I was disappointed with President Volodymyr Zelensky’s meeting with foreign journalists in Kyiv on Jan. 28.
Ukraine had a chance to send a strong, clear message to the world’s top journalists. Instead, what we got was that the West is meddling, Ukrainians should not panic, and everything will be alright.
The press conference fell short of what it could have been – and, since Ukraine’s president represents every Ukrainian, these shortcomings are the shortcomings of us all.
Hence, I decided to draft my own version of Ukraine’s message at this tense time.
It came to something like the following.
- Ukraine is humbled by the outpouring of worldwide support. Ukraine grows stronger every day it stays independent. This course is irreversible, Ukraine will not give in to external threats.
- The situation on Ukraine’s borders is perilous – but Ukraine believes that if the world keeps watching, at minimum there will be no surprise attack. Ukraine is grateful to its Western partners for sharing their operational intelligence. The greater the spotlight that is shone on Russia, the more difficult Russia’s plans will be to carry out.
- Ukraine’s army has been battle tested. It has successfully defended Ukraine’s homeland in the past. Ukraine’s citizens – of all backgrounds, nationalities, languages and creeds – stand shoulder to shoulder with the armed forces. No nation, united, can ever be defeated.
- As dangerous as the situation may be, Ukraine does not see war as inevitable. Both Ukraine and Russia will lose if Russia chooses to invade. Europe – flooded with refugees and with its energy supplies disrupted – will lose as well. And the United States and NATO, proven to be incapable of military deterrence, will also lose. In other words, Russia’s potential invasion of Ukraine is not Ukraine’s problem. It is the world’s problem.
- What can Ukraine do to prevent Russia’s attack, both now and in the future? Aside from negotiations, it should focus on three things: expanding economically, increasing military capability, strengthening the rule of law.
- With this in mind, Ukraine is extremely grateful for both the military and financial support it has received. They prove that a country does not need to be a NATO member to be afforded NATO’s assistance. Still, as Ukraine was one of only four countries in the world that voluntarily gave up its nuclear arsenal – in exchange for the security guarantees provided by the Budapest Memorandum in 1994 – only to see, in 2014, its territory violated and the guarantees breached, Ukraine would like both the military and financial assistance to increases by several orders of magnitude. An economically prosperous and militarily strong Ukraine benefits everyone. It is far cheaper to assist Ukraine than to deal with the aftermath of a war.
- In turn, Ukraine should redouble its efforts to fight corruption and to improve the rule of law. These are requirements, first and foremost, for Ukraine’s broad-based economic development. To reiterate. Only an economically prosperous Ukraine can be secure.
- Finally, there is the matter of occupied territories. Ukraine is a peaceful country. Ukraine does not seek fights with anyone, nor does it threaten the territorial sovereignty of other nations. Both currently occupied Crimea as well as those parts of Donbas that are occupied at present, are the territory of Ukraine and Ukraine believes they will be re-united with the rest of Ukraine’s homeland – just as East and West Germany were eventually re-united.
Dr. Marianna Kozintseva is a global macro strategist and a fintech entrepreneur. She worked at Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Bear Stearns, World Bank and RAND Corporation. Currently, she is a visiting faculty at the SKB Institute for Financial Economics, Singapore Management University. The opinions expressed in this article are her own and not that of her current or former employers or affiliates, nor necessarily those of Kyiv Post.
Op-ed disclaimer: The Kyiv Post is not responsible or liable for any content in this article, which expresses the personal viewpoint of the author only.
