The day before Russia surprised the world by launching a full-scale aggression against Ukraine, Ukrainian author Oksana Zabuzhko packed her little black suitcase with wheels to head to Poland for a short book tour. The next morning, her husband called with the news that the Russians had gone on a rampage against Ukraine.
– I spent the first day of the war explaining to Western journalists that no, Kiev would not fall within 72 hours. And that the question of what Putin wanted with the war was completely wrong, says Zabuzjko and continues:
– The Cold War never ended. She just remained asleep.
Doped the vest
The Ukrainian philosopher and author believes that Western Russian experts have not done their job in recent decades to understand the large neighbor in the northeast.
– Russian experts have completely failed at their job. They walked straight into the propaganda trap. Instead of praising Russian literature, they should tell what is really happening. They should have changed the glasses, he says and continues:
– The West was drugged by Russia. The West never won the Cold War in 1991. It was simply put on hold. Stalin wanted to go further – to the Atlantic. He wanted to have control over everything from Vladivostok to Lisbon, but he was stopped in the middle of Germany because everyone was so tired, he says.
Zabuzjko believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is following in Stalin’s footsteps.
– There’s no reason to relax. In 2008, when the Russians entered Georgia, the Ukrainians said the next stop is Kiev. This is an old concept, Zabuzjko says.
– He can send Putin to a sanatorium
War Awakening
He points out that it took humanity three generations to recover from World War II.
– It also took three generations for most people in the West to think “never again”, but then everyone suddenly woke up: no, the Cold War was never over. It just got put on hold, he says.
This week, Zabuzjko, 62, was in Norway for her latest book, “Min lengste reise. A personal essay on Russia’s war against Ukraine.” published in Norwegian.
– The book is a suitcase in which I try to put as much information as possible, which people in the West have not understood. We have so many authors and stories for you, which can help you understand the whole picture, she says.
Don’t fear Russia
He points out that we are in “an uninterrupted, massive and all-pervading war which the Russian state, under whatever name it has acted under, has systematically waged against the civilized world.”
– We’re in a scary time. We believed in Fukuyama, that everything would be fine. Today everyone sees Russia as a threat to humanity. As long as she exists in her current form, none of us can sleep peacefully, she says, adding:
– Whether it’s Putin or someone else… They can only live with war, aggression and submission. It knows no modernity or humanity.
At the same time, the author hopes for a better future. That the Cold War will one day end.
– Although all countries of the world are afraid of Russia and what they can do, we, the Ukrainians, are not. We are not afraid of Russia and ultimately want to win, she says.
– A new cold war
Brave women
Zabuzjko has been living in exile for almost nine months. She has been all over the world to present her books and tell the story of the Ukrainians.
– It was a difficult time. Writing the last book helped me. Give me some kind of illusion that I’m doing something, that I’m still on a book tour. Not just for three days, but three weeks, three months… I’m on my ninth month now, she says.
The 62-year-old says curtly that “I want my life back,” before turning to a subject she’s passionate about: Ukrainian women at war. The author takes out his cell phone and shows a picture of a group of Ukrainian women who have been prisoners of war in Russia.
– The photo should be on the front page of every newspaper in the world. These 108 Ukrainian women had been prisoners of war. They had been beaten and humiliated, but when they cross the border they walk straight behind, with dignity, says Zabuzjko.
THE FACE OF WAR: In mid-October, these 108 women were released after being held captive in Russia. – Ukrainian women are very active and brave in war. Look at these women. They have been beaten and humiliated, but they refuse to give up the fight, says Oksana Zabuzjko. Photo: NTB
sea View
Home for Christmas
She believes the efforts of Ukrainian women in the ongoing war will change the way we look at wars.
– Svetlana Aleksievich wrote that warriors do not have a female face, but warriors do. And Ukrainian women are helping to change the gender balance and the war, Zabuzhko says.
According to her, as many as 30% of Ukrainian women are now fighting against the Russians. According to former Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Alina Frolova, some 32,000 Ukrainian women are soldiers in the war.
– Also, there are 20,000 support people. We also have women in the police, in the national guard, in the border police, in the intelligence… Not forgetting the health personnel and volunteers. A huge number of women are involved, Frolova says.
Zabuzjko’s eyes are red and he explains that he hasn’t slept well. A life in a suitcase takes over. From hotel room to hotel room. From country to country.
– I call it a bad road movie, which goes on and on. Now I’m crossing my fingers that the Ukrainian military will be able to drive the Russians out by mid-December so that we can go home by Christmas, she says.
