On this day four years ago, russia started its full-scale genocidal invasion in Ukraine. I am very honoured to present you the following guest post by the German historian Franziska Davies, research associate at the Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History in Potsdam.

Dr Davies specialises in history of Eastern Europe, with the focus on Ukraine. She coauthored the book “Offene Wunden Osteuropas” and edited the book “Die Ukraine in Europa“.

Davies is co-president of the German-Ukrainian Society and founding member of RUTA Association. She is also famous for opposing the pro-russian propaganda of the so-called Russlandversteher, false experts who claim to “understand russia” but in reality don’t understand anything about russia, not even their own role as its “useful idiots” who sometimes very handsomely profit from their propaganda. In this regard, Davies was sued for defamation by the pro-russian German book author Gabriele Krone-Schmalz, who however then lost in court in 2023.

Time to overcome Western arrogance

by Franziska Davies

Today is the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. So much has changed, but on some levels, so little has changed.

What has changed? The image of Ukraine in the West has changed. Ukraine did not fall within a few weeks, contrary to the expectation of many Western commentators. For many in the West, the full-scale invasion of Ukraine was a moment of truth. All those narratives so popular in Western media – that Russia’s aggression was about NATO, that Russian threats towards Ukraine were about Moscow’s „security concerns“ – were overtaken by reality in such a profound way, that they no longer held.

To be sure, there are still those still clinging to these ludicrous efforts to legitimize this war of aggression, but the number of people falling for these falsehoods or promoting them has decreased. Whether Western societies have addressed the fact that they only discovered Ukraine, its rich cultural heritage, its resilience and its history after millions of people had to flee their homeland and went to the front to die for it, is a different matter. What does it say about Western societies that it was only after the beginning of a genocidal war that we started to question our own colonial stereotypes?

But on a different level, many things have not changed since 2022. Ukraine is given too much Western support to die, but not enough to win. In the last few months, Russian attacks on the energy infrastructure in Ukraine made life in many of its cities virtually unbearable. But these basic facts often are not even headlines in Western media. It seems that, after four years, many have gotten used to the genocidal reality of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. This is all the more remarkable since Russia was always ready to make clear that its aims go beyond Ukraine. Russia’s aim is not only to destroy Ukraine as a nation and as a state, but to destroy the European security order which is a safeguard for all of us.

The notion that Ukraine is fighting also for Europe, is not a romantic cliché, it’s a political fact. Given the magnitude of the threat for the whole of Europe, the fascist nature of the current US-administration, it is remarkable that defence policies, the question of how to defend democracy, freedom and liberty in Europe are not top of the agenda – in media and politics alike. How is it possible that so many are still ignoring this threat? Particularly in view of the fact, that we have been here before. Underestimating Russia, not accepting what was going on right in front of our eyes, until we saw the pictures of tanks rolling towards Kyiv.

Of course, this is not true for the whole of Europe. The Baltic states are among those European nations who are well aware of the challenge we are facing. For decades, voices from the Baltic states were ignored in the West, in particular in Germany. Deemed as “russophobic”, clouded in their judgement because of their historical traumas, voices from the Baltic states were often ignored. But boy, were they right about Russia. It is time to overcome such Western arrogance. It is high time that we start listening to those peoples who have been colonized by Russia and who have resisted Russian colonial pressure for centuries. Listen to them, do not dismiss them as traumatized, they are experienced. Listen to Ukraine, to Lithuania, to Estonia, to Latvia. They can lead Europe the way to defeat Russia.

Russia can be defeated; Russia has been defeated before. The question is not one of possibility, but of political will.

PS: Ukraine has been able to resist Russia, not only because of its army, but also because of its civilian society. Kyiv Defenders is an organization that was formed in the capital shortly after the full-scale invasion. They also bring evacuation vehicles and medical and technical equipment to the front. You can support them with your donation.

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