This is inspired by a post from @bavovniatko about mean and/or misinformed things Americans say about Ukraine and Russia’s war. I’m only listing what I’ve heard in-person. There’s far more people/bots are saying.
I’ve heard these phrases since 2014 and 2022, and I wanted to write about them now, since it seems they still need some explaining 😐
“Giving them aid won’t really do anything. They aren’t going to beat Russia.” — This whole “oh-the-war-is-already-settled” mentality is what Russia wants you to believe. They want you to think that this is all one and done, so they can take over without really having to put up a fight. It’s called “reflexive control” and what Russia does is invade your news and social media feed with lies about how powerful they are (+ other lies) so that way people feel defeated before any resistance.
Important Note: Russian bots will portray themselves as Americans. They stir the pot in all sorts of issues and play both sides to build an illusion. They influence everyone from the President to your friends. They spread lies and say terrible things. That’s not to say that there’s Americans who don’t support Ukraine or are pro-Russian. It’s just that bots are everywhere now, especially during election years.
“Ukraine should just make peace with Russia.” — What happens when Russia pushes further? That’s not a hypothetical. *explains the Russian invasion of Donbas and Crimea to people who first heard of Ukraine in 2022* *proceeds to explain the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008 and how they continue to encroach on their territory* *mentions the crippling Russian cyberattack of Estonia in 2007*
“Zelenskyy is so stubborn, he should just accept Trump/Putin’s deal.” — Yeah, I’d be stubborn too if everyone I loved was being murdered (and much worse) and it felt like some people were just standing by and watching, or worse—trying to gaslight me into giving in or making “deals”.
“Russia has a powerful army.” — They sent their soldiers in with broken and expired gear from the last century. Then they had to use prisoners as soldiers. Then they had to beg North Korea for soldiers.
“Ukraine is like [insert conflict/country].” — No. You can’t compare countries and conflicts because they are two different states with different histories, different geography, and different time periods. Ukraine is not like Taiwan. Ukraine is not like the Bosnian War. Sure, there might be slight similarities that you are biased to pick out, but it’s much more nuanced than that. Saying this phrase is an insult to both parties. You’re missing out on reality.
“I don’t think what the Ukraine is going through is as serious as a genocide.” — How do you define a genocide? is the next question I ask as calmly as possible. Ukrainians are being specifically targeted by Russia for total annihilation in this brutal war. There’s a bunch of photos, videos, and stories about this in the news. By the way, Wikipedia has a list of genocides and explanations. The most recent listed are Palestinians, Armenians, Uyghurs, Rohingya, and Ukrainians since 2014.
*And then I explain about the history of the Holodomor and about Crimean Tatars and why they shouldn’t say “the” Ukraine.*
“This is Putin’s war.” - Putin’s war and his generals’ war and the thousands who committed war crimes, oligarchs, every one of his citizens, and others who agree with Stalin that genocide is the answer. Putin and many others are responsible for war crimes as the International Criminal Court and monitoring groups have already stated. It is not just Putin who needs to be held accountable.
“Trump said he’d end the war in 24hrs.” - ...
“I feel bad for Ukrainians and I feel bad for the innocent Russians too.” — Being “uninvolved” in politics doesn’t make a person innocent. That country that arbitrarily invades another was imbued with a culture, politics, and hatred that made that decision somehow acceptable 👀
“It’s sad because the Russian people didn’t want this.” — Polls have read that 50-70% of them approve of the war. If they really didn’t want it, what are they doing to stop it? How are they showing solidarity with the Ukrainian people? . . .
“Oh, they can’t fight back against Putin” - Yes, yes they can.
“Ukraine and Russia are like brothers.” - the myth of friendship between Slavs was invented so Russia could dominate as the “big brother”. Please read a history book of Ukraine written by a reputable scholar without AI and absorb the information. Learn about how the Russian Federation is a continuation of the Russian Empire and Soviet Union.
Again, saying this overlooks the Crimean Tatars who are also victims of Russian aggression.
“Ukrainian and Russian are like the same language, aren’t they?” — No. As a person who studied both languages in university I can tell you that the answer is no. Linguistically, Ukrainian is closer to Polish and Belarusian. *proceeds to explain that the country of Belarus exists 😭* Yes, they are both Slavic languages and use Cyrillic letters, but the alphabets, vocabulary, and grammar are different. A lot of Ukrainians speak Russian, especially in the east, but this is because Russia colonized Ukraine and tried to eradicate the Ukrainian language/culture/history. The Russian Empire and Soviet Union also deported Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians, repopulating their homes with Russians, which is a tactic Russia is still using right now!!!!
“But they’re from the same culture, right?” — No, they have different cultures, different art styles, different literatures, different languages, different histories, different lives. Taras Shevchenko is not anywhere near comparable to Pushkin.
“This isn’t any of America’s business. All that aid Congress wants to send should go to Americans. It’s our tax dollars.” - It is America’s business because Clinton and crew made it our business when he encouraged Ukraine to give up their nuclear arsenal to Russia in the Budapest Memorandum in 1994. In exchange, the US promised “security guarantees” to Ukraine, to protect them. There’s more to unpack here, but imma leave at that.
😮💨 More in part two, which I’ll post later.
“Why are they fighting? They should just share [occupied territories] instead of having a war.” - Never said out loud to anyone, but I was a child in 2014 when I first read the news online about the war in Donbas and didn’t know anyone affected by it. Even I believed that Ukraine and Russia were like brothers because that’s what people told me. After Russia shot down MH17, I learned more about what was happening. I stopped believing war and geopolitics were so simple and that I was some big-brained kid who had it all figured out.
✨A little lesson, that yes, people can change their views and educate themselves :)✨
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