now is its hottest and, hopefully, final phase, which will result in Ukraine’s and their Allies’ ultimate victory and demise of the Russian Empire once and for all.

Because empires either expand or fall apart. Tertium non datur.*  Ukrainians have become extremely sensitive about the language used to describe the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. It is important that this war is not referred to as a “conflict” or “crisis”, but the “Russo-Ukrainian war”, or “Russian-Ukrainian war” to mirror the language of U.S. State Department.

Whenever we talk about this war, it is important to clearly name the aggressor – the Russian Federation, not just President Putin or Russian Government, as the war is still overwhelmingly supported by the Russian citizens, whether openly or passively. By the same token, it is strongly recommended to avoid saying “separatists” or “rebels” while talking about Ukrainian collaborators in eastern and southern parts of Ukraine.

Other sensitive terms include geographic notions such as “Ukraine” versus “the Ukraine”, “east/west/south of Ukraine” as opposed to “Eastern/Western/Southern Ukraine” as the latter are primarily used by Russian government and media to push false narratives that Ukraine is either part of Russia or a divided failed state.

When talking to Ukrainians whose cities and town are bombarded by Russian cruise missiles and Kamikaze drones on a daily basis, please avoid saying “stay safe”, as no place in Ukraine is safe anymore. Ultimately, it is important for Ukrainians is to say that this war will result in Ukraine’s victory, as opposed to vague calls for peace, friendship or reconciliation for the sake of avoiding a global nuclear war.

*Editor’s note: Tertium non datur is the law of the excluded third, literally translated from Latin to English as “no third [possibility] is given.”

Reflection Questions

Prior to joining this Teach-Out, what was your understanding of the historical and cultural context of the Russia-Ukraine War? After reading Roman’s “A Short History Lesson,” what was something new you learned or found surprising?