When I think about why Ukrainians fight so hard to resist Russian occupation, I imagine that, for many of them, it comes down to something more immediate and tangible than lines on a map or particular events from the previous century. Sure, they are fighting because their country was invaded by the Russian military in 2022, but why did they put up such a resistance in the first place? Was it simply to maintain their sovereignty as an independent country? I can imagine that’s part of it, but there’s clearly more to their motivation.

When I try to put myself in Ukrainian shoes, I imagine seeing Russia primarily as a system that does not govern with the everyday wellbeing of its own people as its central concern—one in which enormous resources are devoted to military power, state prestige, and the appearance of national strength while many ordinary Russian citizens, particularly outside the wealthiest major cities, live amid comparatively poor infrastructure, limited public investment, squalid living conditions and economic stagnation. In that sense, the Potemkin village seems like an apt metaphor for the entire country: a state intensely concerned with projecting strength and prosperity, while the lived reality for many of its citizens is far less impressive and often abysmal.

If I were a Ukrainian, I would fight so that my country wouldn’t once again become another impoverished part of the Soviet Union Russian world.

https://t.me/LegionEuropa/30871