The assessment of the situation in Ukraine with regard to its own corruption is very alarming, but not hopeless.
1. Despite my attempts to understand the experiences of Ukrainians, I am and remain influenced by the West, especially by our Swiss culture. I consider this influence a special privilege and am convinced of our country's humanitarian tradition.
2. I underestimated the criminal mentality in the government system. I believed that significant progress had been made in the meantime due to pressure from the Ukrainian civilian population. But this swamp is incredibly deep. The majority of the population sees through it, distrusts the state power, and is appalled. Nevertheless, they remain passive. Only the “golden part” is actually doing something: they report incidents, take to the streets, demonstrate, and fight courageously against it. This “gold” forms the spearhead of a real development toward a better, European future. Some of them volunteer to fight in the army and sacrifice their lives. Others support the struggle at home in other ways, by working for a just justice system, which includes the police, prisons, and the entire recruitment system.
In this context, Myroslav Marynovych comes to mind. He sees his mission as an ethical and moral voice, prophetically warning and admonishing that the whole country needs a complete ethical and moral renewal based on the Ten Commandments of Christianity in order to truly move forward. This process must begin with each individual and reach to the top of the state. It is a long and arduous path. It is particularly important to provide the younger generation with a good professional and ethical-moral education, which must be supported and promoted.
The churches also play a very important role in this. They must not only care for the “salvation” of people, but must also take the lead with good social projects. They must form an independent, credible voice vis-à-vis the state that cannot simply be ignored. I see this development in the Greek Catholic Church and the Protestant churches. Their social commitment in particular has earned them some recognition in the public eye.
The “golden part” is not fighting in vain: some members of the government have had to resign from their posts, and NABU and the media are persistently pursuing the issue.
The soldiers in Ukraine are particularly important and widely recognized for their efforts. But they too are engaged in an internal struggle: There is corruption and misconduct by superiors in the army, abuse, unfair treatment, and a lack of responsibility for the welfare of individual soldiers. Added to this is the recruitment system, which is important for ensuring that there are enough soldiers. However, it recruits by force or allows itself to be bribed so that someone does not have to go, which lines its own pockets. This is particularly painful and leads to great injustices.
The torture that led to the death of one man, for example, is an unbelievable crime. It must be reported to the EU authorities and the Criminal Court for Human Rights so that those responsible come under external pressure and are forced to act (I have this information from a reliable source).
A huge problem is the forced recruitment of people who, out of fear or for moral and ethical reasons, do not want to or cannot fight. It must be possible to guarantee a fair trial in which they can express their convictions and be given the opportunity to be discharged from military service in order to serve their country in other ways.
I am thinking of civilian service as practiced in most European countries and in Switzerland. Civilian service workers can help clear rubble, support people who have had to leave their homes, assist war wounded in rehabilitation, and much more. In Switzerland, those performing civilian service usually had to serve 1.5 times as long as members of the army. In doing so, they demonstrate that they are not simply sitting back, but want to devote more time to civil society.
As far as the Ukrainian army is concerned, I am reading various things. There are brigades that already operate at the level of a NATO army, including at the leadership level. The soldiers there are well cared for. I am particularly reminded of the Kharkiv Brigade Charta (to which Serhiy Zhadan belongs) and the Azov Brigade, in which Taras Dyatlik's brother fights as a medic and Artem Dymdyd from Lviv. Both appear in my new book. However, the majority of brigades are not yet at that stage. Cases that should not be happening are repeatedly reported, and sometimes punishments are meted out. In addition, countless soldiers desert and go into hiding because they do not want to or cannot fight. It is an open problem that everyone knows about, but no one is doing anything to solve it.
As for your relative, it is very sad that he was recruited against his will. No one even made sure that he was treated decently and did not have to do his military service on the front line or second line, but in a very dangerous zone. This information comes from the same source that I trust.
Unfortunately, martial law in conjunction with joining the army does not allow you to be deprived of most of your rights. In fact, there are also rights in the army that would allow for fair treatment, a good supply of the necessary resources for good nutrition, periods of rest, psychological support, and army chaplaincy. Some of this already exists, but much of it does not work.
Today, it is fairly easy to observe what the situation is like on the front lines. Much of it appears immediately on social media and cannot be hidden. That has never been possible in a war before.
My last point is NATO: For me, it is this Russian narrative that is constantly being spread. The admission of Eastern European countries into NATO was a process that the US resisted for a long time.
For me, the question arises as to how the countries of Eastern Europe were treated after the Second World War. They had no opportunity for self-determination. They were invaded by Nazi Germany, then liberated by the Red Army, and subsequently incorporated into the Soviet sphere of influence under the leadership of the Kremlin. They experienced this period as very unjust, which denied them the opportunity to develop in the same way as Western Europe, where people were able to live freely and experience positive economic development.
These countries experienced the most injustice during World War II and the period that followed. They wanted to be part of Europe and build a new state with a thriving economy. They saw this opportunity only in the EU and NATO. For them, NATO meant and still means security and the guarantee that they would no longer be part of Russia's sphere of influence.
This was very difficult for Russia. The country lost its former empire and still suffers from phantom pains to this day. Nevertheless, I believe that there could be a large, prosperous, and friendly Russia that is valued and recognized and can maintain friendly relations with Europe and the whole world.
But Russia is waging wars and wants to restore its former power—in a manner that is anything but friendly. It wants to show the whole world its superiority once again—not in a friendly way, but in a threatening and violent manner. This fact forces us to show strength and put Russia in its place.
We are therefore at a very important “turning point,” which unfortunately is not positive because Russia is forcing us into it.
These are my thoughts on the matter. We need clarity on these issues. I strongly support you in belonging to the “golden part” that continues to give us hope from the Ukrainian side. I would therefore like to see this “swamp” that Ukraine is suffering from.
Take good care of yourselves and keep your children away from the war! (This sentence comes from Taras Dyatlik.)
As an encore, there is a very important article from Ukraine that clearly shows that these very big problems are not being hushed up, but are being discussed in public. The media play a very important role in this matter and are allowed to report openly. This is a glimmer of hope.
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