a few thoughts on Ukraine
2022-Mar-24, Thursday 09:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mellowtiggerIt's been a month since my last post about the war in Ukraine. I've learned a few things since then.
First, I read a very good account explaining why this invasion is happening at all. Sorry, I've tried to retrieve the article/post I saw with this theory, but I can't find it again. It's about how Putin's aggression is similar to Hitler's but with a twist. While Nazism defined the self-vs-other in an objectively clear way, Putin is doing the same thing but in a situational way. Putin wants to unify the Russian people... as he sees them. When anybody declares that they don't want to be part of that unity, they instantly become the "other" that threatens the success of his goal and the purity of his "self". He must harshly subjugate their opposition (both Ukrainian and internal Russian) to contain the threat against purity. Nazism, with a twist.
Second, I think I understand why this invasion is happening now. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014 was because of fossil fuel, allowing Putin to seize 80% of Ukraine's deposits. (Reminder: It is likely that Trump profited financially from the political aftermath while removing sanctions against this imperialistic invasion.) I've also seen claims that Ukraine was heavily taxing pipeline profits of fuel flowing from Russian oilfields to Europe which motivated construction of a new pipeline to the north. This Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, however, is because of water. Sure, it would've been better for Putin if Trump was in the White House, but I think Putin had to commit to the invasion anyway. The Crimean peninsula depends heavily on fresh water from Ukraine, which they were keeping to themselves, which led to this invasion just as predicted.
Third, I continue to be intrigued by the European response to this war. I think people are mistakenly pursuing a theory of racism here. There are useful criticisms of hypocrisy, yes, but that's not the main motivator in this case. I think the cause of European unity is much simpler and more visceral. Watch this data visualization from 5 years ago.
It's almost 20 minutes, but this award-winning video is very compelling. It was created long before this war, and I think it adequately explains this year's reaction. Europe has strong opinions about war within its boundary.
First, I read a very good account explaining why this invasion is happening at all. Sorry, I've tried to retrieve the article/post I saw with this theory, but I can't find it again. It's about how Putin's aggression is similar to Hitler's but with a twist. While Nazism defined the self-vs-other in an objectively clear way, Putin is doing the same thing but in a situational way. Putin wants to unify the Russian people... as he sees them. When anybody declares that they don't want to be part of that unity, they instantly become the "other" that threatens the success of his goal and the purity of his "self". He must harshly subjugate their opposition (both Ukrainian and internal Russian) to contain the threat against purity. Nazism, with a twist.
Second, I think I understand why this invasion is happening now. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014 was because of fossil fuel, allowing Putin to seize 80% of Ukraine's deposits. (Reminder: It is likely that Trump profited financially from the political aftermath while removing sanctions against this imperialistic invasion.) I've also seen claims that Ukraine was heavily taxing pipeline profits of fuel flowing from Russian oilfields to Europe which motivated construction of a new pipeline to the north. This Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, however, is because of water. Sure, it would've been better for Putin if Trump was in the White House, but I think Putin had to commit to the invasion anyway. The Crimean peninsula depends heavily on fresh water from Ukraine, which they were keeping to themselves, which led to this invasion just as predicted.
Third, I continue to be intrigued by the European response to this war. I think people are mistakenly pursuing a theory of racism here. There are useful criticisms of hypocrisy, yes, but that's not the main motivator in this case. I think the cause of European unity is much simpler and more visceral. Watch this data visualization from 5 years ago.
It's almost 20 minutes, but this award-winning video is very compelling. It was created long before this war, and I think it adequately explains this year's reaction. Europe has strong opinions about war within its boundary.