Moscow is waging war on Ukrainian identity, and Belarus is helping

Russia’s war on Ukrainian identity is intensifying. For nearly two years now, the Kremlin has been trying to control its western neighbor through its military means. However, over time, it became clear that another objective of this campaign was the complete erasure of Ukrainian identity and culture.

To be sure, this struggle did not begin in February 2022. A tug-of-war over Ukraine’s identity (and history) has been waged in one form or another between Kiev and Moscow since Ukraine’s independence in 1991. authentic Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and subsequent unilateral annexation of Crimea. Nevertheless, the conflict has intensified dramatically since the start of the Kremlin’s “special military operation.”

That is, Moscow intentionally targeted According to Ukrainian sources, the Ukrainian school aims to achieve “soft targets” and disrupt education in Ukraine. Spring 2023 report The Information Recovery Center said it had recorded more than 350 Russian attacks on Ukrainian educational institutions, such as schools and universities, and claimed that these facilities were “primary targets of specific attacks” rather than collateral damage.

Russia is also destroying Ukraine’s cultural and linguistic heritage. Russia’s military attacks “damaged thousands of cultural sites, including those protected by UNESCO” insiderRussian opposition news portal, report.In places like Kherson, Russian troops Destroyed Ukrainian bookswhile in Donetsk, local Kremlin-approved authorities Stopped Providing Ukrainian language instruction throughout the school.

Most directly, Russia has begun large-scale deportations and reeducation of Ukrainian minors from the occupied territories of Ukraine. As of mid-2023, the Russian government itself official estimate “More than 700,000” Ukrainian children were forcibly deported to Russia, an action justified as necessary for their own protection. But allegations of keeping Ukrainian children appear to be the furthest thing from the Russian government’s mind. Rather, Russia is internationally accused of running multiple “re-education” camps aimed at instilling loyalty to Moscow and hatred for Kiev in Ukraine’s youngest prisoners. serious violation International law provisions regarding armed conflict.

These efforts follow a certain twisted logic. Russian President Vladimir Putin is repeated intonation Russians and Ukrainians constitute “one nation”. His efforts are therefore aimed at making alternative identities unavailable to Ukrainians who believe otherwise.

Moreover, it’s not just Moscow. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and its efforts to erase Ukrainian identity have found a willing accomplice in the government of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of President Putin.

New research from Yale University According to an investigation, between September 2022 and May 2023, more than 2,400 children were forcibly transferred from Russian-occupied Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions to neighboring Belarusian territory instead of Russia. It turned out that he had been deported. According to the study, at least some of these minors reportedly undergo military-style training to teach them “how to act in extreme situations” and prepare them to fight for their country in the future. There are growing concerns that they will be drafted into the military. by Minsk or Moscow.

So what exactly is the international community prepared to do about all this?

The Council of Europe condemned the “forced deportation and Russification of Ukrainian children.” consider it as such “Evidence of genocide.” And the International Criminal Court arrested Russian President Vladimir Putin and, ironically, Maria Livova-Belova, who was appointed Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, for their role in the wartime deportation of children. issued a letter. The warrant asks the 123 nation-state members of the court to detain President Putin and Ms. Lviva Belova and transfer them to The Hague for trial if they set foot on their soil.

These measures have had at least some effect.Last summer, after much deliberation, President Putin finally decided canceled his visit He is attending the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, to avoid potential international repercussions.

However, these costs have not been passed on to Belarus so far. Despite the Lukashenko regime’s increasing role in Russia’s war against Ukraine, it has largely avoided sustained international attention or any meaningful pressure.

This needs to change. As Moscow’s war on Ukrainian identity intensifies, the international response should naturally expand to target Russian enablers, including Minsk. This would not only send a strong signal to Belarus itself. It would also signal to other rogues currently supporting the Kremlin that their support for Russia’s chosen wars is not, in fact, free.

Ilan Berman is executive vice chairman of the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington.