What can we know, for sure, about Ukraine?
I'm not asking what our propaganda tells us. Not what we wish to be true. What can we know, for sure, in the summer of 2025, about Ukraine?
In June 2014, the democratically-elected government of Ukraine was overthrown in a US-supported coup that was led by neo-Nazis and right-wing nationalists with the goal of an ethnically-pure society. There is no evidence that the US CIA was actively involved in the coup, even if only by funding through US governmental agents like USAID and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The US may be supporting many things in Ukraine; democracy is not one of those things.
So, how have things been in Ukraine since the 2014 overthrow of the democratically-elected government led by President Viktor Yanukovych? The new government under its US puppet government (under President Petro Poroshenko) immediately began using force to put down protests from young men refusing to be conscripted into the Ukrainian Armed Forces, marchers who were demanding a cancellation of the country's martial law, and protests of government-imposed cuts to wages and pensions.
Poroshenko immediately (under martial law) began using military force against pro-Russian separatists in the now-contested provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk. In the first year of Poroshenko's leadership, thousands of people (some 6,000 at least) were killed. [German Intelligence estimated the total number of dead at 50,000] Millions more were driven from their homes in war-torn regions. It was a terrifying invasion by pro-Western Ukrainian extremists that terrified Russian speaking Ukrainians, because it was killing them in large numbers. They had lived for generations on their lands, without threatening anyone. Now they were being attacked for their ethnicity.
The 2014 overthrow of the Ukrainian government led to demonstrations in Crimea, a Russian-speaking province. On March 16, 2014, a referendum was held in Crimea on separation from Crimea. The vote was overwhelmingly in favor of Crimea joining the Russian Federation. The official result of that referendum was 97% in favor. Even if that number is inaccurate, there is little doubt that the will of the Crimean people was for annexation by Russia. The following day, 17 March 2014, Crimea's authorities declared independence and asked to join Russia. Russia formally annexed Crimea (as a Russian republic) on 18 March 2014.
What has life been like for Crimea in the 11 years since? Crimea has been quite peaceful. No one is protesting in their streets; there is no anti-government violence, there are no racially-motivated murders, no "ethnic-purge" in progress. Crimeans are living the American dream: they chose national self-determination.
Crimea was not annexed by force. Crimea was annexed by the will of the people who had voted overwhelmingly to secede from Ukraine and to rejoin Russia. It was a recognition of the sovereignty and democratic self-rule of the people who live in Crimea, the majority of whom have always considered themselves Russians … because they always have been.
The US may be supporting many things in Crimea; democracy is not one of those things.
On September 23, 2022, referendums were held in four predominantly ethnic Russian regions of Ukraine, the four eastern provinces of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya. The people of all four provinces voted overwhelmingly to secede from Ukraine and to join Russia. They considered themselves Russians … because they always have been. They chose national self-determination.
The US may be supporting many things in those four provinces; democracy is not one of those things.
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