Over the past year and a half, a narrative has emerged in Ukrainian society suggesting that Western countries had warned Kyiv about a potential attack by Russia but these warnings were ignored to some extent. While there may be some truth to this, it is important to note that the West was not adequately prepared for this conflict, as evidenced by different factors. If Ukraine had not been involved, it could be claimed that the West lost the war with Russia. Why did this happen?
It is none of our business
For several years, the threat grew increasingly severe, and by the end of 2021, it was clear to even the most optimistic that an attack was inevitable. Despite this, Western partners could not implement effective security measures and instead chose to monitor the situation from a distance.
Their military and weaponry condition was not ready to confront a significant military threat. Only the fact that Ukraine, with the lives of its citizens, prevented Russia from rapid advance to the West and saved them from an actual evaluation of its military capabilities.
The reason for the lack of readiness was the belief that Russia was becoming more democratic through trade with Europe, which turned out to be a serious mistake.
The case dates back to the First World War
Europe has developed its own philosophy of war. It is based on the universalization of the imperialist experience of the West during the First World War. The optics of the Russian-Ukrainian war are very old, it does not include the amendments of the new era. Morally outdated experience gives morally outdated solutions that were relevant and timely a century ago. In fact, the First World War, the Second World War, and the Ukrainian-Russian War are interpretations of the same problem, which we never learned how to solve.
Europe is Russia
Until the middle of the 19th century, the West was a supporter and embodiment of colonialism. Aggressive wars were considered normal and tensions between immigrants from former colonies and citizens of colonizing nations remain high in Europe.
The colonialist attitudes of Europe in the past are mirrored by those of present-day Russia. That is why the attitude to what is happening in the West is very different from the vision of an average Ukrainian.
