Ukraine's Inspiring Defense of Democracy
Chosen as TIME's 2022 Person of the Year, Volodymyr Zelensky and the people of Ukraine have shown the world the resilience of freedom.
Russia invaded Ukraine in the early morning hours of February 24th, 2022.
At the time, it was widely believed that Ukraine’s outnumbered and outgunned armed forces would not be able to withstand the brute force of the Russian army and the country would fall in a matter of days or weeks.
The conventional wisdom was wrong. Ukraine mounted a stout defense of their homeland, and its people persevered amid the indiscriminate missile strikes and humanitarian crisis caused by the Russian invasion.
Stymied from their objectives and frustrated by their failures, Russian forces resorted to the obliteration of the nation’s towns and cities while Ukrainian citizens in occupied villages were subjected to unimaginable war crimes.
As the initial assault ground to a stalemate and places like the Azovstal Iron Works in Mariupol, holding out for weeks against heavy Russian bombardment, became the symbol of Ukraine’s resistance, the conflict took a defining turn.
Beset with dwindling supplies and faulty equipment, Russian forces were forced to retreat from the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital city, and consolidate their military assets in the eastern section of the country, the only territory that Russia had been able to occupy.
This redeployment by the Russian army had presented an opportunity, and Ukraine’s military responded with remarkable speed and agility, mounting a highly effective counter-offensive as well as strategic strikes on Russia’s supply lines deep in enemy territory. Ukraine’s most recent attacks have been targeted at air bases on Russian soil.
Russia’s defeats on the battlefield led to Putin’s announcement of mandatory conscriptions, which sparked nationwide protests and convinced young men to flee the country to avoid serving. Most recently, Russia has resorted to releasing convicts to fill their ranks on the front lines.
The primary reason for Ukraine’s victories is the nature of its military, a 21st century fighting force that’s trained alongside NATO’s military apparatus for years, versus an ill-equipped, lumbering army still relying on 20th century tactics and weapons more reminiscent of World War II battlefields than modern-day warfare.
Cutting-edge weaponry and real-time intelligence supplied by the United States and NATO have only magnified Ukrainian’s effectiveness on the ground and increased their ability to defeat a much larger foe with a much smaller footprint. And the victories continue.
Ukraine’s success has been historic in every way, so it is highly appropriate that Zelensky and the Spirit of Ukraine was chosen as TIME’s Person of the Year.
Read more about Ukraine’s liberation of Kherson in my article from November 13th:
Another Victory for Democracy
The Hero
TIME describes the choice of Volodymyr Zelensky, the 44-year old former comedian and actor elected in 2019 as the sixth president of Ukraine, as “the most clear-cut in memory.”
“The impact of this story on 2022 is the essence of what Person of the Year was designed to capture, the idea that fateful events on the global stage are shaped—for better and worse—by the talents, priorities, fears, and foibles of individual human beings,” the magazine writes.
History is replete with examples of men or women who were thrust into leadership roles at particular moments of crisis and were the precise people the world needed most. It appears Zelensky may be that kind of leader.
“Whether the battle for Ukraine fills one with hope or with fear, Volodymyr Zelensky galvanized the world in a way we haven’t seen in decades,” TIME writes.
Though far from a perfect politician and heavily criticized for downplaying the imminent threat of invasion, Zelensky rose to the challenge once enemy tanks rolled over the Ukrainian border and occupied his nation.
Whether keeping the world’s attention on the conflict, making impassioned speeches to global leaders, or visiting the front lines to encourage his soldiers and civilians, Zelensky has become the hero of democracy.
TIME magazine concludes that Zelensky and the spirit of Ukraine were chosen “for proving that courage can be as contagious as fear, for stirring people and nations to come together in defense of freedom, for reminding the world of the fragility of democracy—and of peace.”
The Villain
Russian President Vladimir Putin came to power in 1999, and through a series of political maneuvers and constitutional amendments, was able to extend his rule and is now at age 70 is poised to be the president of Russia for the rest of his life.
Over his more than two decades in the Kremlin — and five American presidents during the same time — Mr. Putin has harbored an acrimony over the collapse of the Soviet Union and an increasing animosity toward the West.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a strategic move by an authoritarian leader to restore the former superpower's sphere of influence in the world.
Putin has always considered Ukraine a part of Russia, even arguing recently that Ukraine was created as a separate republic by Lenin to support the Bolshevik cause.
When a Ukrainian revolution in 2014 ousted their Russian-supported president, Putin used this political setback as an opportunity to deploy forces to Crimea, the peninsula along the southern tip of Ukraine, and eventually annex the disputed territory.
During the intervening years as Ukraine moved more toward democracy — although political corruption was still rampant — and was considered a possible, future member of NATO, Mr. Putin accused the United States of reneging on a promise not to expand the alliance to Russia’s borders.
He demanded that NATO stay out of Ukraine and pull back from Eastern Europe.
Then in late 2021, with the United States ostensibly exhausted of foreign wars and NATO seemingly at odds with one another, Putin decided it was time claim the territories he believed belonged to Russia and halt any further Western or NATO encroachment on Russia’s borders.
The attack on Ukraine would come a few months later.
Unfortunately, history has also shown us that the pride and paranoia of one man can have a debilitating impact on the world as reason and logic are replaced by emotion and fervor and the consequences cannot be predicted.
A Changing Landscape for Europe and the World
While Russia’s short-term goal is to topple the Ukrainian government and replace it a Russian-controlled puppet regime, President Putin’s long-term ambitions may extend far beyond the former Soviet state’s borders.
His calculus for a quick victory and a weak NATO response was undermined by his army’s difficulty in pacifying Ukraine and NATO’s unified and unwavering stance.
Over the past several months, NATO has shown a remarkable capability for uniting against a common threat by inflicting Russia with debilitating economic sanctions, while significantly affecting their own economies in the process.
But Putin is unwavering. He is nostalgic to return Russia to its bygone glory and the perceived power and strength of the Soviet Union.
In his view, the Cold War was an equilibrium between superpowers, with each nation a counterbalance to the other, and that stability no longer exists.
It appears that Putin, in cooperation with China and other authoritarian regimes, wants to realign the world’s balance of power and establish new spheres of influence.
The Cold War ignited several “hot wars” throughout the world, most notably Korea and Vietnam, and the invasion of Ukraine may be the first of those conflicts during this most recent upheaval.
French President Emmanuel Macron, in a televised address to his nation shortly after the invasion, said that Russia’s attack on Ukraine amounts to the “most serious damage to peace and stability” that Europe has faced in decades.
He called the events “a turning point in the history of Europe” that “will have lasting and deep consequences on our lives.”
Just as World War II permanently altered the political and cultural landscape of Europe and the world, the war in Ukraine may signify a new era of global disruption.
Russia’s next move is a mystery. Facing a humiliating defeat, Putin may choose to escalate the war through the use of nuclear weapons, effectively plunging the region into crisis or creating a wider conflict.
Perhaps Putin attempts to find an exit strategy or seek a negotiated peace.
Or Ukraine emerges victorious and drives Russian forces from within its borders. The country is rebuilt by the United States and western Europe, becomes a member of NATO, and evolves into an economic powerhouse.
If the latter proves to be true, much of the credit can be given to Zelensky and the people of Ukraine for not only defending their homeland, but defending democracy.