Ukrainians marked the thirty-fifth anniversary of the country’s independence this week, but Ukraine’s historic fight for freedom is still far from over. This was the fifth Ukrainian Independence Day since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion. The outcome of the invasion remains very much in doubt and will determine whether Ukraine finally emerges as a truly independent state or is forced back into the confines of a resurgent Russian Empire.
Ukraine’s statehood struggle dates back hundreds of years and is one of the oldest in European history. As long ago as the early eighteenth century, French writer Voltaire observed that “Ukraine has always aspired to liberty.” The principal obstacle to these dreams of Ukrainian liberty has traditionally been Russia. Throughout the Czarist and Soviet eras, successive generations of Russian rulers sought not only to control Ukraine politically, but also to suppress the very notion of a separate Ukrainian nation.
Over the centuries, Russia’s methods have ranged from restrictions on Ukrainian language, culture, and identity, to the deliberate mass starvation of entire communities in their own homes. The spirit of these oppressive policies is perhaps best expressed in a notorious 1863 Russian imperial decree banning the publication of Ukrainian literature that declared, “a separate Ukrainian language never existed, does not exist, and shall not exist.”
Russia’s imperial ambitions in Ukraine survived the fall of the Soviet Union more or less intact and have since reemerged with a vengeance. Although Ukraine succeeded in securing statehood amid the turmoil of 1991, many in Moscow never fully accepted the reality of Ukrainian independence. Once Russia began to recover from the aftershocks of the Soviet collapse, it did not take long before Kremlin officials were once again plotting the subjugation of Ukraine.
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Modern Russia’s efforts to extinguish Ukrainian independence have become closely associated with Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin dictator’s Ukraine obsession reflects his view of the country as part of Russia’s imperial heartlands. From Putin’s perspective, the reconquest of Ukraine is essential in order to reverse the injustice of the Soviet breakup and revive the Russian Empire. Conversely, if Ukraine is permitted to consolidate its status as an independent and democratic European country, Putin fears this could serve as a catalyst for the next phase of a Russian imperial retreat that began with the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall.
During the early years of his reign, Putin attempted to undermine the Ukrainian state from within. When this ultimately failed to deliver the desired results, he opted to use force. The watershed moment came in February 2014, when Russian troops seized Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula. This was soon followed by a Kremlin-led military intervention in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, setting the stage for the full-scale invasion of 2022.
This escalating campaign of military aggression has been accompanied by increasingly radical rhetoric articulating Russia’s rejection of Ukrainian statehood. Putin himself has set the tone with his frequent insistence that Ukrainians are actually Russians (“one people”). On the eve of the full-scale invasion, he underlined his position by publishing a rambling history essay arguing against Ukraine’s right to exist.
Since the outbreak of hostilities in 2022, Putin has begun to speak in even more explicit terms. This has included likening his invasion to the imperial conquests of Peter the Great and describing the occupation of Ukraine as the return of Russia’s “historical lands.” In summer 2025, the Kremlin dictator felt confident enough to declare his belief that “all of Ukraine is ours.”
The actions of the Russian army in Ukraine closely mirror Putin’s genocidal anti-Ukrainian messaging. In areas that have fallen under Kremlin control, all traces of Ukrainian language, culture, history, and identity are being ruthlessly erased. Thousands of Ukrainians have been arrested and detained in a Stalin-style terror campaign that United Nations monitors have classified as a crime against humanity. Those who remain are being forced to accept Russian passports.
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Russia’s well-documented efforts to eradicate Ukrainian identity make a mockery of suggestions that the current invasion can end in some form of negotiated settlement. In reality, there can be no meaningful compromise between Russia’s genocidal intentions and Ukraine’s desire to survive. The Ukrainian population understands this perfectly well, which helps to explain why they continue to fight with such courage and determination.
In contrast, many of Kyiv’s partners remain in denial over Russia’s eliminationist intentions and still cling to delusional hopes of a peace deal based on mutual concessions. Rather than acknowledging the need to defeat Russia, they try to balance their support in ways that ensure Ukraine’s survival without provoking Putin. This emphasis on avoiding escalation is a strategic blunder that has only served to prolong the war, increase Ukrainian suffering, embolden Russia, and endanger Europe.
As Ukrainians mark a fifth wartime Independence Day, the country’s long quest for true independence continues. Putin’s imperial objectives are abundantly clear and echo centuries of Russian opposition to Ukrainian statehood. In such circumstances, all talk of a negotiated peace is futile. Instead, Western leaders must recognize that until Putin is forced to accept the irreversible reality of an independent Ukraine, the war will continue.
Peter Dickinson is editor of the Atlantic Council’s UkraineAlert service.
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The views expressed in UkraineAlert are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.
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