A Horrible Hopeful War
Some Things Are Worth Fighting And Dying For
An ever growing sea of flags commemorating the thousands of Ukrainian defenders killed during Russia’s invasion - Kyiv, Ukraine Image/Honor Phillips
It is often said that war removes the humanity from individuals and populations alike, that it pulls out the worst of what mankind is capable, and that the consequences of war are so horrible and dehumanizing that it must be avoided at all costs.
Having spent most of my life alongside soldiers who have participated in wars past and present, I have become accustomed to recognizing the traits of those individuals who have, as it were, been to the far side of the moon, and it brings another level of understanding that can only really be appreciated by those other unfortunate people who have also been there.
Even the triumphant General Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its stupidity.” However, it only takes the most cursory familiarity with history to see that war has been one of the few constants over the centuries. It is safe to assume that as long as there are evils in the world and people willing to defend and protect the innocent against those evils, war will persist.
Unless you have been on a desert island for the past three years, it is clear that global tensions have not been this strained since the Cold War. The War on Terror, as large as it loomed over Americans, Coalition Nations, and our Middle East partners, does not come close in global implications to what we are watching unfold today. The pot which has been at a simmer boiled over when Vladimir Putin decided to conquer the 40 million Ukrainians next door. The war Russia has prosecuted has become unparalleled in its scale, its brutality, and its implications since World War Two.
Putin’s goal of overthrowing the “rules based international order,” and reestablishing the Russian Cold War era doctrine of a “multi-poler” world based not on ethics or law, but rather might and missiles, is well under way. Iran and its proxies are back on the warpath, supported by Russia, unstable African nations are realizing they can swap unreliable Western backing for Russian mercenaries and oil, and North Korean troops are fighting alongside Russian forces in Europe. All the while, the Chinese Communist Party watches and waits.
Fallen Ukrainian soldier, “kowalski,” at Lychakiv Cemetery - nicknamed “the field of Mars” in Lviv, Ukraine. Image/Honor Phillips
As the war grinds on, I have been reminded of something that I think is neglected in the popular dialogue, at least by those at arms length from the air raid sirens and machine guns. Even as the aggressor brings inhumanity and brutality, I have seen the defender actually fight for the restoration of that same humanity and dignity throughout this war. What Russia tries to destroy, Ukrainians rebuild. When Russia attempts to hold a reign of terror with attacks of glide bombs, Iranian drones, and missiles over Ukrainian cities like Kharkiv and Sumy, Ukrainian children continue their school work in underground bunkers. When the air raid sirens die down, the cafe and restaurant owners return to the shattered glass and debris in the streets, they sweep out the shops, and go back to work. They refuse to be terrorized into abandoning their cities. When the grinding waves of Russian “meat” assaults press Ukrainian defenders to the utmost, they hold on and fight back even when they are outgunned and outmanned, which is most of the time.
To those who have been following Russia’s war on Ukraine closely, these last statements may sound familiar, if not commonplace. They describe something we see daily: the unique brand of Ukrainian toughness and grit that has held back the might of the Russian Federation for nearly three years. But I remind people of the true reality of the Ukrainian will to fight back and fight on because I see more and more a growing narrative that discusses solely the brutality and horror of the war. I don’t believe that framing the war in this way is necessarily malicious, but it is definitely one sided, one dimensional, and dismissive of the nation that is defending its people and its sovereignty.
This perspective, that disregards Ukrainian self-determination and agency, and views Russia’s war machine and war aims as inevitable and unchangeable, is both inaccurate and a slap in the face to those who have sacrificed their lives for liberty and freedom throughout the history of West.
Destroyed Russian armored vehicles put on display in the Ukrainian capitol of Kyiv. Image/Honor Phillips
Yes, it is fare to say that Ukrainian defenders are more fatigued, overstretched, and overworked than they have ever been. Except for the fact that the same thing could have been said at any time throughout this war. Imagine the disgust you would have been met with if, during the London blitz you asked a Londoner if they were ready to give up their country and hand it all over to the Nazis, because everyone was so tired and so much had been destroyed.
