Russia Starts a War & Demands Peace? — On the Absurdity of Russian “Peaceful” Subjugation of Ukraine

It’s ironic that Vladimir Putin is demanding peace and, in effect, surrender from Ukraine when Russia is the clear agitator in the region.

But the history of the relations between the two countries reveals the absurdity of the demands even more. So, I thought I’d revisit it for the blog to make these ironic demands into context.

We could think of the tales of Kyivan Rus and conflicts on Ukrainian soil. This shared past leads us to ponder the historical connections between Ukraine and Russia.

It’s not so simple, however.

In this post, I aim to outline:

1. Putin’s historical revisionism that Ukraine belongs to Russia, and
2. that the view that all Russia wants is “peace” is fundamentally flawed.

There is a long history that testifies to the fact that all Russia wants is for Ukraine to belong to it.

Let me explain.

Photo by Egor Filin on Unsplash

Ukraine and Russia do share a historical background, but it’s not as unique as Putin suggests. Ukraine has a rich history with Poland as well, yet no one claims Poland should reclaim Lviv, a city once under its control.