The Ukrainian Magazine

Dear Reader,

The war in Donbass, Russia’s war against Ukraine that we know from television screens, is just part of the war that Russia has launched against all of us. After four years of Russian aggression, there is no point in reassuring yourself that there are no formal signs of war in our homeland. In this war, it is not tanks that play a major role. Even in Ukraine.

The aggressor has long been among us. It is well-aware of our weaknesses in home and foreign policy. It engages in skilful contemporary and historical battles. It is deeply rooted in our economy, in large business, in the media and nonprofi t organizations where it finds loyal people who, in their own mercantile interests, are keen to serve it even better than those still active networks of Cold War agents.

After the presidential elections in the United States and France, and last but not least in the Czech Republic, after the referendums in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, the West must understand that the war is already on its streets. The erosion of democracy in Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic is no longer just a signal and poses a real problem for Europe. Belarus is already occupied by Russia although the occupation is hybrid, hidden.

Ukraine already went through this and eventually faced armed aggression, full-on occupation, sabotage, cyberattacks, gas wars, as well as economic and political pressure. We should learn from Ukraine’s experience and understand that in its case, the destruction of the state preceded an armed offensive. Namely, a weakening of state institutions, fueling of internal and external confl icts, support for marginal radical movements and separatistic trends, economic pressure, and creation of an alternative reality through state controlled media. Hybrid war against the Ukrainian cultural code also extends to a deceptive ‘affi nity’ of cultural interests, manipulation with such words as ‘our own’ music, cinema, etc.

Russia’s goal is a war of all against all. This way, when it weakens the state, Russia will reign in Europe. At least it has such plans. Our common task is to understand this and not let that happen.

Editors of The Ukrainian Journal