This is why I feel shame for fellow enjoyers of American freedom when they naively call for the Ukrainians to lay down their arms and “just give the Russians the damn land for the sake of peace.” They have missed the 13,000 pound elephant in the room, the elephant called humanity, dignity, and defense of one’s freedom - not to mention the collective shared experiences of torture, leveling of cities, civilian and POW execution, wide scale rape, or the thousands of kidnaped Ukrainian children as well as child reeducation camps set up by Russia.
Of course the response tends to be, “Well, it’s more complicated than we can know. I have heard of CIA plots, of military industrial complexes, and have you seen the destroyed cities? Or all the poor people who have been killed by this terrible war…?” - It is to suggest that there is no right and wrong, and that to lay down your life when your country is under mass assault is foolish, when you can surrender and live. Aren’t Americans the people who said “give me liberty or give me death?”
If war dehumanizes people, if it makes the bad even worse, I have also seen it make the good better, the once fearful resolute in their duty, and I have seen Ukrainians fight in and through terrible circumstances for their families, their cities, and their identity as a distinct people. This is after all why good men and woman fight, why they risk their lives, why they undergo incredible hardships together as a nation, it is for something bigger than themselves. All it requires is to speak with a few of the millions of Ukrainians affected by this war to encounter endless stories of daring bravery, self sacrifice, and humanity in the most dire of circumstances.
At the beginning of this piece I spoke about the brutality of war, and this war is more brutal and violent than many can imagine and at a scale that is hard to comprehend without seeing it first hand, even with twenty four hour access to endless videos and commentaries online. But even as I quoted above Dwight Eisenhower’s comments on the terrible nature of war, we cannot forget another equally potent quote by the same general who led the Allied nations to victory in World War Two: “To be true to ones own freedom is, in essence, to honor and respect the freedom of all others.”
Hundreds of spent artillery shells, rockets, and anti-tank weapons lie in a heap in formerly occupied Kherson, Ukraine Image/Honor Phillips
This is why when people ask me why I am in Ukraine, interviewing those on the ground, or helping aid groups deliver equipment, my response always begins with this statement: I am an American, the phrase “freedom is not free” is more than a trope; it is a very real reality. If any nation is uniquely equipped to understand the Ukrainian struggle for freedom, it should be the Americans.
But as is true with any problem with dire consequences, the enemy attempts to make things too complicated for good men and woman to act. Russian state approved media, or their fanboys, try to confuse and muddy the simplicity of what is actually taking place. They attempt to redirect the culpability of Russia, its crimes, and its war of conquest. And recently, if that fails, they remind you of how many cities have been leveled, or of the hundreds of thousands killed and wounded. Unsurprisingly, frontline nations like the Poles, the Fins, the Latvians, and the Lithuanians see through the barrage of lies and misdirections to what is actually transpiring and the epic ramifications if the Free World fails in defeating the evil that has reemerged from a resurgent dictatorial Russia and its coalition of goons around the world.
So that brings us back to where we started. War is terrible. It strips many of their humanity. It can and does bring out the worst in those involved, but it can also bring out the best. It forces us to really dig down and see if we are willing to hold to the beliefs we took as a given in peace time. It tests the will, the courage, and the physical and ethical fortitude of the defender. And if, as is the case with the Ukrainians, your cause is right and just, you can press on through unimaginable hardship toward victory. That’s not to say that victory is guaranteed. It is not. But it does draw a line in the sand between those who fight for the future of their nation and families, and those who follow oppressors and disregard the laws of God and nations.
Ukraine may be having their Valley Forge moment as we enter 2025; the outcome of this war is undetermined; but we in the United States should remember it took a Marquis de Lafayette to rally support and bring the struggling American army to the Battle of Yorktown and victory over the greatest military in the world.
