They say Ukraine can't beat Russia: they also said it would only last a few days

Three years ago, in the early hours of February 24, 2022, Putin launched the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Patriotism and the Russian invasion: Do you ask of Ukraine what you would not accept for your country?
How to know if someone supports peace in Ukraine or making war profitable for Russia

They claimed there would be no invasion and then said Ukraine would only last a few days

What happened in the following days and weeks was unexpected. Some "experts" who had previously said there would be no invasion, and who had described all reports of such an invasion as a campaign of lies against Russia, claimed that Ukraine would only hold out for a few days in the face of the overwhelming superiority of the great Russian military power. Russia launched part of its offensive against Kyiv, and many believed that the Ukrainian capital would soon fall.

Ukraine has been resisting Russian invaders for three years

However, something unexpected happened, something that had been dismissed by many who believe that the outcome of a war can be guessed by a mere numerical balance of opposing forces, forgetting that history is full of victories against far superior enemies. In the case at hand, we are faced with precisely that. Kyiv not only did not fall, but in a few months Ukraine recovered a large part of the territory conquered by the Russians, whose army proved to be a giant with feet of clay, rotten by corruption - the endemic evil of Putin's Russia -, very unmotivated and with great logistical deficiencies.

Despite having far fewer soldiers and resources, Ukraine has resisted for three years, making a mockery of the predictions that assured its defeat in a few days. As has happened at other times in history, the defenders of that country have demonstrated the importance of morale and motivation when fighting.

Zelensky's leadership and courage thwarted Putin's plans

To begin with, and despite being invited to leave the country by foreign leaders, the Ukrainian president decided to stay in Kyiv, becoming a reference for the resistance, just as Churchill and King George VI were for the British in World War II. That is why Russian supporters display a deep hatred for Zelensky, because his leadership and courage decisively contributed to the Ukrainian people's resistance and thwarted Putin's plans.

A patriotism that shows there is still hope in the West

On the other hand, Ukrainian soldiers defend their Homeland, their homes and their families. This is the greatest incentive a person can have to face a fight that puts his life at risk. In a West that shows so many signs of decadence, the Ukrainian people have given a lesson in heroism and patriotism to the world, reminding us that there are noble, just and sacred causes for which it is worth fighting even at the risk of dying in the endeavour.

For those of us who are ashamed of the materialism and hedonism that are degrading the West, the courage of the Ukrainian people is a sign of hope and proof that not all is lost in this old Europe that some consider irrecoverable.

Russia has demonstrated all its vices and defects in this invasion

In the face of Ukrainian heroism, the Putin regime has been putting on a display of war crimes and crimes against humanity, betting on directing a strategy of terror against the Ukrainian civilian population as the only alternative to Russia's repeated failures on the battlefield, where the invading army has demonstrated an astonishing lack of concern for the lives of its own soldiers, which reminds us terribly of what was already seen in Russia during the two world wars. This panorama has left the propaganda of those who considered Moscow to be a third Rome in the dust, exposing Putin's Russia for what it really is: a criminal and corrupt dictatorship that puts its nationalist delusions above human life, including that of its own troops.

History contradicts those who say that a Ukrainian victory is impossible

The paradox is that three years later, some want to force Ukrainian patriots to surrender, adopting the slogans of the invaders - among them blaming the invaded for the Russian aggression they are suffering - and claiming that Ukraine will never be able to win this war: a prediction like the one that said that Ukraine would fall in a few days, or the one that wanted us to believe that this invasion was a hoax and would never take place.

Some say that it is impossible to win a war against a nuclear power, under the strange idea that if it failed in its attempt to win with conventional forces, it could resort to its atomic weapons to get its way. History shows the error of this thesis: the USSR was defeated in Afghanistan in 1989, a country that it had to abandon ten years after invading it. In Ukraine, Russia suffered more losses in the first seven months of the invasion than the Soviets did in a decade in Afghanistan, but the facts do not change the minds of those who repeat slogans without subjecting them to a minimum critical analysis.

Moscow appeals to the decadence of the West, especially to fear and cowardice

Obviously, the invaders and their supporters know the only way to defeat the Ukrainian people: to demoralize them, to make them believe that they have no chance (even though the facts have repeatedly shown the opposite), to appeal to cowardice and fear, and together they cloud patriotism and the sense of justice, not only among Ukrainians, but also among the peoples of those countries that have been supporting Ukraine. Moscow is appealing to signs of Western decline in order to win in Ukraine, after all its other strategies have already failed.

The hope of Putin and his allies is that the West will give in to fear

Fortunately, regardless of their ideology, the Ukrainian people are reacting with indignation to these siren calls and to the repeated attempts to discredit the president of their country, a man who stayed in Kyiv to lead the resistance instead of fleeing like a coward. Ukraine is showing us what true patriotism is, and as long as Ukrainians want to resist the invader, the moral duty of the free world is to support them so that they can continue to resist by sending weapons and ammunition.

It is not a thirst for peace or compassion that motivates many who despise Ukrainians for acting like true patriots, but a desire for Russia to profit from invading a neighboring country and massacring unarmed civilians (including children and babies). Facilitating Putin to profit from this colossal crime would only encourage him and other terrorist regimes that are allies of Moscow to repeat it. Regimes whose hope of dominating us rests on their ability to demoralize us and make us respond with fear and cowardice to any threat.

Слава Україні!
Glory to Ukraine!

---

Photo: 53rd Mechanized Brigade "Volodymyr Monomakh" of the Ukrainian Army.