The ancient city of Rome. A traditional procession led by the Pope is taking place here. Attention is drawn to the two women carrying the cross, a Ukrainian and a Russian. A very “appropriate” decision, especially in the context of a full-scale invasion.
But as the press service of the Holy See explained, the decision to unite the Ukrainian and Russian women was motivated by “an attempt to seek reconciliation.” Of course, this action outraged the Ukrainian community. After all, when the enemy is destroying your cities, killing people, committing abuse and violence against the population, what kind of reconciliation can we talk about? Unfortunately, this is not the last incident. This year, despite all the criticism, a similar initiative was implemented. Only now, two teenage boys, a Ukrainian and a Russian, were walking next to each other. The first one lost his home because of the Russian invasion. The second’s relatives were the occupiers. According to the Pope, the boys should not hate each other. On the contrary, these two should become an example for all Ukrainians and Russians. An example of reconciliation, of course. He did not leave his favorite topic during his Easter greetings. Yes, the Pope again called for reconciliation. Unfortunately, there were no calls for Russia to end the war.
“Unfortunately, in a terrible contradiction to the Easter message, wars continue to unfold, sowing death in horrifying forms. Grieving over this cruelty, let us pray for their victims, beseeching God so that the world may no longer have to endure the horror of violent death. May the Lord be with them and help them reconcile!” Emphasized the Pope.
But calls for reconciliation are not only heard in the Vatican. Politicians and representatives of civil organizations can do it. Even ordinary citizens can do it, who need to express their own opinion on the war in Ukraine. Although it is certainly not necessary to delve deep into the topic.
He is for everything good and against everything bad
Maryna Sorina is from Kharkiv. She has been living in Italy for 28 years. The woman shared how last year in Verona, they were planning to organize a similar event to the one in the Vatican. On Easter, a priest from her parish asked to find a Ukrainian and a Russian who would carry the cross together during the procession. Marina tried to explain that no Ukrainian would agree to such a step. Furthermore, she doesn’t know any Russian who would openly express friendly feelings towards Ukrainians. Because those Russians who have such feelings don’t interact with them out of shame. Eventually, Ukrainians were invited, but no Russian showed up.
“After that, I had many more conversations with this priest,” Maryna Sorina recalled. It’s something strange. He is kind, to all that is good and against all that is bad. But when you ask him, “How exactly can the war be stopped? How do you sit at the negotiating table with an enemy who kills people, and lacks humanity? There can be no common ground with them.” He can’t tell you anything. Why did this priest organize such an event? Well, he follows the direction given by the Pope. This is the first thing. Second, he is sincerely confident that this will be enough. People who have not seen the war in person believe that symbolic actions will be enough. But this is such magical thinking. It applies not only to Ukraine but also to Iran, for example. There was such a wave of solidarity with Iran, Italian women were cutting their hair. But I told them: “When are you going to send weapons to the rebels?” Oh, no, no weapons, “we are against violence.” But there is already violence on the part of the government against women, children, and men.”
See also: Budapest Memorandum, or who betrayed Ukraine
The woman compares supporters of such actions to a canary that knows how to chirp but is unable to peck its enemy because it doesn’t want to receive aggression in return. Such people believe that if they themselves do not commit harm, then no one will harm them. They fail to understand that the response can be asymmetric, and the behavior of certain individuals can be unethical and irrational. Maryna Sorina noted that it is not always possible to negotiate with the enemy, assure him of something, or ask for something. However, what infuriates her the most is when, under the guise of pacifism and peace worldwide, Ukrainians are urged to simply surrender to the “mercy” of Russia.
“They are such scoundrels. I can’t even explain why. They take sacred words that are meaningful to each of us, such as “peace,” “pacifism,” and they twist them by hiding behind their calls to fall under Russia. They don’t openly say it, but they manipulate heavily. I believe that the founders of this movement from the 50s and 60s are turning in their graves because that was not what they intended. Moreover, what was relevant after the war (World War II) cannot be adapted to the current situation. I had a lot of arguments with them, both verbal and written. I even engaged in a kind of masochism when I went to their demonstrations and conferences, asking them questions politely and calmly. When they didn’t know what to say, they would get nervous and not give me a chance to speak. Some of my friends went there instead of me, and they also left feeling disgusted,” says Maryna Sorina.
