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Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate told city council members the technology doesn't fit on the officers' current gun holsters.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate says the police department doesnt have body camera video, city camera video, or business camera video of the moment an officer shot and killed Donovon Lynch at the Oceanfront.

The officer's body camera was deactivated for unknown reasons, Neudigate said, and Virginia State Police will now investigate why the officer's camera wasn't recording.

Even if the officer who shot Lynch forgot to activate their body camera, the police department bought cameras that have the capacity to turn on and record as soon as an officer pulls out a gun.

However, Neudigate said the technology doesn't fit on officers' current holsters, so VBPD isn't using it.

We were forced as an agency to go with a different holster the single sidearm is not fit for, so even though weve acquired it and weve paid for it, it has never been functional," Neudigate said in an update to Virginia Beach City Council members Tuesday.

Neudigate said there are backorder and shipment issues with the holsters and screws that work with the body camera technology.

Lacking video of the shooting, Neudigate said the investigation of Lynch's death is unique.

I can tell you Ive worked a lot of [officer-involved shootings] in 32 years of policing, this is the first time Ive encountered a situation where weve had no body-worn camera footage, no independent video footage, no immediate independent witnesses, and we did not have a more timely statement from involved parties," Neudigate said. "So as much as we want to be transparent to our community and they deserve it, its hard to be transparent when we have very little information to guide our response in our investigation.

Chief Neudigate said his department didnt interview the officer who shot Lynch for days because they couldnt violate the officers Fifth Amendment rights. He told city council the Virginia Beach Commonwealths Attorney's Office will decide if the shooting was justified.

We are used to being scrutinized and as we should," Neudigate said.

Virginia Beach Police will increase the number of officers working near the Oceanfront, and Neudigate asked council members to find a "holistic" approach to curbing gun violence.

We have to be very careful because we dont want to be seen as oppressive and discouraging people from coming to the Oceanfront," he said.

After 25 years patrolling the Oceanfront, Virginia Beach Police Benevolent Association President Brian Luciano wrote a fiery letter to city council asking for more support.

Quite honestly, it is any given weekend that someone is injured or someone is shot, Luciano said.

Neudigate also told council members hes short-staffed by about 100 officers. He said he would like 150 to 200.

Those 100 officers could field a precinct dedicated solely to Oceanfront Operations, Neudigate said.

He said they will pull officers from other areas for the summer season. Luciano believes they need to focus on recruitment.

Until we solve the manpower issue, what we are doing is sacrificing services in the rest of the city, Luciano said.

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Virginia Beach police bought the technology to turn on body cameras automatically when a gun is drawn, but it doesn't work. - 13newsnow.com WVEC

Was the December 2018 shooting death of a Lawton teen predicated on fear or vengeance?

That is the question a Comanche County jury will decide following the first day of testimony in the trial of David Keith Winbush for the charge of first-degree murder. The crime is punishable by life in prison, life without parole or death.

Represented by public attorney Lawrence Corrales, Winbush, 37, took intermittent notes but primarily kept his eyes focused on the table before him during Tuesday's testimony. He is on trial for the shooting and killing of Marques Brown Jr., 15, who was a Lawton High School freshman when he died.

It began with the theft of Winbushs white 2003 Chevrolet Silverado the night of Dec. 8, 2018. Former Lawton Police Officer Austin Mahsetky testified to taking the stolen truck report from Winbush at his home at 502 SW Jefferson. He was told two males had stolen the truck.

Winbush and his friends had been a bar and arrived home to find the truck missing. After checking his home video surveillance system, he told Mahsetky the truck had been stolen about three to five minutes before hed arrived home.

He said that if hed caught them in the act, he wouldve filled the truck with lead, Mahsetky testified Tuesday.

Mahsetkysoon heard the 911 call made by Jessie Burk reporting the truck was found in the 1200 to 1300 block of Southwest Bishop Road. Mahsetky said he arrived to find Winbush standing in the street near his truck. Winbush's neighbor, Geronimo Martinezs truck was parked blocking it. It was shortly before 12:30 a.m. Dec. 9, 2018.

Winbush told Mahsetky that hed shot the driver twice. He turned over his handgun that was in his hip holster and was taken into custody. He told the officer the teen had pulled out a large knife and tried to stick him like a pig and he shot the (expletive).

