Why did this war happen and could it have been avoided?
- In April of 2013 I interviewed Alexandr Dugin for my Master’s thesis on Eurasianism – ever since this lecture Russian Nazism and its reach across the Russian society was pretty clear to me. I stated in my thesis that Russia will aim to restore the Soviet space, and once the diplomatic means fail, it will move to military aggression
You can read all THESIS: “EURASIANISM: A RUSSIAN MONROE DOCTRINE?” By Kateryna Levchuk here:
So no, it does not look like this war could have been avoided, because Ukraine had no interest of joining Russia voluntarily, just as most post Soviet states, which, as I argued in my thesis, have already formed more beneficial connections with other countries, who have more to offer than Russia. But the collective West should have been stronger. We are now repeating WWII scenario with Ukraine playing the role of Poland. The world has failed Ukraine, and it has failed itself, allowing Russia to continue the genocide for so long.
How do you evaluate Russian capabilities?
Russian corruption turned very good for us, with most of Russian military prowess being sabotaged and stolen by corrupt generals.
Nevertheless, Russia is very good and smart in their propaganda & brainwashing
Hitler has perfected radio for the purposes of German Nazi propaganda
Russian Nazis have perfected Television
Russian propaganda has been done for decades, bought the right people in the West, intimidated others and assassinated others
How do you evaluate Western capabilities?
West is the absolute leader in progress, but it is being copied well by China with some tech also stolen by Russia
Almost all of the world’s innovations are coming from democracies
But as we know from the history of the nuclear bomb the inventor does not always stay on top
How Can Ukraine win this war?
Ukraine’s biggest mistake has been the attempt to please all sides without appropriate understanding of its own place and impact on the world’s history and cultural heritage. National identity part is now more or less solved. But Ukraine has to start depending on itself more economically and in the information space. This has not been doing for a very long time. Production and manufacturing has been mainly stalled due to corruption and negligence of cadence of our politicians. While Poland has been blossoming after the shock therapies of the 90s Ukraine has been sliding into the abyss of Russian rotten influence and local corruption. Russian collaborationists and traitors and as well average fraudsters have been given power in Ukraine for decades, stealing the resources of a great country. We have to fix all that now, during and after the war, because there might be no 2nd chance.
Intelligence services and propaganda are nowhere near the level it should be to counter Russian narratives. Zelenskyy is doing a monumental lobbying work, still Ukrainian story is not being told enough, not enough in the regions that matter, too – Africa, China, LATAM.
Apart from the information space, we have to work on important international alliances to ensure our victory and further survival. Poland is historically and culturally similar country with similar goals – together can create a core Eastern European block, and we have to take this seriously. Great Britain is now equally very interested to make Brexit right, and Ukraine can and has to take advantage of this union, especially seeing a strong support from the British nation
The union of countries historically antagonistic to Russia will be an important cornerstone for the peace and security on the continent – great britain, Poland, Ukraine & Baltic states
What is next for the world? Specifically for the 2 involved parties?
Russia will have to lose this war and find an identity, which is not stolen from Ukraine
If Russia gets Ukraine in it would only make things worse for Russian people
In Ukraine most difficult part will actually come after victory – eradicating corruption and punishing thieves and traitors, ensuring the European way of development, bringing forward technologies, making conditions for people to come back, fixing and strengthening relations with neighbours, creating long lasting unions, becoming an actor in international relations, not an object
As a futurist and an expert in innovations, how do you see technology helping Ukraine in this war?
War is a great driver of progress. At expense of people, who are being killed in this war, it must be said. This is why Ukraine absolutely has to take advantage of the technological innovations which arose from this war – become not not only raw materials exporter, but the creator and manufacturer of tanks, drones & aviation. Ukraine has to involve businesses, attract investments – not just donations or grants. Use rebuilding to create a whole new version of a country:
- Solar & wind energy, nuclear technologies to substitute fossil fuels fully
- Robotisation (especially if there are not enough people to work in various industries)
- Genetic engineering, prosthetics, helping thousands of people live the full life after war
- Move from extensive agriculture to Vertical farming, use genetic engineering of crops
- Rebuilding – 3D, Nanomaterials, new combinations and designs, involve NEOM style projects
- Demining technologies
- Water & environment restructuring and cleaning, re forestation
- Use our mathematics and computer science base – AI, Blockchain – become a powerhouse, not just an outsourcing hub with cheap work force people dream of leaving for a better life
Ukraine has all elements to become a regional power:
- Human Capital – educated & hard working people
- Fertile Lands
- Natural Resources & 21 out of 30 Rare Earth Materials (lithium, cobalt etc) for green energy 5 % fo all world – Ukraine – 0.4 % of Earth 500K tons- for electric cars
- Favourable Geographic position & access to warm seas
What was always lacking was a Clear Strategy & Positioning on the World Arena, and a New Generation of Politicians, interested in the advancement of the country, and not their personal wealth
