The Reality of Russia’s War Against Ukraine
Russia's war against Ukraine began in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea and military interventions in Donetsk and Luhansk. The invasion follows imperialist goals, while Moscow uses disinformation to justify it. NATO is not a threat to Russia but rather prevents its expansion. Defending Ukraine is crucial for Europe's security.
As calls grow from certain influential voices urging Ukraine to surrender to Russia’s imperialist invasion, it is essential to examine key facts that cannot be ignored. These facts are verifiable, with extensive evidence supporting the reality of Russia’s war objectives and actions.
1) Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Began Long Before 2022
Contrary to some narratives, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine did not begin in 2022. The full-scale offensive was merely an escalation of a war that started in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea and the covert military intervention in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. This initial phase of the war involved Russian special forces—often described as "little green men"—as well as so-called "Russian soldiers on vacation," paramilitary groups such as Wagner, Sparta, and the Russian Orthodox Army, and intelligence officers like Igor Girkin and Aleksander Borodai.
Borodai, a Moscow-born operative, served as the self-proclaimed "prime minister" of the so-called "People’s Republic of Donetsk" and is now a member of the Russian Duma for Yedinaya Rossiya (United Russia), Vladimir Putin’s ruling party.
Since 2014 and again in 2022, Russian occupation has been characterized by widespread human rights violations, in blatant disregard of international law. Civilians have suffered Russification efforts, torture, rape, the targeted killing of civil society members, forced recruitment of men into Russian military forces, and the indoctrination of youth for future wars. Ukrainian identity has been outlawed in occupied territories, where Russia is committing what amounts to cultural genocide. Those who resist face persecution or death.
As proven by the Dutch court, investigations by the international OSINT community, and findings by the assassinated Russian oppositionist Boris Nemtsov, Russia is also responsible for the downing of passenger jet MH17, which killed 298 civilians. Despite this, Russia continues to deny responsibility, propagating various versions of "alternative truth." The MH17 case has become one of the most well-documented disinformation campaigns, revealing how Russia seeks to confuse the international audience by spreading countless conflicting narratives.
2) Russia’s Openly Imperialist Goals
Russian officials and state propagandists have made no effort to conceal their objectives. They explicitly deny Ukraine’s right to exist as an independent nation. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, for instance, published a map on his Telegram channel depicting all of Ukraine as Russian territory.
Happy Russia Day," Medvedev wrote in 2024 on his official Telegram channel, showing a map of Russia that included the entire territory of Ukraine
However, these ambitions extend far beyond Ukraine. Various voices within the Russian establishment claim not only the entire former Soviet Union—including Georgia, Moldova, and the Baltic states—but also additional territories. Every military gain Russia achieves in Ukraine strengthens its position for future expansion. If left unchecked, further territorial aggression is only a matter of time.
Vladimir Solovyov, a notorious warmonger and leading state TV propagandist, recently stated that Russia should annex the Baltic states, Central Asia, and Armenia. This is only one example of the openly imperialistic and radical rhetoric frequently expressed on Russian state media. American professor Jeffrey Sachs, known for his controversial and widely criticized statements regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has appeared on Solovyov’s program multiple times, lending credibility to Kremlin narratives.
Putin himself stated in 2005 that the fall of the Soviet Union was the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century." He has also repeatedly attempted to rewrite history, creating a narrative that questions the Ukrainian people's right to self-determination and statehood. One example of Putin's "alternative history" lessons is his essay, published just months before the full-scale invasion, on the "historical unity of Russians and Ukrainians." In June 2022, Putin even went so far as to compare himself to Peter the Great in his quest to "take back Russian lands." "He did not take anything from them; he returned what was Russia's," Putin remarked. He further commented on the task of reclaiming and strengthening Russian lands, stating, "Apparently, it has also fallen to us to return what is Russia's and to strengthen the country."
3) Moscow’s Disinformation and Foreign Interference Campaign
Since at least 2014, Moscow has conducted an extensive disinformation and foreign interference campaign aimed at manipulating Western public opinion and decision-making. The systematic demonization of Ukraine has been a central feature of this effort. By 2022, Russia had assembled a "united anti-Western propaganda front" that spans BRICS+ nations and various other anti-Western forces.
Moscow’s narratives are disseminated through far-right and far-left radical groups, conspiracy theorists, and sympathetic media outlets. These actors amplify Russian propaganda, often under the pretense of promoting “alternative perspectives.”
At the same time, Western figures—ranging from professors and former diplomats to military analysts and self-proclaimed "peace activists"—have been instrumental in spreading authoritarian narratives under the guise of free speech. Their influence remains largely unchallenged, allowing disinformation to take root in mainstream discourse.
4) Putin Does Not Want Peace—And It’s Not Just Him
A crucial point that must be addressed is the misconception that Vladimir Putin seeks peace. The reality is quite the opposite. Occupation is not peace. Putin’s primary objective is to dominate as much territory as possible and subjugate neighboring nations, particularly Ukraine. His policies, propaganda, and military actions demonstrate an unwavering commitment to territorial expansion and the erasure of Ukraine’s sovereignty and identity.
By 2025, there should be no remaining doubts about Russia’s imperialist ambitions. Moreover, it is not solely Putin who drives this agenda—his entire regime, along with influential figures in Russian state media and political circles, share the same vision of territorial conquest and geopolitical revisionism.
Ignoring these realities only increases the likelihood of future conflicts. Understanding Russia’s long-term objectives is critical to ensuring that its expansionist policies do not succeed at the expense of Ukrainian sovereignty and global stability.