Police never reported recovering a knife in the area of the incident nor was one collected when Brown was discovered.

Still upset about the truck, Winbush described its theft as a breaking point for him, according to Mahsetky. Hed recently been at the center of a story that caught a large amount of media attention when his dog was beaten and severely injured. That assault was also captured on Winbushs home security video.

He said he was tired of everything, tired of being messed with, Mahsetky said. He was tired of being a target.

Winbush later told investigators he ran up to the male on the ground who then jumped up while placing one of his hands into his jacket/hoodie pocket and that he freaked out. Mahsetky said Winbush described hearing a distinct gasp sound from Brown after the first gunshot.

He said he would never forget hearing that sound, Mashetky said. He said he'd thought he wouldnt feel so bad for using his gun.

Brown died as a result of two gunshot wounds fired from behind, according to the State Medical Examiners autopsy report.

Another friend of Winbush's, Kendall Jirtle, testified to driving Winbush to the site where Martinez had stopped the pickup. After leaving the bar, Jirtle said all were meeting at Winbushs home so they could drop their vehicles off and go to another bar. When he got there, Winbush told him the truck had been stolen. He and Jessie Burk watched the security video of the trucks theft.

When Mahsetky left from taking the theft report, Jirtle said Winbush spoke with Martinez, who was following the stolen pickup. Thats when Winbush said to go get it. Neither Jirtle nor Burk knew Winbush was armed.

Once at the scene, Winbush was the first out of the vehicle. He said Martinez was standing in the roadway and was looking down at Brown, who was lying face down on the ground.

Everything else happened after that, he said.

Jirtle said Winbush asked the teen if he was the one who stole his pickup. He saw Brown jump up and turn to run away and the first shot was fired. The second shot followed a moment later. He testified Winbush pulled the trigger and said he knew Brown had been hit by the first gunshot.

I heard the kid say oh, he said.

In the 911 recording played in court, Jirtle said it was his voice telling Winbush Dont shoot. Assistant District Attorney Jill Oliver asked him why he made that statement.

I didnt think he needed to shoot, he said. I know the first shot hit him.

Winbush told Jirtle the teen had a knife. Jirtle said he wasnt close enough to see if he did or didnt and, at first, believed his friend.

At that point and time, it was really hard to tell, he said. He had to have a reason to pull the gun.

Brown was able to run away for a short distance. Footprints in the snow led emergency personnel to him in the roadway on Southwest 13th Street near Oklahoma Avenue. The teen was taken to Comanche County Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Jirtle testified no one chased after Brown or the three other teens seen running away from the truck.

During cross-examination, Jirtle told Corrales he didnt hear anything about a knife from Winbush until after the two shots were fired. He confirmed he saw Winbush fire the weapon.

He fired the first shot when he (Brown) turned and went to run and one after that, he said. It was just one after another. Everything just happened so fast.

During Martinezs testimony, he confirmed hed been looking for the truck for his neighbor. When he got behind it and began to follow, he said the teens sped up.

When asked if he sped up to keep up with them, Martinez looked to his lawyer at the back of the courtroom, and then invoked his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself. District Judge Emmit Tayloe asked the witness for clarity and determined he didnt want to admit to speeding. After Tayloe requested immunity for his exceeding the posted speed limit, and Oliver accepting it, Martinez confirmed he sped up in pursuit.

The teens driving the pickup made a turn from Southwest 11th Street onto Bishop Road at the northern boundary of the Lawton-Fort Sill Municipal Airport, struck a curb and went off the road to the right. Martinez said he pulled his vehicle in front of it and the doors opened with the teens bailing out. The truck continued and struck his truck.

Brown, who was unable to get away, was ordered to lie on the ground by Martinez and he complied. Winbush arrived moments later. When a knife was mentioned, thats when everything set off, he said.

He said knife, knife then the shots happened, Martinez said.

Martinez heard the first shot and saw the second burst from the handgun. He couldnt state for a fact that it was Winbush who fired the weapon, however.

Oliver then asked Martinez, Did you shoot the kid on the ground?

I plead the Fifth Amendment, Martinez replied.

Tayloe interjected and, again, asked Martinez if he pulled the trigger. This time, the witness answered: No.

I think you answered the question, Tayloe said.

Earlier testimony from one of the teens who had been in the pickup with Brown described the fear felt as they were pursued. The four had been riding around in the pickup, listening to music and smoking marijuana when a vehicle dropped in behind them, according to Warren Dennis.

When Martinezs truck blocked the truck, Dennis said they all tried to flee the stolen truck but Browns jacket was hung up on the door and the next time he looked, he was lying on the ground. As he ran, the sound of the gunshots scared him.

Dennis said he fled to his friends house. While on the run there, he said there was a truck that was circling the block and, he thought, looking for them. He said he wouldnt know Browns fate until seeing an Instagram post the next morning.

I just started crying and stuff, he said. Im scared to think about it. I got PTSD about it.

Testimony will resume at 9 a.m. today.

Read more:
Question of fear or vengeance at core of Lawton murder trial - The Lawton Constitution

Ukraine is the largest country that is entirely within Europe. The country sits on the southwestern part of the Russian Plain and has a largely low terrain. The average elevation of the land is only 574 ft (175 m).

As observed on the physical map of Ukraine above, about 5% of the country is mountainous. The northern reaches of the Carpathian Mountains stretch across western Ukraine. The country's highest point is located there; Hoverla Mountain, at 2061 m (6762 ft) tall. It has been marked on the map above by a yellow upright triangle.

As can be seen on the map above, the southern lowland of Ukraine continues into the Crimean Peninsula, a peninsula jutting into the sea from southern Ukraine via the Perekop Isthmus. It is a disputed territory.

The Crimean Mountains front the southern edges of the Crimean Peninsula, and some lower, heavily-eroded mountains extend intoRussiajust north of the Sea of Azov.

Much of central Ukraine is covered by plateaus and fertile plains (steppes), somewhat hilly areas of grasslands and shrublands.

The Black Sea Coastal Lowlands cover the southern edges of the country.

Ukraine is bordered by the waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

Major rivers include the Desna, Dnieper, Dniester, Donets and the Southern Bug. Numerous waterfalls are found in both the Carpathian and Crimean Mountains.

The Dnieper River, one of the major rivers of Europe (fourth by length) flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, to the Black Sea. The river's total length is 2,285 km (1,420 mi).

Ukraine is divided into 24 provinces (oblast), 1 autonomous republic (avtonomna respublika) and 2 municipalities (mista). In alphabetical order, these provinces are: Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Dnipropetrovsk (Dnipro), Donetsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnytskyy, Kirovohrad (Kropyvnytskyy), Kyiv, Luhansk, Lviv, Mykolayiv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Sumy, Ternopil, Vinnytsya, Volyn (LutsK), Zakarpattya (Uzhhorod), Zaporizhzhya and Zhytomyr. Crimea or Avtonomna Respublika Krym (Simferopol) is an autonomous republic. Kyiv (Kiev) and Sevastopol are two municipalities of special status. The 24 oblasts and Crimea are further subdivided into 136 raions (district) and city municipalities.

With an area of 603,628 sq. km (which also includes the area covered by the Crimean Peninsula), Ukraine is the 2nd largest country by area in Europe and the 46th largest country in the world. With a population over 42 million people, Ukraine is the 7th/8th most populous county in Europe and the 32nd most populous country in the world. Located in the north-central part of the country, along the Dnieper River is Kiev (Kyiv) the capital and the most populous city of Ukraine. Kiev is the chief cultural and industrial center of Eastern Europe.

Ukraine is an Eastern European country. It is situated both in the Northern and Eastern hemispheres of the earth. Ukraine is bordered by 7 European Nations: by Belarus in the north; by Hungary, Slovakia and Poland in the west; by Moldova and Romania in the southwest; and by Russia in the east and northeast. It is bounded by the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov in the south. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea borders Ukraine to the south.

Ukraine Bordering Countries: Russia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Slovakia, Belarus, Poland.

Regional Maps: Map of Europe

The above blank outline map is of Ukraine, a country in eastern Europe. The map can be downloaded, printed and used for education work or for coloring.

The above map represents Ukraine, a country in Eastern Europe.

This page was last updated on February 24, 2021

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Ukraine Maps & Facts - World Atlas

While the world is focused on OPEC news and Easter preparations, the Ukrainian crisis is heating up and there is a real threat of a military confrontation involving Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus. Currently, the Ukrainian military is fighting Moscow-backed separatists in the Donbas region. At the same time, heavy clashes with Russian-backed forces in and around Shymy have been reported. International pressure has been building on Russia to force a direct ceasefire, but no moves have been made. In recent weeks, analysts warned of a possible full-scale military confrontation as they considered the military moves in the region as provocations by Moscow. At the same time, most confrontations were localized, with no real regional impact yet.

