Page 14 - RusRPTFeb24

searching for a good school for their children. It was people like us who’d been attacked, the thinking went, and if Ukraine had not stood between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Europe, then it could have been us in their place.
The Russian army was a terrifying prospect that many believed capable of storming European capitals if it wasn’t stopped with nuclear weapons. In the end, it proved to be far less effective, but even so, the sight of destroyed cities, people huddled in subway stations by candlelight, and makeshift graves with cardboard headstones in residential courtyards was far more shocking than the films and TV series that had raised the specter of a Russian invasion in the first place.
The West’s immediate reaction was to identify with the victim, and that led to rapid action. Even sanctions once seen as extreme—like disconnecting Russia from international payment systems, freezing state assets, and cutting air transport ties—were imposed with startling speed.
In the subsequent eighteen months, the intensity of the West’s concern has faded significantly. While Europe and the United States continue to see Ukraine as a victim deserving of support, people in the West no longer feel threatened in the same way.
Paradoxically, the strength of Ukrainian resistance, which has denied Russia a resounding victory, has worked against Ukraine: Europe and the United States have taken their eye off the ball. Russians may be marching west, but it’s unclear whether they’ll ever be able to get to where they want to go. What seemed at first to be the start of a Third World War has turned out instead to be a Second Yugoslav War: a local conflict on the edge of Europe triggered by a slow-motion imperial collapse.
The war seems increasingly distant and alien, while at the same time becoming a routine affair. Protests in support of Ukraine are less and less visible, and there are fewer and fewer Ukrainian flags on display: in some places, they’re now outnumbered by Palestinian flags. The Israel-Gaza conflict has diffused the power of Kyiv’s allies and detracted global attention away from Ukraine, shattering the pro-Ukraine consensus.
As perceptions of the war have evolved, so has the image of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Until recently, it was almost impossible to imagine any article criticizing Zelensky, whose face graced the front covers of the world’s biggest magazines and newspapers.
This hero worship caused fury in the Kremlin, where officials would like to imagine it is they who will go down in history as classical heroes in a non-heroic age. Yet thanks to their actions in Ukraine, it was Russia’s despised opponent who seemed to be taking up that role. Compared with Zelensky in his trademark khaki attire, Russian officials posing in military fatigues looked like tourists, or second-rate cosplay fans. While they seemed to be play-acting, Zelensky had become the world’s darling.
14 RUSSIA Country Report February 2024 www.intellinews.com