5) The Myth of Russia’s Fear of a “NATO Invasion” Due to NATO Expansion
First and foremost, it must be emphasized that all countries that joined NATO—a defensive alliance—did so voluntarily. Their decision was not driven by an intention to attack anyone but rather to secure protection under a collective defense agreement in case of aggression or to reduce the likelihood of being attacked in the first place.
Claims that Russia invaded Ukraine because it was provoked by NATO expansion or simply by Ukraine’s desire to join NATO are absurd. Such arguments ignore—or at best, downplay—Russia’s long-standing imperialist and expansionist policies. Russian foreign policy has consistently demonstrated that it does not tolerate independent neighbors unless they are submissive client states, like the Lukashenko regime in Belarus. This is especially true for countries that were once part of the Soviet Union, meaning they were historically occupied and controlled by Moscow.
One could argue that, yes, Russia is "afraid" of NATO—but not because NATO poses a legitimate security threat to Russia itself. Rather, NATO threatens Russia’s ability to invade and subjugate its neighbors, thereby obstructing its imperial ambitions. The recent NATO accession of Sweden and Finland serves as a clear example. While Russia issued rhetorical threats, it did not take any military action against them. In fact, rather than reinforcing its border with Finland to counter this so-called "NATO threat," Russia did the exact opposite—it pulled troops away from the Finnish border to send them to Ukraine, laying bare the sheer absurdity of the claim that NATO expansion poses an existential danger to Russia
The strategy of demonizing Ukraine to justify, excuse, or even praise the Russian invasion must be exposed and condemned.
No, Ukraine did not ban the Russian language after 2014. In fact, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s television series (2015-2019) was primarily in Russian. Ukrainian media continues to feature Russian-language content, including several interviews with the author of this article. Ukraine International Airlines made announcements in Russian, students have Russian lessons in schools, and before the full-scale invasion, international guests attended Russian courses in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
The narrative of a “divided Ukraine” ignores that Russian speakers live throughout the country, including in Kyiv and Chernivtsi, not just in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, which have been under occupation since 2014. Speaking Russian in Ukraine does not equate to supporting the Kremlin, as many Westerners unfortunately still believe. Since the full-scale invasion, many Ukrainians have voluntarily switched to Ukrainian or increased their use of it. Their motivation is clear: Russian imperialist propaganda falsely claims that Russian speakers belong to the so-called "Russkiy Mir" (Russian World).
Even more absurd is the claim of an “ethnic divide” in Ukraine. In reality, Ukrainians across all regions have family members and ancestors from various countries, including Russia, Belarus, and Moldova. Many Ukrainians suffer personally from Russian relatives who refuse to believe them, choosing Russian propaganda over their own family members. The idea that Donetsk and Luhansk were “ghettos” of “ethnic Russians” is completely disconnected from Ukrainian reality. In Ukraine, no one is defined by their grandparents’ or parents’ origins because nearly every family has international roots and connections to Russia. For example, the mother of the Klitschko brothers is ethnically Russian, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin was born in Kursk and studied in Moscow before moving to Ukraine.
Before the full-scale invasion, Ukraine was also a destination for refugees fleeing the Russian regime and its allies, including intellectuals and artists. This fact further contradicts the false portrayal of Ukraine as a hostile or unwelcoming environment for Russian speakers.
Another common propaganda argument used to undermine support for Ukraine’s resistance or justify Russia’s invasion is the issue of corruption. While no one in Ukraine denies the problem of corruption, Russia ranks 50 places lower than Ukraine in global corruption indices. How does this make Russia’s invasion any less condemnable? Moreover, Ukraine actively seeks European integration and is committed to addressing corruption and other political challenges, while Russia attempts to halt this progress by force.
Links:
Putin compares himself to Peter the Great, The Guardian, 2022
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/10/putin-compares-himself-to-peter-the-great-in-quest-to-take-back-russian-lands
Ex Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev claims Baltic countries belong to Russia, Euronews, May 2023
https://www.euronews.com/2023/05/17/russias-dmitry-medvedev-claims-baltic-countries-belong-to-russia
Dutch court jails 3 for life, acquits one in MH17 case, Politico November 2022
https://www.politico.eu/article/dutch-court-jail-3-life-acquit-1-mh17-malaysia-airlines-flight/
The Long History of Russian Imperialism, Ralf Fücks, December 2023
https://libmod.de/en/long-history-of-russian-imperialism-fuecks/
The long history of Russian disinformation targeting the U.S., PBS 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SNNjTpqu4w
Russia's Igor Strelkov: "I Am Responsible for War in Eastern Ukraine", Moscow Times, November 2014
'Deny, deflect, distract': How Russia spreads disinformation about the war in Ukraine
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/disinformation-ukraine-stop-fake-org-1.6721522
War in Ukraine: Kremlin's disinformation dispatch with comments from Dietmar Pichler, "The Red Line" Geopolitical and Economic Analysis, March 2022
https://www.theredlinepodcast.com/post/ukraine-kremlin-disinformation-dispatch
Interview with Dietmar Pichler on Ukrainian Channel "TSN" in Russian language (it was published in Ukrainian and Russian language), June 2024
Putin Sees Himself as Part of the History of Russia’s Tsars—Including Their Imperialism, Time, September 2022
https://time.com/6218211/vladimir-putin-russian-tsars-imperialism/
Foreign minister brushes off Moscow’s threats to boost military presence after Finland joined Nato, August 2023
https://www.ft.com/content/f7587dc3-3518-4084-b68a-1dd00ab83e2e
Putin: Soviet collapse a 'genuine tragedy' In his annual state of the nation address on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the collapse of the Soviet empire “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.” NBCNEWS, 2005
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