The military stalemate, however, could well be coming to an end. A growing amount of reports have emerged showing not only largescale Russian military movements towards the Ukrainian border but also Moscows only regional supporter Belarus has deployed new troops to the Ukrainian border. As Julian Ropcke, a German Bild reporter, said on Wednesday, large amounts of Belarus military hardware, including BTR-80 armored vehicles and military trucks are moved to the border region. Kiev has already reacted to the growing threat perception by calling up reinforcements. Ruslan Khomchak, Ukraines Commander-in-Chief, stated to the press that Russia is building up armed forces near Ukraines borders in a threat to the countrys security.

Related: The 2 Nations Driving The Recovery In Offshore Oil

Russian TV channel Russia Today indicated that Moscow is going to support troops of the self-proclaimed Donetsk Peoples Republic (DPR) to come home. The coming days could be a major watershed for the regions military-geopolitical situation. The West has always assumed that Moscow was more than happy with the current situation, controlling not only the Donbas area but also preventing Ukraine from joining NATO. To expect Putin to be content with this stalemate, however, without having any option for a diplomatic resolution, seems overly optimistic from those powers. Russias ultimate dream is to unify Russia and Ukraine., a dream it is willing to achieve either with hard diplomacy or military means. Moscow appears to have become increasingly unhappy about its lack of progress in achieving that dream, partly due to it being handicapped by the Minsk Accords. The Biden Administration, which is less flexible to Moscows strategies than the previous administration, is also a possible reason for Russias new military adventures. Bidens State Department speech on February 4th included a clear message to Russia that the days of rolling over in the face of Russias actions are over. It is certainly possible that the speech pushed Russia to ramp up its military actions. Meanwhile, in Belarus and Ukraine, the West is perceived to be waging a hybrid war against Moscow. From Putins point of view, the only option now is to actively counter-attack. Military analysts are still arguing about what Moscows options are in the coming days. A majority expect a so-called localized escalation, dramatic and devastating, leading to the deployment of Russian peacekeepers. Such a move could be used to justify future military moves by Russia. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken filed a complaint on Wednesday in which he reiterated Washingtons support for Ukraines territorial integrity in the face of Russias ongoing aggression. If Putin believes the West is weak, however, a military move, which would give Russia access to Crimean water supplies, would be a very attractive one. Ukrainian observers believe the Kremlin may even consider a decisive military push through south-eastern Ukraine to create a land corridor linking Crimea with Donbas and end the peninsulas chronic water shortage Ukraine has blocked 85 percent of water supplies to the Crimea since 2014.

Story continues

Related: The Future Of U.S. LNG Hangs In The Balance

A possible full-scale military operation will not only impact regional security but also put the European oil and gas sector under pressure, while maritime logistics could also be hampered. With Europes gas storage currently very low and dependency on Russian supplies still very high, a crisis here could have a major impact. Gas prices will soon be under pressure if the situation escalates. With storage sites at 37% capacity compared to 60% capacity at the same time last year or 74% at the start of this year, inventories are becoming critical. Analysts currently expect levels to fall as low as 16% of total capacity. To count on LNG supplies would be foolish if Asian demand continues to grow. The stranglehold that Russia has over European gas markets may soon become a major geopolitical market factor once again. If a Ukraine crisis erupts, potentially blocking or closing gas and oil pipelines in the region, a new energy crisis would follow closely behind.

It appears that Putins strategists have outmaneuvered Western powers. The weak response from both Brussels and Washington to Russian power moves in recent years appears to have emboldened Putin. Sanctions have been largely ineffective, while military options seem to be out of the question. Russian gas politics could now be a major pivotal factor in stopping any EU-NATO support if a renewed Ukraine conflict were to break out.

By Cyril Widdershoven for Oilprice.com

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Is Russia About To Invade Ukraine? - Yahoo Finance

Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the crowd during a March 2018 event in Moscow to mark the fourth anniversary of the annexation of Ukraines Crimean peninsula. Now in its eighth year, Russian military aggression against Ukraine has played a major role in driving the two formerly close post-Soviet nations apart. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/POOL via REUTERS)

In February 2021, Russias hybrid war against Ukraine entered its eighth year. During this period, the Kremlin has succeeded in occupying Crimea and a large swathe of territory in eastern Ukraines borderland Donbas region. At the same time, Russian influence over the remaining 92.8% of Ukraine has plummeted to lows not witnessed for more than three hundred years.

