Without a declaration of war. Without any real casus belli. No excuse. Based on a vile provocation. With a mouth full of phrases, lies, insults, and hypocrisy. At dawn. Just like in 1939.
The next few days will show the scale of this crime. But nothing will change the fact that Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is an archcriminal, and Russia should be expelled from the UN Security Council once and for all and held accoutnable for everything it does. The consequences can be unimaginable.
Ukraine is not a protectorate or a collective farm of Russia – it has the right to fully decide about its fate, alliances, and future. It has the right to the inviolability of its territory. It must, like any country, enable the preservation of human rights by all its inhabitants. But it is not Russia, and not through military aggression, that will decide and enforce it.
Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General stated: “Mr Putin, in the name of humanity, bring your army back to Russia.”
In the days, weeks, and months to come, let us not get used to what happened and will happen. To the fact that an empire attacks its smaller neighbor. And that Ukraine, the country which is historically closest to Poland (next to Lithuania and Belarus) is exposed to harm.
We have the right to be shocked and feel sad, but then we must also remain strong – because it is Ukraine that needs support. And one more thing – let’s remember that the aggressor is Russia, not the Russians living in Poland. These are our guests.
My thoughts are with my Ukrainian, Ukrainian-speaking and Russian-speaking friends and acquaintances.
Ще не вмерла України і слава, і воля,
Ще Bам, браття Українці, усміхнеться доля!
[Ukraine’s glory and freedom are not dead yet,
Fate will smile on you, Ukrainian brothers!]
Written by: Andrzej Kompa – a Polish historian, Byzantine scholar, antiquarian, rule-of-law activitst. He sympathizes with the Committee for the Defense of Democracy and supports reasonable opposition
The article was originally published in Polish at: https://liberte.pl/o-swicie-jak-w-1939/
Translated by Olga Łabendowicz
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