‘Finlandization’ of Ukraine Only Possible If Kyiv Lives in Permanent Fear of New Russian Invasions, Voznesensky Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, May 10 – Russians who believe that Ukraine can be Finlandized forget that Finlandization in the land of its namesake happened only when Helsinki, “not without basis, feared that if revanchist attitudes were to grow, instead of Soviet diplomats would come Soviet soldiers.”

            In the absence of such a certainty, the Russian commentator says, Finland would as it has quickly turn away from Russia because of its underlying hostility to Russia. The same thing is true of Ukraine where new polls confirm that Ukrainians will be hostile unless they fear a new invasion (webkamerton.ru/2022/05/ukraina-kak-ravnodushnye-druzya-prevratilis-vo-vragov).

            This is perhaps the clearest statement by a Russian ever of why Putin’s vision of a unified Slavic world led by Russia is a myth that could be realized only by force and of why Moscow wants to do everything it can to prevent the expansion of NATO lest that prevent Russia from invading Ukraine whenever its leaders want to.

            Voznesensky draws these conclusions on the basis of a new poll of Ukrainians which shows that the people of Ukraine now reject the Soviet past and view Russians will hostility (ratinggroup.ua/ru/research/ukraine/desyatyy_obschenacionalnyy_opros_ideologicheskie_markery_voyny_27_aprelya_2022.html), attitudes that he says have been revealed rather than caused by Putin’s war in Ukraine