Although there remains no end in sight to the ongoing war, it is already becoming increasingly obvious that the events of the past seven years have led to Ukraines decisive departure from Russias sphere of influence. Evidence of this historic shift can be seen throughout Ukrainian society.

Politically, support for Ukraines pro-Russian forces has collapsed to significantly less than half pre-war levels. Moscow-leaning Ukrainian political parties that were capable of forming parliamentary majorities and winning presidential elections less than a decade ago now struggle to pass the 20% barrier in national elections and are heavily reliant on an ageing electoral base driven by nostalgia for Soviet stability. This leaves very little scope for any future revival in political fortunes.

Russias ability to dominate Ukraine economically has also greatly diminished. Prior to the war, Russia accounted for around 30% of Ukraines annual trade balance. By 2020, that figure had fallen to approximately 7%. During the same period, Ukrainian trade with China and the European Union has flourished. Meanwhile, Ukraines sizeable migrant workforce has voted with its feet, turning away from traditional Russian destinations since 2014 in favor of EU alternatives.

Prior to the outbreak of hostilities, post-Soviet Ukraine had been Russias greatest soft power success story. Not any more. The formerly indivisible Russian and Ukrainian showbiz scenes have undergone a sharp separation due to the war. Many Russian celebrities are officially banned from Ukraine, while others are no longer welcome.

Most Russian TV channels have been forced off the Ukrainian airwaves, and Ukrainian TV channels have drastically reduced their Russian-made content. Thanks to a quota system, radio station playlists now increasingly favor Ukrainian-language artists. With Russian social media sites blocked, millions of Ukrainians have switched to Facebook and other international platforms.

Russia has also been in retreat in the spiritual realm. The 2019 establishment of an internationally recognized Orthodox Church of Ukraine independent of the Moscow Patriarchate has accelerated the already declining influence of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.

Many in Moscow had hoped the spring 2019 election of Russian-speaking Jewish candidate Volodymyr Zelenskyy as President of Ukraine would reverse Russias catastrophic loss of influence in the country. However, almost two years on, there has been no such revival.

On the contrary, Zelenskyy himself has launched a crackdown on remaining avenues of Kremlin influence in Ukraine. He recently shut down Kremlin-linked Ukrainian TV channels and has imposed a range of sanctions on Russias leading Ukrainian allies, while also adopting a strategy for the de-occupation of Crimea.

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UkraineAlert is a comprehensive online publication that provides regular news and analysis on developments in Ukraines politics, economy, civil society, and culture.

Ukraines geopolitical turn away from Russia enjoys overwhelming public backing. Indeed, with Ukrainian opinion polls consistently indicating majority support for future membership of both the European Union and NATO, it is difficult to imagine any way back for Russia. Instead, Vladimir Putin looks destined to enter the Russian history books as the man who lost Ukraine.

The loss of Ukraine is a crushing blow to Putins dreams of imperial revival and his obsession with reversing the humiliations of the Soviet collapse. It also represents a resounding defeat for the Russian World doctrine that has served as the unofficial ideology of the Putin regime for more than a decade.

Putins commitment to a so-called Russian World that extends beyond the borders of modern Russia first began to take shape in the mid-2000s and gained considerable momentum following Russias 2008 invasion of Georgia.

According to Putin and other prominent advocates, the Russian World encompasses populations throughout the former Czarist and Soviet empires who are bound together with Russia by the Russian language along with a common religion, culture, history, and world view.

Ukraine lies at the very heart of Putins Russian World and is central to his imperial ambitions. Nor is he alone in such thinking. Indeed, widespread assumptions regarding Ukraines natural place within the Russian World played a crucial role in Moscows decision to invade the country in 2014. This deep-rooted belief has since helped to maintain high levels of Russian public support for the separatist republics created and maintained by the Kremlin in eastern Ukraine.

Putin and fellow Russian World devotees such as Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill believe Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians are all part of the same Russian civilization and share common ancestral origins in the medieval Kyiv Rus, which is depicted as the first Russian state. They view todays separation into individual post-Soviet states as a mistake of history and blame the West for artificially dividing the Russian World.

