Why Ukraine inspires

A year into the war, I tell five stories of love, courage, and grit. Behind each story, there’s a person. Within each of them, there’s all we fight for — humanity, freedom, love.

What unites these stories is a very Ukrainian character trait — a mixture of the will to act, find an ingenious way out of trouble, and to persevere despite adversity. All that — wrapped in a healthy dose of self-depreciating irony, bluntness, and straight talk.

Victimhood no more

One year into the war, I have no doubt Ukraine will win. What gives me that confidence? Ukrainians. We fight, work, learn, adapt. And most importantly — we do not suffer from the victim mentality. Not anymore. Not ever again.

Victim mentality, I came to believe, — is a major driver of a variety of evils —from political polarisation to racial violence. Victim mentality, when skilfully manipulated by charismatic leaders with big agendas, — gives rise to causes from terrorism to fascism.

The victim card is precisely what Vladimir Putin played to instigate the Russians to support a war that is unjust, imperial, and plainly evil. How sad indeed, that even Russians against the war — still play the victim card instead of acting to stop the war.

Ukrainians, — by will of history and circumstance, — have no interest in being victimised. “I need ammunition, not a ride” — these words of President Zelenskyy sum up Ukrainians’ attitude — from Ukraine’s Chief Commander to a front line soldier, from an IT entrepreneur in Kyiv to a farm owner in Chernihiv, from a teacher delivering online classes from Warsaw, to a history professor lecturing to students from the trenches.

A story of creativity (and productivity!) — Natalija Makar

Natalija is a family friend from Kyiv. In her small business, “Riznoriz” (literally translated as “anything-cutter”), she produces a mind-bogging variety of everything — from wood-cut Christmas toys to storefront decorations for the likes of Gucci.

I must confess, I’m mildly addicted to Natalija’s Reels videos on Facebook. The dinosaur I am, — not on Instagram or TikTok, — I’d otherwise miss out on all the wonderful stuff —her dancing at the workshop, the laser-cutting amidst Kyiv blackouts, the two wonderful kids (one of whom films her TikTok videos), the work at near-zero temperatures.

Natalija may be a TikTok celebrity (some of her videos are nearing 400K views), but to me, she rivals Toni Robbins in inspiration. It takes guts of a Ukrainian kind — to successfully run a business that relies on electricity-hungry laser machines, when Kyiv has suffered missile strikes for months, with intermittent electricity supply. The inspiring part though, — is to have fun in the process!

Read the full version of the article at the link.