Hostages To False Myths

• Nikolai Statkevich
• 7.10.2026, 10:22

Stop bothering your neighbors with your "trinity"—a "people" that never existed.

The Russian-Ukrainian war has been going on for five years now. Despite the conflicting and triumphant reports from both sides, the bottom line is that Russia has still not managed to capture even the entire Donbas. For some reason, Moscow’s propaganda has declared the small, unoccupied portion of this devastated territory to be virtually the main objective of the war, the achievement of which will be considered a victory.

It should be noted that the Kremlin’s stated objectives for the war have changed repeatedly. At first, it was to halt the advance of “sinister NATO” toward Russia’s borders. But after Finland and Sweden joined the “threatening” alliance—a move that did not elicit a noticeable reaction from the Russian Federation—the threat of Ukraine joining NATO somehow took a back seat in Russian propaganda. If NATO is already at the gates of St. Petersburg, then it’s a bit too late to talk about a war aimed at preventing its advance toward Kursk. Unless, of course, to remind its subjects that it has already come “as close as it can get.” Therefore, the Kremlin’s official goal of the war now is to seize the remaining territory of the long-suffering Donbas. For the sake of this “great” goal, the Kremlin is refusing a ceasefire, condemning hundreds of thousands of Russians and Ukrainians to suffering and death, and sacrificing its own economy and the future of its country. The question inevitably arises: what is all this for—what is the point of the war and the losses?

For the “peoples of the DPR and LPR”? But even before 2022, and without a war, they could have been declared “constituent entities of the Russian Federation.” Ukraine would hardly have started a war with Russia over these territories, which had already seceded. The annexation of Crimea demonstrated this. Protests and Western sanctions? In any case, they would likely have been less severe than they are now. So why has a small expansion of the territories of the “DPR and LPR” now become so important that the Kremlin is practically ready to start a nuclear war over them? It seems that this is a false pretext. But it has been declared, repeated countless times, and hammered into people’s minds by propaganda, and now abandoning it could be perceived by Russians as a defeat.

I’ve already written here that the real goal of the war is different—and is also based on lies.

That goal is the destruction of the Ukrainian state and nation. At one time, to rid itself of the memory of the shameful centuries of Mongol slavery and to claim rights over Ukraine and Belarus, Moscow brazenly appropriated the history of modern Ukrainians, declaring it its own. Yes, it is true that at one time significant territories of modern Russia were under the rule of Kyiv. But to declare oneself, on that basis, the true owners of Ukraine and its ancient and glorious history—that is a brazen lie. It’s as if the U.S. president were to declare Great Britain and France American territories simply because those countries once owned lands within the borders of the modern United States. Although, given the times we live in, even that could happen.

This historical lie, once reinforced by the strategically disastrous decision of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, became the foundation of the Russian historical myth and a pillar of Russian national identity. But the emergence of a Ukrainian state and the Ukrainians’ legitimate claims to their own history dealt a severe blow to Russians’ national self-respect. Therefore, the very existence of the Ukrainian nation was declared a manifestation of “Nazism.” And Russian public opinion supported the true goal of the war—the elimination of Ukrainians as a nation.

Now that this nation has proven its right to exist in the eyes of the entire world—and of Russians themselves, no less— and thus its ancient history as well, the Kremlin has found yet another motive to continue the war—the fear of Ukrainian retaliation for what was done to their people and country.

Incidentally, the Kremlin has already made attempts to create a new historical myth for its subjects. The construction of a new “shrine” near Sevastopol to replace the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, which it had already bombed—is part of the same scheme.

Given the problems these attempts by Moscow to save its false historical myth by force are causing for the region and the world, we should help our eastern neighbors find a new one. My advice: look to your own real history and your own land. Follow the example of the Belarusians. We do not lay claim to what belongs to others. We rely on our own heritage. The history of the Principality of Polotsk may be slightly later than that of the Principality of Kyiv, and it may have been subordinate to Kyiv for only a short time (our historians speak of a total of about 70 years), but it is our own. And this gives us the unquestionable right to trace the history of our statehood back to it.

More than a thousand years—that’s no small thing.

I can be more specific with my advice—take a closer look at your own history. No, I’m not talking about free Novgorod—which was curtailed by the Muscovites—with its distinct language. Take the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality—it is indisputably yours. It is ancient and, at one point, rose to greater prominence than Kyiv. It had a highly centralized government, just as you do now. Not to mention its truly ancient and beautiful churches. There’s no need to thank me for the advice. Just stop meddling in your neighbors’ affairs with your “trinity” of a “people” that never existed. Your false myths have cost us dearly in the past and continue to do so now. I imagine they’re not cheap for you, either. You’d be better off focusing on getting your own life in order and preserving your own territory.

Nikolai Statkevich, “Telegram”