Awakening bad memories: Grzegorz Kowal lays out a Polish perspective on the tragic events in Ukraine.

• Author: Kowal, Grzegorz

It is now more than obvious that efforts taken by Western states to keep the war at bay and not to allow escalation of the situation in Ukraine beyond the point of no return have failed. On 21 February 2022, the Russian government recognised the independence of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic. Three days later Russian forces invaded Ukraine. The full-scale invasion came as a shock to people everywhere. It revealed that, for Russia, the use of military power has always only been an extension of diplomacy and a tool for pursuing pure national interests. Diplomatic measures attempted by the whole world did not yield any results. It is now clear more than ever that Vladimir Putin's Russia is ready to counteract imaginary threats even using such extreme measures as war.

The military action taken by Russia was preceded by provocative measures, such as Putin's recognition of the DPR and LPR as well as unfounded allegations about 'genocide committed by Ukrainian authorities'. A campaign in which the democratic government of Ukraine was described as fascist was also launched. Finally, we could observe a stream of statements describing Ukraine as an artificial state, whose national identity was only created by Vladimir Lenin. None of those statements is close to the truth and has never been.

My country, Poland, which has suffered so much in its history and especially in the 20th century, is living proof that this pattern of behaviour is not new. Decisions taken by the Russian government represent the direct continuity of the Kremlin's thinking with Soviet times when its interests were very often secured by military means. It all started in 1956 with Soviet intervention in Budapest and in Czechoslovakia later on in 1968. The fall of the Soviet Union changed little in this respect. The revival of these latest 'interventions' had already started in 2008 when Russia exercised its military power in Georgia. It accelerated in 2014 with Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Information battle

Even then, we should have been aware of one more important factor--and more so now. Russian aggression is not just about military action; it is also an information battle. Many things have been said about the most dangerous form of warfare of our times--disinformation. As current events show, Russia is one of the leading actors in that field. The aim is crystal clear: to create the justification for a war or at least to soften its...