Three Myths Popular in the West that are Hurting Ukraine
To understand the Ukraine-Russia conflict, we must discard simplistic assumptions about Ukraine and its relationships with Russia and the West.
Ukraine — the country where I was born and spent my childhood — has been in the news a lot lately. Every day there are new reports of escalating tensions with Russia. The country is hurting and has been for some time. But with the specter of a full-blown Russian invasion on the horizon, things can get much worse — very soon.
Like many of us, I have been following the news carefully, though my interest in Ukraine is also personal. Although I left Ukraine when I was eleven, I continued to visit my family and friends there almost every year for two decades. In college, I focused my study of history and international relations on Eastern Europe, which included a detailed foray into the Russo-Ukrainian energy relationship. I wanted to really understand where I came from — and why my family, among many others, left Ukraine when given the chance.
I find the same genuine desire to understand the situation in Ukraine in Western media reports. But although the iron curtain was lifted three decades ago, in the West very little is known about Ukraine to this day.
