Dear editor:
As the world begins week eight following the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, mounting reports of atrocities lave us evermore emotionally exhausted - the deliberate missile strike of April 8 on an eastern Ukraine railway station killing more than 50 and injuring an additional 100 noncombatants, reports of invaders abducting more than 100,000 children for the purpose of adoption by Russians, the Mariupol mayor estimating that 10,000 citizens have died due to persistent bombardment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin during an April 12 press conference, noted the peace talks are dead, the economic blitzkrieg has failed, and that reports of barbarity in Bucha are fake. Additionally, Putin has named General Alexander Dvornikov, known for his 2015 targeting of civilian infrastructure in Aleppo, Syria, theatre commander to oversee the current military campaign in Ukraine. Presumably this will involve taking and holding portions of the Donbas region by May 9, the date in which Russians celebrate “Victory Day” symbolizing the 1945 defeat of Nazi Germany.
Nevertheless, throughout the conflict western media outlets have been successful in highlighting the seeming unshakable resolve of the Ukrainian people. Ukrainians consistently demonstrate a capacity and willingness to fight, doing whatever necessary to protect themselves and those around them.
Millions worldwide have viewed a video posted weeks ago from a Kyiv bomb shelter of young Amelia singing a Disney movie song “Let It Go”. Another media outlet showcased Ukrainian national pride as a woman, following her rendition of the national anthem, sung as she swept shattered glass from an apartment windowsill, stated “Long live Ukraine”. In a CBC news interview, Ukrainian parliament member Kira Rudik spoke of Kyiv’s bravery and resistance in that citizens are “protecting every inch like it’s our last battle”.
In addition to overt examples representative of Ukrainian resistance in the spirit of democracy, a more subtle and intrinsic quality may actually be at the heart of Ukrainian strength - their beneficence. Ukrainians consistently display charity, mercy and kindness, a doing good to others, as if it is a moral obligation.
We have seen images of families ripped apart by the invasion - husbands and fathers saying goodbye and sending families away to safety while themselves staying behind to fight for the homeland. What is also there to see is Ukrainian refugees fleeing with only what they can carry and for many that includes their pets. We witness Ukrainians prioritizing pets over possessions, refusing to leave their pets behind.
These people, who have effectively lost everything, regard their pets as members of the family and together they try their best to survive. During the unprecedented turmoil, pets and their owners provide one another companionship and comfort, affection and relief. It is as if all recognize the circular reality that human suffering begets animal suffering which begets human suffering. Ukrainians recognize that the unconditional love by a pet provides them a sense of worth when it’s most needed.
Mr. Putin fears the democratic values and ideals that Ukraine has adopted over the past decade. He believes Ukraine’s enactment of democratic reforms is a threat to the Kremlin in that Russian citizens might begin to seek a similar political voice. And when Putin refers to Ukrainians and Russians as “one people”, Ukrainians hear it as a denial of their culture, history, and language.
What Putin seemingly has not considered is that the nature of humans is to judge others based on group identity wherein love for one’s own group regularly serves to enhance the potential for fear and aggression towards those representing a different identity. Putin’s reference to the need to de-Nazify Ukrainian territory only serves as a hate speech primer that elicits within Ukrainians visceral emotions of disgust and inclinations toward violence directed at the messenger.
Simply put, Ukrainians regard Russian aggression as representative of a reduced capacity for humaneness that, in turn, fosters the reciprocal of their compassionate nature in the form of strident self-defense. Seemingly Ukrainians prefer to live by the view that life is measured not by enemies defeated but by the number of friends made.
Peter Wibell
Rutledge