Cemil Kerimoglu

Soon after the start of the Russian invasion I said that this war will turn into the foundational myth of the free new Ukraine, of the newly resurgent unique Ukrainian identity. And we begin to witness in real life how memory of this war is already entering the popular culture and influencing the Ukrainian folklore.

Here is the soundtrack of a movie released earlier this year. It's called "The Witch of Konotop". It's based on a 19th century Ukrainian novel, but has been readapted to contemporary events.

In the Sumy region in the northeast of Ukraine there is a place called Konotop famous for its witches. There lives a former witch, who has relinguished her powers and became an ordinary woman. She lives happily with her fiancé and they are planning a happy future together as a family.

But then one day, the tragedy happens - Russians launch their full-scale invasion. Among other places, Russian tanks also enter Konotop. The woman and her fiancé try to escape, but Russian soldiers ambush their car and kill her husband during the escape. The woman survives, but vows revenge. Thus, she re-acquires her magic powers and starts killing Russians. The forests of northeastern Ukraine become their graveyard.

Certainly we will see more of such pieces of Ukrainian popular culture in the future, as memory of this war is engraved into the minds of Ukrainians. And this War of Independence has already become the foundational myth of the new Ukrainian nation.

P.S. Since Russians are being played by Ukrainian actors, it's also refreshing to see them portrayed properly, after so many Hollywood movies where Russian characters speak Russian with a strong accent.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=3mPmEA0sZiY&si=dZhE_ScWWIZUZ3mJ

I wrote this piece more than a year ago. But it remains as timely as ever. In fact, the issue has become even more relevant during this time. I am therefore republishing it with slight modifications.

"Thus, the military help that United States is now providing to Ukraine is not charity, and primarily not even an investment, but an OBLIGATION. Both moral and contractual. An obligation that United States had been reneging on since 2014 already and is still, in fact, underdelivering. Somehow, the opponents of supporting Ukraine, especially those in the dissident Right and the far-Left, conveniently ignore this basic fact - either out of ignorance or outright malice. As an alternative, if they don’t want American taxpayer money to be “funneled to Ukraine”, and have any trace of moral integrity, then they should advocate for giving back to Ukraine its nuclear weapons, which it had to renounce with the pressure of THEIR government back in 1994. That would at least be a principled position. And frankly, it would solve all the problems immediately. Upon re-acquiring its nuclear status Ukraine surely will not need any military help anymore.

Moving forward, it would be only fair to allow Ukraine to re-instate its nuclear status. No security “guarantees” can trump the possession of nuclear weapons. There’s no better insurance, there’s no better security guarantee than a nuclear deterrent. One that Ukraine had been forced to renounce and which, given the new extreme circumstances, it should be allowed to re-claim. The Ukrainian government must, at the very least, make it part of the bargain during the peace negotiation process after the war.

This could be achieved, for example, by simply allowing Ukraine to develop its own nuclear weapons, and providing some materials if needed (all of this happening in secret, if necessary), although Ukraine possesses all the necessary infrastructure and expertise to develop nuclear weapons on its own. This would ensure Ukraine has its own Samson Option, which would serve as a reliable deterrent against any future Russian aggression.

Alternatively, in best case scenario, it can be demanded that Russia transfer at least a portion of its nuclear arsenal to Ukraine, as part of reparations. The rest being of course dismantled. Or, the new republics that could potentially separate from Russia and form their own independent states would transfer their nuclear arsenal to Ukraine. This would effectively prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, something that the United States and other Western nations were so afraid of when they pressured Ukraine in the early 90s. Post-Soviet and post-Russian nuclear arsenal would still be concentrated in one place. Just instead of Russia, it would be possessed by Ukraine, its rightful owner. Something that should have been done back in 1994.

Ukraine, a civilized Western nation, who paid with its blood to become part of the West, unlike Russia, would use its nuclear status to protect Western interests, not to endanger them. Moreover, it can serve as the security guarantor of the newly emerged independent post-Russian states. This would be especially important in light of the threat of Chinese expansion and potential revanchist encroachments from what would possibly remain of imperial Russia."

The Infamous Budapest Memorandum - by Cemil Kerimoglu
https://cemilk.substack.com/p/the-infamous-budapest-memorandum-dac