The moral and strategic clarity of supporting Ukraine’s self-defense: Why accepting Russian colonialism should remain a taboo

Author:

Oksamytna Kseniya1ORCID

Affiliation:

1. City St. George's University of London, UK

Abstract

In response to Toal’s article “The Territorial Taboo: Explaining the Public Aversion to Negotiations in the Ukraine War Support Coalition”, I argue that the alleged silencing of those who push for Ukraine’s territorial concessions to Russia is an exaggerated problem. The reason why such voices are not gaining traction is because, as of summer 2024, neither Ukraine nor key European states had a majority in favor of territorial concessions. This is reassuring: it means that there is little appetite for endorsing Russian colonialism and abandoning Ukrainians on the occupied territories to Russian terror in the hope of an illusory “peace”. In contrast to the majority opinion, Toal calls for sacrificing (a part of) Ukraine in order to freeze the conflict and reduce great power tensions. To make such a colonial proposition seem palatable, Toal tries to shift the blame for the continuation of the war from Russia, the aggressor, to Ukraine, the victim. In reality, Ukrainians want peace, just not on Russia’s terms. Any settlement that does not involve the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity is unjust and likely unsustainable. It would give Russia an opportunity to re-arm, extracting resources from the newly occupied Ukrainian territories. Russian officials showed no intention of abiding by any potential agreements with Ukraine, reiterating their goal of destroying the Ukrainian nation and state. Since aggression against Ukraine did not attract widespread opposition within Russia and garnered quite a few enthusiastic supporters, a change in Russian policy seemed improbable as of summer 2024. The continuation of armed resistance against the Russian invasion is Ukraine’s only choice.

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Reference21 articles.

1. Apt C (2024) Russia’s eliminationist rhetoric against Ukraine: a collection’. Just Security. Available at: https://www.justsecurity.org/81789/russias-eliminationist-rhetoric-against-ukraine-a-collection

2. Associated Press (2023) Vatican seeks to tamp down outrage over Pope’s words of praise for Russian imperial past’. Available at: https://apnews.com/article/pope-russia-ukraine-war-vatican-imperial-b82bfb9185f0fc8062c43927a2b058b0

3. BBC News (2022) ‘Ukraine conflict: “Russian soldiers raped me and killed my husband”’. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61071243

4. BBC News (2024) ‘Russia’s removal of Estonian border markers. “Unacceptable’”. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c899844ypj2o

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