By Askold Lozynskyj
On February 27, 2014, Russia invaded Ukraine, specifically the Ukrainian peninsula, known as Crimea. This invasion was in response to a revolution in Ukraine (the Revolution of Dignity) which had ousted a Russian surrogate who had been elected president through Russian election interference four years earlier.
In those four years the surrogate president had extended incongruous privileges to his masters in the Kremlin, decimated the Ukrainian armed forces, and attempted to turn Ukraine into a vassal of its evil and brutal neighbor Russia.
Thereafter, within days Russia invaded Ukraine’s eastern region known as the Donbas. Naturally both invasions were camouflaged spewing propaganda that the actors were not invaders but were actually separatists fighting for the rights of the Russian-speaking population. Very few, if any, in the global community bought it.
In tandem Russia by so-called referenda annexed the three regions and the war continued. The regions annexed amounted to some 10% of Ukrainian territory. Ukraine’s ability to fight back successfully was severely restricted by a lack of support from the West as well as by the decimation of its military by the previous president and Russian surrogate.
Nevertheless, slowly Ukraine began to rebuild and the war became a stalemate. The West began to comprehend the conflict’s seriousness, particularly given the Russian invader’s ill will and aggressive intentions. Additionally, the entire world witnessed tremendous Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s border and realized that a full-scale war was inevitable. That full-scale invasion would be tantamount to the beginning of World War 3.
On February 24, 2022, Russia mounted a full-scale invasion of Ukraine from all available sides, including from an ostensibly sovereign country Belarus. Ukraine fought back. As a result, the invader was almost immediately pushed back from four regions – the remaining territory of Luhansk, Donetsk and new regions Zaporizhzhya, the site of the largest nuclear station in Europe, and Kherson. Strategically, the most dangerous aspect was the seizure by the enemy of that nuclear station with six reactors which remains in the enemy’s control to date. This alone presents great danger not only for the people of Ukraine but the entire world.
The invasion has persisted to date with hundreds of drones and missiles, including ballistic, capable of carrying nuclear warheads on a daily basis.
To date, Russia has taken an additional 10% of Ukrainian territory, give or take. However, the human toll for Ukraine including civilians, women and children has been very significant. If there is a way to describe Russian aggression it appears that Russia has taken its script from crimes prescribed by the International Criminal Court, including aggression, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Russian strongman Vladimir Putin is under an arrest warrant by the ICC.
On many occasions Russians have expressed vocally the purpose of this brutal mission: to wipe the Ukrainian people off the face of the earth. In response the people of Ukraine have resisted magnificently, which is not surprising given that they are fighting for their existence.
Aided by good people throughout the globe, particularly from the democratic West—though often with disappointment and betrayal by America—the people of Ukraine have courageously united to hold back the savage onslaught of the brutal Russian aggressor.
Unfortunately, too many civilian and military lives have been lost. Beautiful and historical structures, residential areas, and energy targets have been levelled. The future of Ukraine, its beautiful children, has been indiscriminately brutalized. Many, conservatively estimated at twenty thousand, have been kidnapped in a psychotic attempt by the Russians to bring them up as enemies of Ukraine and its people.
Twelve years into a genocidal attempt to extinguish the undying spirit of Ukraine and its people, that unholy purpose has been thwarted and Ukraine remains a vibrant and undaunted freedom- loving and democratic country which has taken on a new role as not only a leader of the world but also in essence the savior of democratic civilization.
The people of Ukraine are heroes, everyone of them, whether actively resisting on the military front or aiding in the resistance through volunteer efforts. Their undaunted spirit is enhanced by their deep conviction and belief in a Higher Being and a conviction that Good will overcome Evil and through their efforts that a Higher Being will prevail and ensure a just world where the spirit of freedom and justice prevails.
February 24, 2026
