A New Pair of Eyes

U.S./European Union Flag on the left, Ukraine in the middle, Russia on the right (source: www.social-searcher.com)

A couple of weeks ago, I ran into a kid in Florida. What are the odds that I am following the Ukrainian-Russian conflict and he happens to be a seventeen-year-old junior in high school that speaks Russian that spent several years living in the Ukraine, where his family is from? To gain a different perspective on the Ukrainian-Russian conflict, he allowed me to interview him to see how a Ukrainian kid living in the United States feels about what is going on. These are the questions followed by his response:

1. What is going on between the Ukraine and Russia?

“Ukraine and Russia are two neighboring countries that have a very long, shared, tense history together. During many episodes in history, they have been one combined nation. In other instances, Ukraine has been independent from the classic world power to the East. All that is happening now is that Russia is seizing the opportunity to attempt to take back what has at many times been theirs, taking advantage of glaring political weaknesses that have plagued Ukraine in the past decade. Many of these political failures have resulted in large chunks of the Ukrainian population challenging the notion of whether or not they are capable of self rule, and therefore favor an annexation from the apparently more stable Russia. Russia in turn welcomes the opportunity, because while unstable and rebellious, the Ukrainian territory is one of the richest chunks of land in the world, in terms of natural resources, which the government of Moscow would love to once again control.”

2. How do you feel about the annexation of Crimea?

“The annexation of Crimea is the first step in Russia’s plan to annex Ukraine back. I feel that many could call it a flagrant invasion, but really, the population of the area seems to be divided on the matter, so it’s difficult for westernized countries to judge.”

3. How accurately do you believe the American media is portraying what is going on?

“The American media has not portrayed ANYTHING accurately, even in its long, shameful history of ‘reporting on matters,’ and these issues between Russia and Ukraine are obviously no exception. This attitude has traditionally been particularly true when it comes to discussing matters related to Russia and its dealings with its neighbors and its foreign policy.”

4. Should the Ukraine fight to get the land back?

“Ukraine needed to fight to stabilize their situation long before any of this started, and they didn’t. Now, their population’s opinion is divided, and they first need to work to redefine their identity before they ‘fight’ for meaningless issues, like territory that they can’t control on their own.

5. Should other countries, such as the U.S. and those in the European Union, get involved?

“They should, if their intentions are to help stabilize the region, insure that there are no human rights violations, and help justice prevail. But really, they shouldn’t because in reality what they do, they do so to wield their own influence in the region, defend their own interests and reputation, and undermine their enemies like bickering children."

The results of this interview are very interesting. Although a Ukrainian native, the young man gave a very intriguing and different perspective on the entire situation. In all the articles I’ve read about this conflict, nothing has ever come up about the Ukraine’s instability in the first place. Even though I’ve heard it before, it’s shocking to see how this young man feels about the U.S. getting involved in the conflict. In the U.S., our country is portrayed as a helper and hero; however, in the eyes of some of these Ukrainian people, the U.S. does not have a positive reputation at all.