Ukraine is not an ideal victim (Oleksandra Matviychuk)

The other day, my friend and I were talking about why Ukraine is an “imperfect victim” in the eyes of the world.

As if both the facts and the law give a fairly clear assessment of the situation. There is no doubt that Russia is the aggressor, and Ukraine is the victim of aggression. Despite this, we do not fit into the construct of the “ideal victim”.

The ideal victim should simply suffer from the actions of the aggressor, and the world should unite in deep concern. Instead, Ukraine has the audacity to withstand the blow of a much stronger enemy all these years. When everyone was already preparing to “cry it out and bury it” at the beginning of a full-scale invasion.

Moreover, Ukraine periodically deals devastating blows to Russia’s imperial ambitions.

A country without a fleet sank the flagship “Moscow” and guaranteed the “grain deal” in the Black Sea, which neither the UN nor Turkey were able to do.

A country without strategic aviation, which has been waiting for modern aircraft from its allies for more than two years and has received literally a few units, has destroyed more than 30% of Russia's strategic aviation.

A country that has not even been officially invited to NATO yet is single-handedly implementing the strategy of the entire Alliance and is consistently destroying the offensive potential of the "second army of the world".

A country where millions of people are hurt every day by terrible Russian crimes, but they continue to fight, volunteer, rebuild, and help each other.

Let me remind you, this is the very country that, according to all forecasts, was supposed to simply fall in 3-4 days under the onslaught of a Russian invasion.

You are weaker, countries with powerful military potential are indignant about themselves. How can you be so impolite to Russia, which has the right of veto in the UN, nuclear weapons, a population of 140 million, oil and gas, that is, a lot of money?

For this very reason, it is sometimes difficult for us to find understanding with countries that have experienced colonial oppression and the erasure of their identity. They seem to be subconsciously saying to themselves, if you are the victim and Russia is the aggressor, then why is Ukrainian still the only state language, and why is the Russian anthem not played in schools across the country?

It is pleasant to sympathize with the victim whom the aggressor raped, kicked, yoked, and rides on top of. This victim is ideal. Her suffering is pure and deep. Words in her defense add moral height to those who indignantly deliver impassioned speeches.

But words are not actions. The international peace and security system of the UN has long been unable to protect anyone. Other states are in no hurry to risk the lives of their citizens to stop global injustice. Therefore, the suffering of the ideal victim, in the end, remains only her problem.

And within a few months, the place of one victim on the front pages of newspapers is taken by another. The world switches its attention and forgets about its existence.

Thank God that we refused to be the ideal victim, and chose the path of resistance. Resisting evil is not only morally correct, but also the most effective life strategy. Only it gives a chance for peace, even if it is imperfect.

I have worked a lot with people who have suffered from Russian atrocities. I have seen how refusing to perceive oneself exclusively as a victim and regaining responsibility for one’s own life became the starting point for post-traumatic human growth.

I am convinced that refusing the concept of victim is the basis for our collective survival. Yes, we did not choose this war, but even in these most difficult circumstances we must continue to stubbornly seek a way out and fight. Because we are our own saviors.

And we have something to rely on.

I was recording the testimony of Ukrainian scientist and philosopher Igor Kozlovsky after 700 days of Russian captivity. Before that, I had interviewed more than a hundred people who survived, and they told how they were beaten, tortured, locked in wooden boxes, had their limbs cut off, their knees crushed, had their genitals electrocuted, and were forced to write with their own blood. So there was little to surprise me. But Igor mentioned a detail that seemed unimportant for the evidence base. And it struck me.

He described his daily life in solitary confinement. It was a basement room where death row inmates were held during Soviet times. The cell had no windows, no sunlight, no air, and it was hard to breathe. Sewage flowed through the dirty floor. Rats crawled out of the sewer opening. And a scientist known throughout the country told me how he gave these rats lectures on philosophy so that they could at least hear the sound of a human voice.

Igor Kozlovsky was a victim, in the legal sense that he was kidnapped, kept in inhuman conditions, and tortured so that he learned to walk again. But even this did not become a reason for him to treat himself as a victim and live as a victim. Because the basis of our existence is dignity, not sacrifice.

And dignity is action.

And it is not only about feeling responsible for everything that is happening, but also doing the right things to change it.

Dignity gives the strength to fight even in unbearable circumstances for a person. The dimension of dignity should become central for us. And then there will be no sacrifice.