Fortunately, these people are not influential in the country, Maryna Sorina noted. These “pacifists” do not have their own political party that can have any impact on society or politics. However, at the same time, they are skilled manipulators. Such individuals target a portion of Italian society that genuinely sympathizes with Ukraine and simply redirect their sentiments to serve their own agenda.
I feel sorry for the people, but Ukraine is also to blame
Nurse Sonya Kagna lives in the United States. Of course, her acquaintances somehow mention the war in Ukraine. Calls for reconciliation are usually heard from her colleagues who were born in Africa (Cameroon, West African Republic, Liberia). On the other hand, those born in the United States ask, “When are you going to kill everyone?” But why did this happen? Sonya Kagna explains that the Soviet Union invested a significant amount of money in Africa at one time. African students went there to study, acquire professions, and naturally received corresponding ideological upbringing. And later, being ideologically indoctrinated by the Soviet system, they carried these views into local education.
“My colleague from Cameroon says, ‘You don’t understand, Russia is such a big country. You won’t defeat them anyway. It’s enormous, they have so many weapons, and they have culture. And they will still defeat you because of their great culture, weapons, and large population.’ Partially, this stereotype exists in many African countries. Why is the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC), for example, so respected? It operated in the Central African Republic. There, they respect it because it has the image of strength. Those who can simply punch someone in the face and take their money. They don’t have much respect for those well-meaning Westerners who come to give them some education to rebuild in a Western way. They don’t like that. They respect China or Russia. Because Russia doesn’t try to impose its social structure, any democratic norms on them. It doesn’t interfere much in local corruption or try to overcome it. Because it is corrupt itself,” Sonya Kagna recalled.
By the way, some Africans also see strength in China. Specifically, they see it in the fact that if the Chinese give something in Africa, they demand something in return. And locals think, “these are normal people, they have enough economic power and influence to get what they want. Because according to the culture of these peoples, a gift should be reciprocated in some way. Then it’s a true gift. Giving without expecting anything in return is only done by fools.” The same goes for Russians. That’s why many Africans believe that small Ukraine won’t be able to do anything with Russia, Sonya Kagna points out.
“But Nigerians have a different attitude,” the woman explained. “They say that Nigeria did something with the British Empire, it kicked it out. And Ukraine can do something too (with Russia). Nigerians know about Ukraine because many of them or their relatives have studied there. They have a better understanding of the country than many in other African countries. And if you see who studied in Kharkiv or Kyiv, you will see Nigerians. There are most of them. They say that for the sake of survival, Ukrainians should not reconcile with Russians. Because otherwise, you won’t survive.”
Ukrainians may encounter calls for reconciliation when they travel abroad for various reasons. After the full-scale invasion, Maria Yasenovska, a resident of Kharkiv, visited Moldova and Georgia. The people she met there mostly supported Ukraine. However, unpleasant conversations were inevitable. For example, in Georgia, Maria had conversations with taxi drivers. There were discussions where “not everything is so straightforward,” “everything should be stopped,” “Ukraine is also provoking,” and that if Ukraine didn’t gather weapons, everything would have ended sooner. And there were sentiments of “feeling sorry for the people, but Ukraine is also to blame.”
“That’s the kind of conversation I encountered. I didn’t get the feeling that these were people nostalgic for the Soviet era. It was difficult to communicate with a person in Georgia because he spoke English and Russian poorly, and I, in turn, don’t know Georgian. So, it’s hard for me to say where these thoughts came from. There was sympathy for the people, but there was also this attitude that the Ukrainian government is also heavily to blame for this situation, for the war. That, in principle, some negotiations should be sought. And for me, it was also very strange. Although, once again, in Georgia, like any other country, people are diverse, and there are people from different backgrounds. I don’t know who exactly that person was. Speaking about Moldova, there are quite a few people there who watch Russian television. They also receive information from that side. Despite that, they still sympathize with Ukraine. That’s how the lenses of Russian propaganda work on people,” Maria Yasenovska noted.
