Finding insights in history for war in Ukraine
Ukrainian soldiers install explosives near the front line in the Donetsk region.Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Nation & World Finding insights in history for war in Ukraine Christina Pazzanese Harvard Staff Writer March 5, 2025 4 min read Scholars say that Russia may appear to be gaining upper hand currently, but challenges lie ahead When Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago, President Vladimir Putin frequently invoked history, falsely claiming his goal was to “denazify” Ukraine and harkening to the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II to rally the nation behind him. History and its misuse have been central components of the war in Ukraine since its inception, Ukraine and Russia scholars observed during an online discussion Monday. But, they argued, looking at the actual record of the past can offer valuable insights into the current conflict and where it might be headed. Serhii Plokhii, Mykhailo S. Hrushevs’kyi Professor of Ukrainian History, noted the war began on Feb. 24, 2022, not...