Perspectives on the War in Ukraine
The war in Ukraine, launched by the Russian Federation on 24 February 2022, is now nearing its first anniversary of existence. As a result, the conflict has generated significant news coverage, from e-interviews with President Zelenskyy to various interviews with government officials of all ranks and positions. What I have not seen, however, is an interview addressing the views held by our generation or people around our age, anyone under 30. I realised this was the perfect time to find out these opinions myself, as I am currently studying as an Erasmus student at Charles University in Prague, Czechia. Prague is quite the hub for Erasmus studies and is close in proximity to Ukraine, so I have heard quite a few opinions on the war in Ukraine. So, I posed questions to some of my fellow Erasmus students and collected their opinions on the ongoing war in Ukraine. The question posed: “What are your thoughts on Western/NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) aid and arms shipments to Ukraine?”
All names have been changed for the purposes of anonymity and to protect the identities of those who responded. The method of interview was creating a Google Forms document, and sending the form off to three texting group chats of Erasmus students that I am in - one a more recreational group chat designed to coordinate activities around the city, the second a group chat of students staying at a hall of accommodation, and the third a group chat of students designed to help with academic matters. I believe this method of data collection helps in finding a diverse range of voices regarding the delivery of aid to Ukraine.
One respondent, A from Ukraine (18), noted that his country “fully depends on this aid”, so he is fully in favour of continuing the shipments of Western and NATO arms and aid shipments. He also notes that the current flow of aid to his home country is currently too low, and as a result, Ukraine “is paying a much higher price with casualties, than it could” with better quality and quantity of Western imports.
Katya (21) from Croatia has a more nuanced view of this matter. She believes that although “all help that goes to Ukraine right now is appreciated,” Western countries are “only doing it for their own future purposes and to [have] shown themselves in some other light.” She cites the United State’s involvement in conflicts in the Middle East as one source of suspicion, and as a result, the US cannot be considered ‘a friendly country’ to Ukraine. Katya also questions whether NATO itself is sincere in its intentions for Ukraine, and also believes she has not seen a war that has gotten as much media coverage as the Ukraine war in recent memory. Her final note is that she believes that Ukraine is a “playfield [sic] between Russia and USA and proving who is a bigger leader between the two of them.” This response hearkens back to the proxy conflicts of the Cold War, between the Soviet and the Western blocs.
L (19) from France had a simple and frank opinion on the matter of Western aid to Ukraine: “They already did some things but it’s not enough because if they had really done everything they could, Ukraine would have won the war for a long time… [sic].” In essence, according to L, if the West had begun providing more and better aid after the war had escalated, then Ukraine would not have shed so much blood and treasure as it already has in this war.
R (28) from Slovenia responded in a rather different manner from L. R begins their response by noting their pacifism, meaning that they are “certainly not a fan of war” and as a result are “totally against any kind [sic] of arms shipments.” R then notes that it seems that NATO wants to continue the war “at all costs,” and that the conflict could be solved by:
“encouraging Zelenski [sic], to call a referendum and let people of these two regions decide under the umbrella of whom they want to live. However, what we are seeing now is totally the opposite. NATO accept [sic] the game and now the only question is how far it is dare [sic] to go.”
R concludes their interview by stating that NATO is irrelevant and should be abolished, instead directing our attention (and funds) to combating environmental issues, and saying “fighting with arms has never been a good idea.”
Leoni (22) from Belgium also has a nuanced view of the war and shipments to Ukraine. Leoni begins by describing their opinion that the rhetoric in the media and from governments worldwide are focused on two strikingly different paths: “Currently the focus is on the delivery of arms and tanks towards Ukraine in the war against Russia, but I'm certain they are also still trying to come up with peace treaties and talks with Russia.” Leoni also sees the need to balance efforts of helping Ukraine regain Crimea vs the risk of Putin launching a nuclear weapon, and says the war is “a very dubious fight” as a result of this balancing game.
Snorsin (22) from Norway believes that if we abandon Ukraine or do not supply Ukraine adequately to win the war, we inherently condone Russia’s behaviour, and it will result in other superpowers invading their neighbours.
Ed (22) from Romania has two opinions on why the West should keep arms shipments and aid, both in the affirmative: (1) their country has experience with Soviet and Russian domination, and therefore knows what the possible future for Ukraine (and Europe) is if the war ends poorly; and (2), in order to win the war, the West must rebuild its arms industries in order to further supply Ukraine with “what it needs and, if possible, what it desires.”
The final respondent, Marius (23) from Italy believes that support for Ukraine is absolutely vital to protecting this world from more imperialist aggression, although he does not “even believe in the concept of “country”.” They also rather succinctly state that in any place where civilians are being bombed, there should be an “external intervention against the aggressor”, and that it is fundamental to give all that Ukraine needs in order to defend the freedom, the life, and the self-determination of the Ukrainian people.
It is evident, then, even from the small sample of people who responded to the Google Form, that a wide variety of opinions and degrees of agreement exist on how Western aid to Ukraine is being handled. The majority opinion it seems is that it is good that the West is sending arms and aid to Ukraine, although the degree of support is different from person to person, as seen in the differences between, say, A, Leoni, and Katya. Additionally, there is a vocal minority calling for the war to stop and end with a negotiated peace, as seen in R’s response. This is an issue that will not be solved overnight, and so these opinions must be shared, as they may one-day help determine the course history takes.
Image from Alisdare Hickson via Flickr, ©2022, some rights reserved.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the wider St Andrews Foreign Affairs Review team
