| This Special Edition of Democracy Today on Ukraine and Russia brings to your attention recent PUBLICATIONS ON the democratic aspirations of Ukraine and Russia’s attempts to divide and subvert.
Updated February 23, 2022
UKRAINE’S DEMOCRATIC ASPIRATIONS
Why Ukraine Matters
Francis Fukuyama | American Purpose | 1/24/22
This past week, Russia has continued to move men and materials to the borders of Ukraine, and has not backed down from its threats to take direct action if its demands on the United States and NATO are not met.
There Are No Chamberlains in This Story
Anne Applebaum | The Atlantic | 2/20/22
But there are no Churchills, either. And Ukraine will fight alone.
Why Ukraine’s Fight Against Corruption Scares Russia
Daria Kaleniuk & Olena Halushka | Foreign Policy | 12/17/21
The country’s democratization and ongoing efforts to fight entrenched graft and cronyism are a threat to Putin’s model of governance.
‘We’ll fight to the end.’ Ukraine defiant in face of Vladimir Putin’s phoney war
Luke Harding | The Guardian | 1/15/22
Kyiv’s middle-class professionals ready to take up arms again.
Dangerous Diplomacy: Why Placating Putin Now Could Doom Ukrainian Democracy Later
Oxana Shevel and Maria Popova| Journal of Democracy | 2/14/22
If the West forces Kyiv to accept Putin’s diplomatic terms, he will have succeeded without firing a shot.
Putin Calls Ukrainian Statehood a Fiction. History Suggests Otherwise.
Michael Schwirtz, Maria Varenikova and Rick Gladstone | The New York Times | 2/21/22
In a speech, President Vladimir V. Putin bent Ukraine’s complex history into his own version that served as a justification for his cleaving off more of its territory.
Sorry, Mr. Putin. Ukraine and Russia are Not the Same Country.
Serphy Yekelchyk | Politico | 2/6/22
Many Russians share Putin’s delusion that Ukraine has always been part of Russia. The truth is much more complicated.
How to think about war in Ukraine
Timothy Snyder | Thinking About | 1/18/22
Start with the Ukrainians.
US delegation tells Ukrainians: Your fight is our fight
Peter Dickinson | Ukraine Alert | 2/1/22
A high-level American delegation arrived in Kyiv on January 30 for a visit designed to demonstrate US solidarity and support for Ukraine as the country faces up to the threat of a potential full-scale Russian invasion.
My generation of Ukrainians has fought hard for democracy. We stand ready once again.
Olga Tokariuk | The Washington Post | 2/1/22
As Russia and the United States clashed at the United Nations on Monday over Ukraine, all I could feel was anger.
RUSSIA’S EFFORTS TO DIVIDE & SUBVERT
The Reason Putin Would Risk War
Anne Applebaum | The Atlantic | 2/3/22
He is threatening to invade Ukraine because he wants democracy to fail—and not just in that country.
Notorious Russian Mercenaries Pulled Out of Africa Ready for Ukraine
Philip Obaji Jr. | The Daily Beast | 1/31/22
Unprecedented numbers of the Wagner Group, which some have called Putin’s “private army,” have departed in recent days, sources tell The Daily Beast.
How to Make a Deal With Putin
Michael McFaul | Foreign Affairs | 2/11/22
Only a Comprehensive Pact Can Avoid War.
Putin knows exactly what he wants in eastern Europe – unlike the west
Timothy Garton Ash | The Guardian | 1/31/22
Until we stop dithering and commit to all European states being independent and free, Russia will have the upper hand.
What Putin Fears Most
Robert Person and Michael McFaul | Journal of Democracy | 2/22/22
Forget his excuses. Russia’s autocrat doesn’t worry about NATO. What terrifies him is the prospect of a flourishing Ukrainian democracy.
In Clash With U.S. Over Ukraine, Putin Has a Lifeline From China
Steven Lee Myers and Edward Wong | The New York Times| 2/2/22
President Biden could find his plans to punish Russia undermined by Xi Jinping, a longtime ally of Mr. Putin. But China moves cautiously during crises.
Russia Will Not Stop at Ukraine
Natia Seskuria | RUSI | 2/2/22
The current confrontation is not only about Ukraine; it is also about Moscow’s attempt to stifle Georgia’s sovereign choices.
Russia’s one-sided reporting and blatant disinformation
Share America | 1/27/22
In democracies, independent media are free to publish accurate stories that inform the public — without editorial control by the government.
Fact-checking Putin’s speech on Ukraine
Glenn Kessler | The Washington Post | 2/23/22
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday made a lengthy, often-bitter televised speech as he ordered troops into two pro-Russian separatist regions of eastern Ukraine. |
