With Russia’s naked act of aggression against Ukraine, the tragedy of war has erupted in Europe once again.
Russian forces have shelled residential housing, schools, hospitals, and other civilian infrastructure. The Kremlin’s propaganda machine has been pushed into overdrive in its effort to justify the unjustifiable. Millions people have already fled the violence with more to come.
Ukrainians, meanwhile, are mounting a heroic defense of their country, galvanized by President Volodymyr Zelensky’s leadership. Faced with an escalating onslaught and the Kremlin’s absurd claims denying their national identity, Ukrainians have demonstrated unity and resilience. Stuck in the past, Russian President Vladimir Putin may have convinced himself that Ukraine belongs to him under his vision of a “greater Russia.” But Ukrainians have demonstrated that their country belongs to them and that they intend for it to have a European future.