Mark Leonard, the Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, wrote an op-ed on Foreign Affairs featuring his thoughts on the influence Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has on changing world order. The piece, titled “The real end of Pax Americana” explores the roots of the mighty US role in the post-World War II international order and why this is changing now. According to Leonard, the American primacy was largely a product of the artificial weakness of the third and fourth worldʼs largest economies ― Germany and Japan. After February 24, Germany fundamentally shifted its’ foreign policy, increasing its defense spending and taking a far from a neutral position on Ukraine. In the face of China’s quest for regional hegemony, Japan seems close to a similar transformation. In the short term, a joint position on Ukraine might seem a prerequisite for consolidation of the West, however, in a longer perspective, both Germany and Japan might grow more robust and unite countries in their regions around themselves, which would lead to more cooperative regional security orders. Europeans, writes Leonard, will have to take more direct responsibility for security in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and the Middle East. Japan will probably have to do more to balance Chinese influence in Asia. Instead, Leonard prognoses the US will have to get used to more cooperative and balanced relations. Overall, summarizes the article, these changes could lead to a more collaborative model of shared leadership.
The Washington Post talked to Ukrainians from Kherson or in constant contact with people in the city to publish a piece about daily life in the town occupied for over 100 days. The atmosphere in the city is gloomy, the Russian forces are patrolling the streets, and there are whispers of a coming referendum making Kherson part of Russia. The stores and pharmacies have been closed, and Ukrainian banks and ATMs are not operating. It is hard to get out of Kherson, those who risk evacuating have to take dangerous drives which take up to a week. While there are signs of resistance, like a recent explosion at a cafe near the occupiers’ headquarters, the Russians are kidnapping pro-Ukrainian activists adding to the fear among the local population. Russians are offering some humanitarian aid, but in exchange for passport information, locals are worrying this information will be used to falsify the “referendum” results should it happen.
Linda Kinstler, an author and Holocaust researcher published an interactive essay on The New York Times describing parallels between the Russian invasion of Ukraine and World War II. The essay is accompanied by illustrations, that are part of a new project researching layers of Babyn Yarʼs history. The area became one of the largest Holocaust mass graves in Eastern Europe with about 100 thousand people killed by nazis from 1941 to 1943. After the war, the Soviets erased the memorial from the landscape, fearing Jewish solidarity threat to soviet identity. Now Russia has struck its’ missiles on the land right near the mass grave, destroying the area that was supposed to become a museum of the Holocaust in Eastern Europe. There are more historical parallels in the Russo-Ukrainian war. While it might take decades to prove Russians are committing genocide in Ukraine, there is evidence they are systematically trying to erase Ukrainian history and culture and deny the right to justice, which basically is genocide. The research project illustrating this essay not only collects and presents evidence of Russian war crimes today but also provides a record for history to ensure these crimes are remembered.