Often times, debates on Ukraine and its resistance struggle against Russia are framed from a top-to-bottom geopolitical perspective, naturally focused on Russia’s full scale invasion since 24 February 2022, the war, key issues regarding Western support, NATO/EU and other international consequences. This prism tends to overlook the agency of Ukraine and Ukrainians way prior to 2022, and the most dynamic socio-political context the country was going through since its independence in the 90s and definitely since the Revolutions of the 2000s. Ukrainians’ European choice did not come overnight, the war did not start in 2022,and long-standing connaisseurs of Ukraine were not surprised by the scale of its resistance and prowess.

What was the national context before February 2022 and Russia’s Great Invasion? What were the main drivers in Ukrainian politics and society? Many Ukrainian DJs and even film directors fight in the front. Many talk about a cultural renaissance now, but this predated 2022. What were its main elements and who were its voices? If History shapes current developments, what were the main historical legacies shaping post-independence Ukraine? Moreover, Ukraine experienced at least two – many activists say, incomplete- revolutions in the XXIst century. What were their main driving factors and consequences? And if what we see now is a new phase of a war nearing the decade, how did the First Russo-Ukrainian War start in 2014? And did it inextricably lead to 2022?

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