PLEASE REMEMBER
1. The war in Ukraine is not a two-way conflict. Ukrainians — citizens and residents of Ukraine — are victims of an unprovoked invasion. Russian efforts to blame Ukraine, NATO, the US, and “the West” are strategies of war intended to sideline the victims and place Russian neo-imperial interests at the center of world attention. Ukraine’s very existence as an independent, sovereign, democratic, and European state is a threat to Putin’s autocratic, neo-imperial vision of Russian power. In every conversation about this war, Ukrainian voices need to be heard loudly and clearly.
2. Russian neo-imperialism is a threat to the world. Even if Russia’s military is not the strongest in the world, its nuclear arsenal is the largest, and its informational and hybrid war techniques are well honed and powerful. Their goals include weakening, if not destroying, the liberal democratic world, the world of sovereign democratic states the US and “West” at least pretend to champion. We have seen the results of this hybrid and informational warfare in the domestic politics of most western countries. They aren’t incidental; they are part of a global struggle over the fate of democracy.
3. Democracy is at stake. It goes without saying that US and other western nations have not been historically innocent in their relations with the rest of the world. Oligarchs’ wealth corrupts politics everywhere. Democracy requires constant maintenance, vigilance, and action, including action against the power of oligarchic interests to shape the conditions for life on earth. To do that effectively requires global cooperation on multiple fronts. The most urgent current battleground is Ukraine. If Ukraine falls to a kleptocratic, authoritarian, and neo-imperialist petro-state, the further spread of oligarchy, authoritarianism, and militarism will be virtually guaranteed. It is time for Putinism to fall, so that the world can work together on the urgent problems that face us.
ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE
1. CALL or WRITE your political representatives: Urge them to support sanctions against Russia and Russians who support its government, and to support a No-Fly Zone over Ukrainian skies. (There are ways to do this that avoid direct NATO involvement.)
2. CONTACT any friends or colleagues you may have in Russia. Russians’ support and acquiescence is what allows their government to conduct this assault. Russian state media is not allowing discussion of the reality of the war (indeed, describing it as a “war” or “invasion” is banned). Independent media have been closed down and the internet is being actively squelched. If you have any personal, professional, or organizational connections with people in Russia, now is the time to use them to share what we know is happening in Ukraine and to urge them to stand up against the invasion.
3. REJECT Russian propaganda narratives. They are untrue and intended to obscure the truth. Plenty of analysis has been conducted to show how Russian state media supports its own interests by creating an alternate reality for its audiences. Domestically, this is intended to prop up the regime and its goals; externally, it is intended to confuse, obfuscate, and sow distrust in our own democratic institutions. Thankfully, our own media institutions still have the capacity to report and assess events judiciously; that capacity should be supported.
4. DONATE to humanitarian as well as civil and military aid organizations. Here is a list of recommended organizations and links for anyone wishing to donate support to Ukrainians during (and after) the current Russian invasion.
- Razom for Ukraine – https://razomforukraine.org/razom-emergency-response/ – Donating directly to Ukraine-based organizations keeps the overhead low. Razom is the most reliable such organization I am aware of, so I list it first. Here is their Facebook page.
- United Help Ukraine – https://unitedhelpukraine.org/ – is well rated and respected.
- Ukraine Military Direct takes donations to support with military needs – https://ukraine.ua/news/donate-to-the-nbu-fund/.
- CORE works on the ground with refugees in Poland and Romania: http://donate.coreresponse.org
- Ukrainewar.carrd.co maintains a well-vetted list of resources, including organizations taking donations to provide medical supplies, humanitarian assistance, military support, and supplies to on-the-ground journalists.
- World Central Kitchen provides meals for refugees. A friend, whose family is from Dnipro, is doing that directly for displaced Ukrainian families through WCK and here.
- Timothy Snyder, historian and author of multiple books on Eastern Europe, provides a reliable and well considered list in “Some new ways to help Ukrainians.”
- Fast Company‘s “How to Help the People of Ukraine” is a good starting list of things to do.
- Stand with Ukraine MN includes excellent suggestions for what to do and where to donate
- New Eastern Europe has a page devoted to organizations that can help with humanitarian aid for victims of the invasion.
- Urgent Action Fund: Ukraine focuses on women’s rights.
- Others: Here’s a list of Ukrainian-based feminist, queer, youth, disability, and Roma organizations that you can donate to directly. And here is a page listing various nonprofits and charitable foundations with a history of helping and/or transparently reporting on Ukraine.
