Zim : Micro, you might want to go to the article and read Myth 3 in its entirety.
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4 Myths About Ukraine that Might Sound Right But Are Actually Wrong
http://www.yahoo.com/news/ukraine-t-win-three-other-100000353.html
Two years ago, Vladimir Putin launched his unprovoked, premeditated, full-scale invasion of Ukraine based on several myths, including that Ukraine was not a “real” country and was militarily weak, and that the West was in disarray and would do little to stop him.
Ukrainians quickly destroyed some of these myths, along with much of Russia’s invading forces. Ukrainians preserved their capital, their leadership and regained much of the territory seized by Russian forces in the early days of 2022, albeit at terrible cost. And the West responded by imposing serious (if insufficient) economic sanctions on Russia and providing significant (if somewhat delayed) military assistance to Ukraine.
Other myths, however, linger to this day and new ones have popped up more recently, particularly in the debate in Congress over whether to continue U.S. aid to Ukraine.
So here are four myths about Ukraine that you might have heard, and some of the reasons they are untrue.
Myth One: Ukraine Cannot Win
Let’s start with the big one, the myth that U.S. support will feed an endless war with no possibility of Ukrainian victory.
Ukraine has performed heroically and successfully. It has regained huge swaths of territory seized by Russia starting in February 2022. It should not surprise us that the remaining 18 percent or so is the hardest to regain. Had the West provided Ukraine the weapons the country’s leadership had requested early on — from missile defense systems and long-range missiles to fighter jets and tanks — this war might look a lot different.
Myth Two: It’s Time for a Cease-fire
The “endless war” myth feeds into another myth, which is that now is the time to reach a cease-fire or armistice.
Recent reports and Tucker Carlson’s interview with Putin have suggested that Russia is interested in negotiations. These stories are belied by Russian actions on the ground, including the apparent execution of wounded Ukrainian POWs in Avdiivka and the continued bombardment and killings of Ukrainian civilians, atrocities denied by Russian officials.
Nobody wants this war to end sooner than Ukrainians do — they, after all, are the ones doing the fighting. But Ukrainians are rejecting territorial compromises and negotiations with Russia because they know that Putin has a long track record never abiding by agreements he signs.
Myth Three: Ukraine Is Hopelessly Corrupt
Next, there’s the myth that Ukraine is a corrupt country led by neo-Nazis and therefore aiding Ukraine is throwing good money away.
In 2019, Ukrainians by a landslide elected the country’s first Jewish president, Zelenskyy, after previously having had a Jewish prime minister. Countries who elect Jews as their top leaders are most assuredly not “Nazis.” In fact, according to an Anti-Defamation League survey, Ukraine has experienced a significant drop in antisemitic attitudes in recent years.
Corruption has plagued Ukraine, like the rest of the former Soviet Union, for decades, but Zelenskyy was elected on an anti-corruption campaign.
Myth Four: Ukraine Is the Wrong Priority
This brings us to the final myth that hangs over the war: namely, that supporting Ukraine distracts us from where we should really be concentrating our efforts — China and, since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack against Israel, the Middle East.
China unquestionably poses a major challenge to the United States and our allies in the Asia-Pacific, especially Taiwan. But it is Russia that has invaded a neighboring state — for the third time following the invasion of Georgia in 2008 and the two invasions of Ukraine, in 2014 and 2022. China hasn’t (yet). Putin’s invasion has already created the greatest security crisis on the European continent since World War II. By contrast, the military threat China poses is still prospective.
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Zim : Note, much was skipped. I tried to give the biggest points. The entire article is at the link.
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