“Ukrainians deserve a future in Europe. Of that, there can be no doubt. But Europeans also need a future with Ukraine.” Timothy Snyder, a professor of history at Yale University
The historian Timothy Snyder reflects on the future of Russia, Ukraine, Europe, and the whole world after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in an op-ed in Foreign Policy.
According to him, the situation today is disconcertingly similar to that at the outset of World War II. Russian President Vladimir Putin now speaks of Ukraine as an artificial state and nation. In 1938 and 1939, Adolf Hitler spoke in just the same way about Germany’s neighbors.
“The EU must provide its vivid alternative to Putin’s interpretation: one that accounts for the war being fought right now, and one that Europeans now and in future generations will understand… Simply honoring the memory of World War II and claiming to have learned its lessons will no longer suffice. Putin’s claim on the war’s legacy, perverse though it might seem, is too powerful to ignore”, said Timothy Snyder.
