The War in Ukraine: Vladimir Putin and the Ghosts of World War 2

In 2014, Russia invaded and then annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. It became clear that Russia faced no real consequences for that violation of Ukrainian sovereignty, so in 2022 Vladamir Putin followed up with a full-scale invasion of the country. Putin claimed the action was necessary to “denazify” Ukraine and to defend the Russian-speaking populations in the border regions. These claims have been widely rejected by the West.

Nevertheless, what we are witnessing is the continuation of events that have a long historical context. In this case, the boat we are riding in is rocking from the wake of the Second World War in Europe. It is imperative that we understand the history here, because the only way the current war raging in Ukraine is going to come to an end is through a negotiated settlement, or an escalation that brings the fu ...