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13 Honest Facts About the War in Ukraine - Valerii Zaluzhnyi
1. So, the first fact of reality, I think you will agree with me, is the existence of the definition of the “collective West”. It really exists, and we consider it a group of developed Western countries with highly developed economies and democracies and their own security system. Such as NATO.
2. There are a number of authoritarian countries in the world with a high concentration of power in one hand. These countries lack democracy. Their economies are based on mineral resources or planned regulation, and are designed to serve the interests of the ruling leader or a party or movement.
3. There are countries in the world that, as a result of historical events and the aspirations of their people, managed to break away from authoritarian empires and regimes. Some of them have joined the collective West. Some, mainly due to the resistance of authoritarian empires, continue their struggle to join the civilized world, while still facing the danger of losing their independence. Some, such as Georgia and Belarus, have already lost their formal independence. A country like Ukraine, due to fierce resistance from Russia and its own indecision, found itself in a war for its independence from an authoritarian empire.
4. This is a very important statement for understanding the war in Ukraine. Unlike Belarus and Georgia, which lost their independence almost bloodlessly, Ukraine has been fighting for its independence for 10 years. The full-scale war has been going on for almost three years. More than 30 thousand people have already been killed. Hundreds of thousands have been wounded, but we continue to fight. This fact is perhaps the main proof that we, Ukrainians, want to live in the civilized Western world. And despite all the hardships, we have the right to our own future. Our enemy, ignoring our own desire, denies our history and culture, and is trying to destroy us as a nation. This is confirmed not only by events from the history of the last century. Such as the Holodomor, for example, the more recent events in Bucha and Gostomel, and events in the occupied territories. It is this fact that makes any peaceful coexistence impossible in the future and, accordingly, cannot consider any options for stopping the war based on any intentions of mutual security.
5. The reason for what is happening in Ukraine today is the natural consequences of the unwillingness of the collective West to influence the global security system. It was by taking advantage of the weakness of the West and the United States itself that Russia began expanding its “security space” in 2008. Later, in 2014, under the silence of the same collective West, Russia launched a war against Ukraine, which eventually became the bloodiest war of the 21st century in the center of Europe.
6. Even today, to keep the West afraid, Putin talks about red lines and nuclear weapons, and Western politicians, held hostage by their voters, are increasingly praying for the need to avoid escalation. Again, this is just a fact of life. But whether this war will be limited to Putin's appetites, to Ukraine alone, is something that Western politicians should answer. To their voters.
7. The collective West did not believe in Ukraine. Therefore, the Western press, fearing Putin, gave Ukraine first three hours, then three days. Then, having come to Ukraine's aid, the West, fearing either a nuclear war or escalation, did not provide Ukraine with the necessary amount of weapons, so we were unable to achieve any significant success in defeating Russia in the 23rd year and entered a state of protracted war, from which it seems impossible to get out of today. I will not dwell on this. I hope that you have been able to read my articles. By the way, I wrote them for you. Because it was then that we lost the opportunity to end the war on our own. And here's why.
8. This fact of reality already applies to all of us in this room. It already concerns each of you. Please tell me, is it a secret today that China, North Korea, and Iran are united around Russia? Does anyone think that they are united against Ukraine? If so, let me be the first to doubt it. Most of these countries do not even know where Ukraine is. And if you look closely at an organization like the BRICS, and especially at its prospects, it will expand. And what about the collective West? Is it still afraid of escalation?
9. An important fact of reality. There is a war. Whether you want it or not. Whether your arms manufacturers with contracts in hand want it or not, unfortunately, war has changed. There will be no more war like the one of 1953. It ended in the summer of '23 in Ukraine. At the moment when robots came to the battlefield, and the Western press and NATO generals laughed at me. In 2024, technology came into the battle. They were brought by artificial intelligence. No one laughs at me anymore. Even here in Britain, the national security strategy is already being revised. NATO is silent. What about global security then? Does it still rely on fighter jets, aircraft carriers, and super-expensive missiles? I'm going to upset you a little bit. No. Unfortunately, no. But I'm not stopping there. I hope you have read what I have published for you.
10. We, the Ukrainians who have been fighting for our freedom for 10 years, see victory very simply. We need to get three basic feelings.
11. A sense of our own security. We need to be sure that no one will attack Ukraine for at least 100 years. We want to have a guarantee of our own security for ourselves and our children. This can be done in the fastest and easiest way. Ukraine needs to join NATO .Or turn Ukraine into NATO. Like Israel, for example. Yes, there is no alternative to NATO today. The military capabilities of NATO are a controversial issue. But there is no alternative today.
12. We need to get a sense of unlimited development opportunities. Anyone in Ukraine should have unlimited opportunities. And this is the restoration of post-war Ukraine. This is what is being discussed in the West. But is recovery possible without security? Is an investor willing to invest in a country where there may be another war tomorrow? I'm going to disappoint you here. No. There are no long-term prospects without security a priori.
13. Every Ukrainian should feel that they are in their own home. That he is at home. Where he was born and raised, where his parents are buried and where his children live. In peace and tranquillity.
13 честных фактов о войне в Украине | Украинская правда
