How did it come to this? The origins of the invasion lie in centuries of Russian disdain for Ukraine

How did it come to this? The origins of the invasion lie in centuries of Russian disdain for Ukraine

War rages in Europe. “Never again,” we said in 1945. We declared a “peace dividend” in 1991 and reduced our defences. For more than a decade, the alarm over Russian intentions has been sounding. There is no excuse now not to wake up. Russia is conducting a massive, unprovoked assault on Ukraine. The Ukrainians are bravely defending their country, at a high cost. I do not know how this will end. But it is already clear that we are at a turning point in history.

After the Cold War, we hoped for a new era of peace in a “Europe whole and free”. Russia’s aggression draws a bloody line under that chapter. The shocks from this war are being felt throughout Europe and the wider world. How did it come to this? Where does responsibility lie for the Russian invasion of Ukraine?

In Moscow, in the late-1990s, I witnessed both the chaos and hopes of the Yeltsin years. Boris Yeltsin believed in freedom and democracy, and stood up for them. But Russia’s economy collapsed, there was war in Chechnya and many Russians longed for a strong hand to make Russia great again. As the millennium turned, Vladimir Putin, former KGB officer and representative of the “siloviki” (the defence and security establishment) was named as Yeltsin’s successor.

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