Three years ago today, Russia invaded Ukraine in an act of unjustified warfare. If, like me, you are also American, let’s repeat that simple factual statement for those members of our government who deny it: three years ago today, Russia invaded Ukraine. I watched it unfold. You watched it unfold. Even the leaders who seek to deceive us watched it unfold. Don’t let them gaslight or bully you, it happened and it happened because Putin had previously gotten away with seizing territory in the Crimea with minimal consequences. This fact encouraged him to continue his campaign to “take back” land that belonged to a sovereign nation simply because he wrongly considers it to be Russian or, as Pope Francis once put it, “some potentate, sadly caught up in anachronistic claims of nationalist interests, is provoking and fomenting conflicts.”
It is absurd that I must begin an article about the war in Ukraine with this recitation of plain truth, but we are living in a time when the father of lies prowls about the world seeking to deceive us and he has used our habituation to the horrors of the war in Ukraine to numb some of us until we are unable to remember those early days of the war – a time when who was responsible for the carnage was all too clear. The danger that this poses cannot be understated: ensuring that our understanding of history is based on truth and not lies is essential to any hope of success in the present.
With the truth firmly in mind, it is towards the present that I now turn. The ailing Pope Francis was unable to give his Angelus address yesterday but released the text of his message which included a statement marking the third anniversary of “the large-scale war against Ukraine.” The Holy Father remembered the “suffering Ukrainian people” and all those who are victims of wars throughout the world. Some news agencies have translated “suffering” as “martyred” which is a term that the Pope has used frequently to describe Ukrainians and evokes the constant suffering that they have faced throughout their history, particularly under the rule of Stalin. His statement on this anniversary followed a message to newly ordained deacons which encouraged them to “be a sign of a love that embraces everyone, that transforms evil into goodness and engenders a fraternal world.” His final words to them speak to all of us: “Do not be afraid to risk love!”
Tragically, our country seems to have traded its risky love for the people of Ukraine for the allure of national gain. We have betrayed longstanding allies in exchange for the sweet talk of a devious enemy. In the past weeks, the United States has pressured Ukraine to sign a deal which will pay for aid that they have already received (according to a New York Times article, they will not only have to pay for the aid, but will pay more than four times the amount of aid that they received); refused to guarantee future aid and support to Ukraine in order to ensure its security; spread blatant lies about who is responsible for the war in Ukraine; undermined the presidency of Zelensky by suggesting he is a “dictator” who has no right to participate in negotiations for his own country because he has made President Trump “sick” of “watching Ukraine negotiate with no cards”; shaken hopes of Ukraine joining NATO; and conducted negotiations with Russia about the future of Ukraine without involving representatives from Ukraine itself.
Over the past three years, many have been frustrated by Pope Francis’s calls for negotiation which were born from his overwhelming desire for the conflict to end. However, as Austen Ivereigh made clear in his May 11, 2022 article for Where Peter Is, Pope Francis has never shied away from placing the blame firmly at the feet of Putin, and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, has stressed that negotiations must occur in the context of a cessation of Russian aggression and result in a “just peace.” None of the actions that the United States has taken in recent weeks come close to meeting these criteria.
In his Angelus address yesterday, Pope Francis said that the third anniversary of the war is “a painful and shameful occasion for the whole of humanity!” For a country that was supposedly founded upon Christian principles, it is difficult to express the extent of shame Americans ought to feel for betraying the people of Ukraine as we have done. As we reflect on this national shame, let us ask ourselves the question Jesus once asked: “Who is your neighbor?” Is it the one who holds the greatest power and has the most to offer, or the one who can give little, but desperately needs help. Let it be known that we have chosen to side with the abuser against the abused. There is no shame deeper than that.
Image: “War | Ukraine | Kyiv” (Public Domain) by Artwork | Documentary
Ariane Sroubek is a writer, school psychologist and mother to two children here on earth. Prior to converting to Catholicism, she completed undergraduate studies in Bible and Theology at Gordon College in Wenham, MA. She then went on to obtain her doctorate in School and Child Clinical Psychology. Ariane’s writing is inspired by her faith, daily life experiences and education. More of her work can be found at medium.com/@sroubek.ariane and at https://mysustaininggrace.com.
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