Vitaly Portnikov

Ukrainians should have known that war would be the ultimate consequence of their identification with the West. Now that Russia has carried out its longstanding threat, the reality has dawned. But can the same be said for Europe?

It has almost become a commonplace that Ukrainian nationalism is anti-Semitic by nature. Vitaliy Portnikov refutes this stereotype by showing that both Jews and Ukrainans were under Russian dominance and thus not at home in their country. The Maidan has finally provided a chance to build a modern political nation where Jews can be Ukrainians.

Russia may have won Crimea but it has lost Ukraine, writes Vitaly Portnikov. At the same time, Ukraine has gained a whole world of sympathetic people who support the country in its fight for something that should in fact be just as much a necessity for Russia too: freedom.