At the end of May 2023, Ukraine officially moved Victory Day from May 9 to May 8, making it consistent with the USA’s VE Day, but mostly just to be different from Russia. Now in 2025, Zelensky is asking European leaders to Ukraine… on May 9.
Of course Zelensky could have asked them to come see the festivities on May 8. But of course they can’t because Ukraine doesn’t celebrate the victory over nazism; shifting the date was just a way to crack down on people who do celebrate. But there is a second and more serious reason. “Let’s invite world leaders on May 8” is the act of a country that has a coherent national identity and policy. Ukraine and its leaders don’t think like this. Putin in Russia invited European leaders to attend Victory Day celebrations on May 9, so Ukrainians reflexively also invited them on May 9.
Ukraine has no identity to call their own except to be in opposition to Russia in every context, no matter how dumb and self-destructive it is.Cut off your nose to spite your face, throw the baby out with the bath water, every figure of speech for irrational and petty behavior applies to Ukraine. This applies even to matters of military strategy. Russia invaded Ukraine, so Ukraine must invade Russia, even if there’s nothing to be gained from this and causes more ground to be lost in the regions that are actually being fought over. All arguments that Ukrainian invasions are smart, with time, prove to be self-refuting, as these invasions inevitably fail 100% of the time.
Like a scorned lover, Ukrainian thought is always on Russia every moment of the day. Consider this math problem from a Ukrainian children’s textbook:
“Dmitry has 10 shells for his artillery battery. His two friends bring 5 shells each. Then the mean moskals steal 4 shells. How many shells do Dmitry and his friends have for the defense of Ukraine?”
In general, it’s weird that Ukraine is so militant, and Ukrainians are groomed for war from birth. Dying in a fruitless attack on Russian machineguns is apparently the destiny of every Ukrainian child unless he escapes the country and doesn’t return. But aside from that, it’s pitiful to be so obsessed with a country besides your own. It’s not a national idea, it’s just opposition to an idea. That’s why the idea of “Ukraine” as a nation state can’t and won’t last.
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Ian Kummer
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Very true.
Ukrainian national identity is based entirely on a negative premise: hate Russia.
It is a death cult, like Nazism was, and can only end with self-destruction.
Glory is to die on the field of battle & to enter Walhalla.
They are playing their national anthem (“Ukraine has not yet perished” [!]) every 15 mins on TV.
This is also a problem with a lot of people who claim to be against the status quo in the West, but have nonsensical solutions at best (like wanting to revive the British Empire) or at worst, just want to ramble about how terrible everything is.
Maybe it’s just grifting, negative news does get more attention after all. Solutions require more thought and are complex to execute.