Ukraine

Ukraine is falling apart as a result of the Russian invasion. Many civilians including children have been killed. Those who are still alive are in danger of death. Millions of other citizens have fled the country and become refuges without their families.

Economic sanctions imposed by Europe and the United States have paralyzed some of Russia's business elite. Russian people are also affected. For example, access to information and online financial transactions has been disrupted. The people, who are far from war zones, bear the consequences of rising prices for their basic needs.

Why did Russia invade Ukraine? The answers are varied and many are contradictory. Whatever the reason, the brutal Russian military attacks should be condemned and stopped. The repercussions would be far direr if the war continued and spread beyond Ukraine.

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I'm not an expert on Russia or Ukraine. However, from a number of literatures that I have read, it is quite clear how long and complicated the relationship between the two communities is. So, it is unfortunate if the Russian-Ukrainian war (2022) is considered only a mere part of the Russia-NATO conflict since the end of World War II.

All of that happened before and after the country was dragged into two world wars.

Time after time, Ukraine fought for national independence and complete sovereignty. Again and again, it fell and got up. The success that had been achieved did not last long. Throughout its history, Ukraine has been attacked by several neighbors. The country had been divided several times due to civil war. All of that happened before and after the country was dragged into two world wars.

Before the Youth Pledge was sworn in Indonesia (1928), Ukraine had become a republic following the Russian revolution (1917). Ukraine is one of the countries that cofounded the United Nations (1945). It became the first member of the United Nations to sponsor the first discussion at the UN Security Council on Indonesia's independence which was threatened by its former colonizers (1946).

After independence from the Soviet Union (1991), Ukraine was tossed around by two opposing directions of government. The pro-Russian President Yanukovych (2010-2014) was replaced by the anti-Russian President Poroshenko (2014-2019).

However, the people consider them to be part of a corrupt elite class. The election of President Zelenskyy (2019) from outside the political and business elite circles brought a new hope for his pro-democratic voters.

There are other factors complicating the Russia-Ukraine dispute. The Soviet Union, Russia or Ukraine have experienced several changes of leadership. The change was more or less followed by a change in the understanding of history and the boundaries of authority between Russia and Ukraine. NATO officials themselves did not all have the same views nor were consistent in a series of negotiations and agreements with the Soviet Union on the division of the respective boundaries of authority after the World War II.

In short, it is difficult to gauge the extent to which Russia or NATO deserves to be blamed or justified in the recent crisis in Ukraine. Most major and prolonged conflicts anywhere in the world are not the story of one side who is all good/right versus another party who is completely evil/wrong. Regardless of the complexity of the dispute between Russia or NATO, the Ukrainian people have their own ideals that have to be respected.

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Putin uses past history and present geopolitics as a pretext for invading Ukraine. All of this has been refuted by a number of other parties. History is never single, although each country has an official version and opposes other versions.

However, it is another problem when the debate turns into a military invasion.

History is not a series of past events. History is the narrative of today's people about the past for the benefit of the present. For those who are interested, the history of the Russia or Ukraine conflicts can be debated further. However, it is another problem when the debate turns into a military invasion.

Now the world's attention should be focused on ending wars and alleviating the suffering of victims and refugees. Extending the debate over which one is more at fault -- whether Russia or NATO -- can be just a waste of time. The elite debate ignores the common people, victims of war on both sides. It also ignores the right of the Ukrainian people to self-determination, whether for or against Russia or NATO.

On the battlefield, Ukraine is no match for Russia. Like Indonesia when it was attacked by the Dutch after the 1945 Proclamation. Or East Timor when it was invaded by Indonesia, or Iraq and Afghanistan when they were attacked by the United States, or Palestine when it faced Israeli aggression. However, history is full of surprises.

To Russia's surprise, Ukraine could not be defeated in two days. A week after Russia invaded Ukraine, the world was shocked by the figure of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, fondly called Vova. The president of Ukraine is standing tall against the onslaught of death by Russia. He turned down American offers to flee Ukraine and run the government in exile.

Anti-war protests against Russia are rife in many parts of the world, including in China. All of that may be ignored by Putin. However, he could not ignore the criticism of his own people. Thousands of Russian scientists wrote an anti-war petition. Russians from various backgrounds took to the streets in dozens of

Russian cities without official permission. Thousands of demonstrators were detained, but demonstrations did not stop. Independent media was silenced.

Russia's global anti-war protests have a variety of reasons. Not everyone cares about the showdown between the Russian elite and NATO. It does not mean that the Russia-NATO dispute is considered non-existent or not important. The world is not as narrow as the showdown between Russia and NATO.

The same is happening in a number of NATO countries.

The world is unequal. The strong oppress the weak. However, everywhere, there has never been an elite group, however powerful they may have been, which is able to completely control the life of the weaker group. In Russia, Putin and his entire state apparatus are not able to fully control the will of the people, let alone in Ukraine. The same is happening in a number of NATO countries.

Due to its small size, the Covid-19 virus cannot be observed by the naked eye. But, it is able to tear apart the world civilization of this century. Not everything that is small can be used as a toy by the big one, also not the Ukrainian, Russian, or European-American people under their rulers. In its history, Ukraine had been, for many times, under the control of the bigger power. Over and over, it fell and got up.

KOMPAS/YUNIADHI AGUNG

Ariel Heryanto

ARIEL HERYANTO, Professor Emeritus at Monash University, Australia

(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi).