The shocking confession of a Ukrainian journalist: we are tired of the war!

Kyiv journalist Dmitro Filimonov writes in the Free Press , which Mandiner , that at the beginning of the war there was great unity and they were proud of having beaten back the Russians, but now people no longer know why they are fighting and are tired of the war .

The man has been traveling around Ukraine for the past three years and writes:

most of his compatriots just want the conflict to end, but they don't dare say it for fear of being branded as traitors.

The journalist recalls that his younger brother signed up for the army on the first day of the war. Filimonov began to help the refugees: he organized the escape of the elderly and families, but he did not want to leave Kiev.

"In the first days of the invasion, there was a unity in Ukraine unlike anything I've ever seen. I was impressed by my compatriots - their courage, their humor, their strength of spirit," he writes.

As he writes: the people knew why they were fighting: Kyiv could not fall into Russian hands. In one month, the Ukrainian army managed to beat back the Russian troops. According to the man's description, Ukraine felt a sense of victory at that time.

"But instead of seizing the moment and negotiating from a position of strength, the political decision was made to push forward."

He writes about Zelensky that his own image has become too important for him.

"He entered the history books for his heroism in the first days of the invasion, but in April 2022 he was focused on something else.

Appearances became more important to him than human lives.

And almost three years later, the feeling of unity is just a distant memory," writes the author.

"This war not only divided Russians and Ukrainians, but also separated Ukrainians from each other. Because it is not the enemy that my compatriots are most afraid of. But from our own neighbors. From the enemies within"

- writes Filimonov, who says that an air of paranoia and denunciation prevails in the country.

The man describes: today, the official position is that Ukraine will not let an inch out of its territories. "If you question this narrative, you will be accused of 'pro-Russian propaganda.' That accusation alone is enough to close the debate, no matter how thoughtful or well-constructed your position is. Over the past decade, the arguments on both sides of the conflict have become simpler, more black and white. Complexity is uncomfortable in times of crisis. An honest conversation has become impossible," writes the journalist.

"The brutal, nearly three-year-old war has already left around one million Ukrainians and Russians dead or wounded - this devastating human loss will haunt both nations for years to come."

- he writes and adds: despite this, the end of the war is not in sight.

The author notes: let the Ukrainians gather the soldiers from the streets, many thousands of people try to desert, some successfully, some unsuccessfully. He says: he has friends in Kiev who are hiding in their apartment from the subpoena. The journalist also says what the Western allies are deeply silent about: corruption in Ukraine has reached astonishing proportions.

"You can buy anything. Everyone knows about it. Nobody talks about it"

- writes.

„Many still live in hope of victory. »We will win, and then life begins.«

But what does victory even mean? When the enemy says: I lost? The one when we get all our territory back? And then what happens? (…)

Currently, there is no formulated vision of what the future, post-war Ukraine will look like. It's not even part of the conversation," he writes.

He describes: Zelensky has finally started talking about peace, but he asks the desperate question: why now?

"If a peace agreement had been reached in the first months, countless lives could have been spared, along with the country's history, culture and economy, all of which were destroyed by three long years of fighting."

Dmitro Filimonov writes.

The full article in English can be read here.

Cover photo: A woman and a girl stand next to flags placed in memory of fallen Ukrainian soldiers on Independence Square in Kyiv on August 14, 2024.
MTI/EPA/Serhiy Dolzhenko