The West is not homogeneous
“I would ask you to be careful with generalizations or extrapolations,” emphasized political scientist and associate professor at the Department of Political Science, Karazin Kharkiv National University, Yulia Bidenko. “It would be very surprising if reconciliation actions were not carried out in the Vatican because the сhurch, by its nature, demonstrably embraces pacifism. At the same time, I attended conferences in Finland, Scotland, Britain, and Germany, where I did not encounter such a specific approach that reconciliation is an absolute must, especially at this stage. Therefore, the West is not homogeneous. We can see, for example, undeniable support for the Ukrainian side and understanding, including from society, in northern countries, such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. In these regions, the possibility of a quick reconciliation with Russia or territorial concessions is not mainstream in political and public discourse. The situation is somewhat more complicated with Austria and Germany. It is the German pacifism and socialist legacy that they sometimes perceive as something positive, which leads to such calls among German politicians and political parties.”
For example, there are people who oppose the provision of weapons to Ukraine. For them, this is a continuation of the war and an increase in casualties on both sides. In particular, representatives of certain political forces — the left and the far right — are strongly opposed to providing Ukraine with weapons. But at the same time, such trends are changing, the political scientist notes. This can be seen in the attitudes of political leaders and members of the public. But, according to her, people in Germany are very slow, they are very uncomfortable with the vision that “there should be peace in the whole world.” But after the exposure of the crimes committed by the Russians in the occupied territories, this approach is changing. And recently, the German government confirmed the allocation of the largest military aid package to Ukraine, worth more than 2.7 billion euros.
“What is highly unprecedented. The German foreign policy, for example, has also been pacifist, based on non-intervention and non-alignment. We can recall that they acted rather weakly in 2014 and, for example, in 2008 when Russia occupied part of Georgia. Germans have always tried to avoid these conflicts. They have their own history, where war is seen as very, very bad. And these messages were conveyed by political parties and civil organizations as well,” noted Yulia Bidenko.
But here we need to distinguish between the positions of governments and the general public, she pointed out. Unfortunately, Russian propaganda has an influence in Germany. Moreover, there is a large Russian diaspora residing in the country, second only to the Turkish diaspora. However, such messages do not come from the country’s leadership; they are very cautious about such matters. Even Scholz, despite the skepticism towards him from Ukrainians, did not allow himself such things, Yulia noted. However, if we talk about certain Western countries that have not faced Russian aggression and its tendency to violate promises, there is indeed a certain degree of Russophilia. For example, in France, Switzerland, and again, in Germany.
As for the calls to simply reconcile, only marginalized parties or segments of the population openly speak out. But at the same time, Yulia Bidenko notes that Germany has increased its consumption of Russian energy since 2014. And for many people, the issue of reconciliation is also an opportunity to return to economic contact with Russia. It is very difficult for German experts and political advisors to abandon this concept: if we trade, we will not fight. According to the political scientist, by increasing their trade with Russia, they have actually found themselves in a kind of trap. This, in turn, also provoked these pacifist discourses. Because it was about someone’s economic success.
“There are countries that truly understand and support Ukraine. Because they have gone through a similar experience. Of course, I would highlight the Baltic countries, Poland, and Finland. I encountered support from people on the streets there. They saw that I was Ukrainian, approached me, and embraced me. These are the majority of countries in the post-socialist camp. Especially those countries where Russian presence was highly oppressive and people were repressed. It is precisely the Baltic countries that have become more vocal on the world stage, sharing their experiences of what their previous generations went through under the Soviet Union. This support is significant for Ukrainians. However, we understand that the actual scale of assistance in tangible terms is important but not critically decisive for winning this war,” emphasized Yulia Bidenko.
According to her, the support of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany is very important for Ukraine right now. Currently, in absolute terms, Germany is the largest supplier. Of course, there is a debate about the allocation of long-range or lethal weapons. It is very difficult for Germany to take these steps. But it is doing so, the political scientist emphasized. This is also a big change for Germany’s traditional foreign policy. According to Yulia Bidenko, old Europe is more important for Ukraine in terms of reconstruction and arms supplies. Although, of course, in terms of history and generational experience, we are much better understood by Eastern Europe, the Baltic States, and Finland.
Originally posted by Yulia Gush on Maidan.Org.Ua. Translated and edited by the UaPosition – Ukrainian news and analytics website
