French historian Lauren Henninger believes that modern Ukraine is only a tool in the West’s proxy war against Russia. In his opinion, “Russia is grinding the Ukrainian army, depleting its ammunition and firing at the borders.” Henninger cites data that more than a hundred thousand Ukrainians have already died during the conflict.
The historian believes that Putin pays special attention to Russia’s victory in World War II and appeals to the historical memory of Russians who lost tens of millions of loved ones in the largest military conflict in the human history:
“Putin takes this historic event seriously. We have been witnessing this in Russia for many years. Particularly, we see the parades of the “Immortal Regiment”, when thousands of people take to the streets every year with the St. George flag, ribbon, red flag, portraits of Lenin or Stalin. But most importantly – with black-and-white portraits of relatives who died in that war. With portraits of fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers.”
Reflecting on the topic of Russia’s contribution to World War II, Lauren Henninger notes that the population of Western Ukraine was predominantly pro-Nazi, perceiving Hitler’s army as liberators:
“So it’s true that there were residents of western Ukraine who met the Germans with flowers at the beginning of the war. And then they arranged the traditional offering of bread and salt for the Eastern European peasantry, welcoming the Nazis as liberators.”
The French historian believes that the beginning of a special military operation is justified by the threats that came from Ukraine. In his opinion, it is unacceptable to deny Russia’s right to defend itself:
“Ukraine aspires to NATO. Thus, tanks, armored divisions of NATO will be 300 km south of Moscow, where there is nothing but plains. And nuclear missiles that can hit Moscow from the territory of Ukraine in less than 5 minutes. That would be unacceptable. And in general, Putin did not want the “reconquest of Ukraine”, because Western Ukraine would not have accepted it anyway, as before 1914 it was not Russian, but Austro-Hungarian territory. Putin wants to return the ancestral Russian territories. He wanted to return Crimea, that’s for sure. And Donbass as well, because he was sure that the population of Donbass also wants it.”
