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There has been and always will be tension between countries. Although usually tension is all it is. Earlier this year, on February 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin instructed Russian defenses to attack Ukraine. Starting a full-fledged war between the two countries. This was a shock and concern to most of the world. Although some countries saw this tragedy approaching.  It was thought that the countries were warned, but we have found out that some countries have other motives.

              To better understand this tragedy, we must first look to the past between the countries involved. During the mid-1990s and early 2000s the international talk was of the expansion of NATO. The thought was to bring two outside countries into the treaty, which were Georgia and Ukraine. Although due to recent events, neither Georgia nor Ukraine will be joining NATO anytime soon. Was this just a tactic/manipulation or did NATO care about and want these two countries to join the forces?

              With all the talk of NATO expanding to Georgia and Ukraine, Russia began to worry about the risks and outcomes. Understandably being that Georgia and Ukraine are directly boarding Russia. This would make it very easy for NATO to influence or in worst cases harm Russia directly, raising the overall tension. Russia warned the West, as to how they felt, Anatol Lieven said, “over the past almost three months before the war, the Russian government was making it clear that there was a threat of war if the West did not compromise on what Russia regarded as its vital interest.” (The History Behind Putin’s War in Ukraine). Although the warnings spread, Ukraine still did not believe the threats.

              Personally, I believe that Ukraine was confident in that NATO/the West would protect them and warn them if there was a serious threat. The West (in particularly the United States during Bush’s presidency)offered Ukraine a position in NATO. But they did it in such a matter that they were not actually wanting to make an effort to give Ukraine anything. A term that I think best describes the history and situation between the United States and Ukraine is “gas lighting.” The U.S. has told Ukraine plans, but do not follow through.

              On the contrary, the West is not all talk, Anatol Lieven said, “West has funded, educated and supported large numbers of the Ukrainian Elite,” (The History Behind Putin’s War in Ukraine). The foundation of this war is based on manipulation and miscommunication. In this situation I would not side with the West. The West has used their assistance as an incentive for Ukraine to join their forces. In The History Behind Putin’s War in Ukraine it is said that there is a chance that the war would have never happened if the West was purely just helping Ukraine get a better grip on their country.

              Furthermore, with the manipulation and Putin only listening to a maximum of 10 people. I think Putin thought there might have been a secret plan between the West and Ukraine. Which is partially why I believe Putin decided to attack. He wanted to see if the West and the United States for defend Ukraine. I think this was the initial intent, but at this point Russia has “dug a hole” in their own country. Most Russian citizens do not support the war, because the people of each country are more than close in distance.

              Most of the Russian and Ukrainian public did not know the war was going to happen. A grandmother from Ukraine was mentioned in the article, Why did Putin Decide to Invade Ukraine? The grandmother stated what ever was going to happen could not be worse than Chernobyl. And this is where we touch the heart of the war, which is trauma. The families on both sides have lived with so much trauma. There are families connected on both sides of the boarder. The only support for the trauma has been through each other, but that is getting harder with Russia isolating their economy.

              Russia has cut off their energy resources to the West and Ukraine. This has made it extremely expensive for many countries, making it almost impossible to travel. Furthermore, Russia has dropped out of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, so any money that Russians have cannot be transferred out of Russia. Many Russians fleeing cannot even pay for a place to stay. This is because, “war doesn’t erase politics” said Nick Mulder (Why Did Putin Decide to Invade Ukraine?) and it doesn’t erase the economy either. Russia does not want anyone that is not supporting them to be benefitted by their resources.

              Moreover, this affects everyone, Daniel Denvir said, “I don’t want to disparage people for feeling solidarity with Ukrainians. I wish people felt a more universal sense of solidarity with people who suffer and are oppressed.” (Why Did Putin Decide to Invade Ukraine?). The trauma goes further than just Ukrainian people. The recent exposure about the invasion of Ukraine is slightly over blown. The question is where was the media exposure and heart felts when Afghan people were being selflessly murdered during the war in Afghanistan?

              So, what should we do now? I agree with Maurice E. Stevens, trauma is a complete interruption that must be worked through. We can not keep putting the issues in books and expecting them to solve themselves. The trauma needs to be felt and remembered.  Memory is the only way that any of us will ever understand each other. Overall, not only remembering but sharing experiences and being truthful with how we are feeling about our traumas. In conclusion, we must ignore the economy of effect that distributes the trauma and profits off it. As well as, correcting the economy of information. The key is to acknowledge the trauma that have been gone through as people and learn how to health from it. Because trauma is a part of us that will always be there. But I don’t know about you, but I’d rather turn trauma into an understanding.

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Sources

An interview with Anatol Lieven, et al. “The History behind Putin's War in Ukraine.” Jacobin,    jacobin.com/2022/03/doug-henwood-anatol-lieven-ukraine-russia-putin-sanctions-nuclear-war-history.

An interview with Sophie Pinkham Nick Mulder, et al. “Why Did Putin Decide to Invade Ukraine?” Jacobin, jacobin.com/2022/03/russia-ukraine-putin-invasion-sanctions-ceasefire-interview.

“Trauma is as Trauma Does: The politics of Affect in Catastrophic Times,” By Maurice E.
Stevens. In Critical Trauma Studies: Understanding Violence, Conflict, and Memory in Everyday
Life Edited by Monica J. Casper and Eric Wertheimer

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