This Russian narrative dismisses Ukraines centuries of struggle for statehood as a betrayal of Russian-Ukrainian brotherhood. Ukrainian leaders ranging from eighteenth century Cossack Hetman Ivan Mazepa to modern-day presidents Petro Poroshenko and Volodymyr Zelenskyy are portrayed as traitors and separatists collaborating with Western enemies of Russia in order to divide and weaken the Russian World.

In reality, the Russian World ideology promoted by the Putin regime has been out of touch with Ukrainian public opinion for many years. This gap has widened significantly as attitudes have hardened in response to the undeclared and ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War.

In early 2014, Putin appears to have fallen victim of his own propaganda to such an extent that he genuinely believed he could orchestrate pro-Russian uprisings across Ukraine. Instead, the Kremlins hybrid assault on Ukrainian sovereignty sparked a wave of popular opposition that has had disastrous consequences for Russian interests in the country.

The loss of Ukraine means that Moscow must come to terms with the greatest retreat in Russian influence since the demise of the USSR. For the time being, the uncertainties of the unresolved conflict in eastern Ukraine have delayed the inevitable fallout from this historic setback. However, when the reckoning finally arrives, it promises to be painful for the Kremlin.

At this stage, it is already possible to identify five key reasons why Ukrainians have rejected Putins appeals to rejoin the Russian World.

1. Absence of imperial identity: While modern Russian national identity is inextricably tied to notions of imperial destiny, the same is simply not true for Ukrainians. For this reason, the Russian World doctrine did not strike a chord among a majority of Ukrainians even before the 2014 crisis. Instead, it provoked widespread suspicion.

During Viktor Yanukovychs 2010-2014 presidency, the number of Ukrainians who believed the Russian World was an attempt to rebuild the Russian Empire grew from 30.4% to nearly half (48.4%), while those who viewed it as maintaining the spiritual unity of the eastern Slavs declined from 56.8% to 39.7%. Predictably, these trends have continued to strengthen since the onset of hostilities seven years ago.

2. Democratic divergence: After gaining independence in 1991, Ukraine has slowly but steadily embraced democracy, leading to the emergence of a highly competitive if imperfect multi-party political system. Todays Ukrainians take free and fair elections for granted and have also grown used to robust criticism of the authorities and a pluralistic media environment. Meanwhile, following constitutional changes adopted in 2020, Putin now looks set to remain president of Russia until 2036.

Many Ukrainians remain deeply dissatisfied with the countrys often dysfunctional democracy, but few have any desire for a return to a one-party system dominated by a dictator in the Kremlin. There is also very little enthusiasm for Putin personally. According to a Pew Research Center survey, Ukrainian approval of Putin in international affairs fell from 56% in 2007 to just 11% in 2019. No wonder todays authoritarian Russia has proven such a hard sell to Ukrainian audiences.

3. The polarizing impact of war: Prior to 2014, negative views of Russia were not particularly common among Ukrainians outside of western Ukraine. However, since the outbreak of hostilities, such attitudes have become increasingly mainstream in all regions of the country.

As a direct result of the ongoing conflict, the number of Ukrainians holding positive views of Russia has collapsed from around 80% to current levels of approximately 40%, according to February 2021 data from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology and Russias Levada Center.

An entire generation of young Ukrainians with no personal memories of the shared Soviet past now knows Russia primarily as an aggressor and an adversary. Regardless of any future developments towards peace and reconciliation, the seven-year war between the two countries represents a watershed event that has permanently transformed Russian-Ukrainian relations.

4. Religious differences: One of the central pillars of the Russian World doctrine is the Russian Orthodox Church. On paper at least, the Russian Orthodox Church continues to exert formidable influence over Ukraine. However, in reality, this influence was already in decline prior to the outbreak of hostilities in 2014 and long before the establishment of an independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine in 2019.

Throughout the early post-Soviet decades of Ukrainian independence, the internationally unrecognized Kyiv Patriarchate had continued to gain ground on the Russian Orthodox Churchs Moscow Patriarchate in the competition for Orthodox Ukrainian loyalties. This shift gained further momentum following the start of hostilities in 2014, thanks in part to widespread perceptions that the Moscow Patriarchate supported military aggression against Ukraine.

Moscow Patriarchate priests have provoked numerous scandals over the past seven years by refusing to officiate at funerals for fallen soldiers and rejecting public calls to honor the countrys defenders. In May 2015, Moscow Patriarchate leaders sparked fury when they refused to stand in the Ukrainian parliament to honor Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war.

Ukrainians also increasingly question Moscows attempts to link the modern Russian Orthodox Church with the ancient Orthodox traditions of the Kyiv Rus era. In a survey conducted on the eve of Ukraines January 2019 breakthrough towards Orthodox independence, majorities of Ukrainians identified modern Ukraine as the successor to the Kyiv Rus legacy and recognized the Kyiv Patriarchate as the successor to the Orthodox Church established in the Ukrainian capital just over one thousand years earlier.

The Russian Orthodox Church remains a powerful force in Ukrainian everyday life with millions of believers and thousands of parishes. Nevertheless, it is now nowhere near as influential as it once was. Looking ahead, it cannot hope play the kind of unifying role in pluralistic Ukraine that it performs inside Russia itself.

5. Memory wars: Ukraine and Russia have diverged on a number of key historical questions ever since the Gorbachev era. Many Ukrainians do not agree that Crimea was always Russian, for example, and also reject Russian attempts to claim the historical legacy of the Kyiv Rus. These competing approaches towards the common past are hardly surprising. For centuries, Russia was able to dictate a highly russo-centric version of Ukrainian history. This made the backlash of recent decades all but inevitable.

Attitudes towards the imperial past differ in fundamental ways. Beginning in the nineteenth century with the Czarist regime and continuing throughout the twentieth century Soviet era, Ukrainians faced wave after wave of russification policies designed to stifle Ukraines own statehood aspirations. This history of repression makes it significantly harder for modern Ukrainians to identify with the imperial past, but Russians do not share such qualms. While a clear majority of Ukrainians now regard Stalin as a tyrant, equally high numbers of Russians see the Soviet dictator as a hero.

In recent years, the space separating rival Ukrainian and Russian historical narratives has grown ever wider. Ukraines decommunization laws of 2015 have led to the wholesale rejection of Soviet symbolism and a new approach to the totalitarian era that directly contradicts Russias own efforts under Putin to rehabilitate the USSR. Inevitably, conflicting accounts of the shared past remain central to the information war raging between todays Russia and Ukraine.

Putins decision to attack Ukraine in 2014 owed much to his apparently sincere conviction that the country belongs in the Russian World. This proved a grave miscalculation that has accelerated a number of existing trends pulling the two post-Soviet nations in different directions.

The entire Russian World concept is rooted in outdated nineteenth century imperial myths that have no place in the twenty-first century. Such thinking has had an incredibly damaging impact on Russian-Ukrainian ties, playing a direct role in the drive towards war seven years ago and fueling the subsequent escalation of the conflict.

This imperialistic approach now serves as a barrier to peace and possible future reconciliation. Until modern Russia is able to reject the toxic Russian World doctrine, it will continue to poison relations with Ukraine and widen the divide between the two countries.

Taras Kuzio is a non-resident fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins-SAIS and a professor at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy. He is also author of Putins War Against Ukraine and co-author of The Sources of Russias Great Power Politics: Ukraine and the Challenge to the European Order.

Tue, Feb 9, 2021

Kremlin TV chief Margarita Simonyan called on Russia to annex eastern Ukraines Donbas region during a recent high-profile forum that signaled an escalation in Moscows seven-year hybrid war against Ukraine.

UkraineAlertbyAlvydas Medalinskas

Fri, Feb 5, 2021

President Zelenskyy shut down three Kremlin-linked TV channels on February 2 in a move portrayed as a major blow to Russias hybrid war against Ukraine. The step has sparked debate over the balance between national security and free speech.

UkraineAlertbyPeter Dickinson

The views expressed in UkraineAlert are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.

UkraineAlert is a comprehensive online publication that provides regular news and analysis on developments in Ukraines politics, economy, civil society, and culture.

The Eurasia Centers mission is to enhance transatlantic cooperation in promoting stability, democratic values and prosperity in Eurasia, from Eastern Europe and Turkey in the West to the Caucasus, Russia and Central Asia in the East.

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Five reasons why Ukraine rejected Vladimir Putin's Russian World - Atlantic Council