Volodymyr Yermolenko: If Russia wins, international law will lose its weight, and wars will become the norm

If the world allows Russia to defeat Ukraine, it will lead to the destruction of the democratic system, the decline of international law and the spread of wars. In such conditions, the existence of Europe as a stable space will be under threat. This was said by Ukrainian philosopher, translator, doctor of political studies, candidate of philosophical sciences, senior lecturer at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, president of the Ukrainian PEN Volodymyr Yermolenko in an interview with The Geopost.
He recently visited Pristina, where he took part in a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie. This organization unites deputies from different countries, both national and regional parliaments. The main topic for discussion was hybrid war and its challenges.

Volodymyr Yermolenko. It is especially symbolic that the discussion of this topic is taking place in Kosovo. The history of the struggle of Kosovars against Serbian chauvinism is very similar to the struggle of Ukrainians against Russian chauvinism. Therefore, for me, this event has a double interest. I had the opportunity to talk with representatives of different countries — Swiss, French, Kosovars, Belgians, Italians — about common challenges.

The Geopost: What are the main points of your speech?

Volodymyr Yermolenko: My speech consisted of two parts. The first is a personal story. I talked about what this war means in practice, in my own life. I talked about the shelling, about life in frontline cities, about my own experience. It was an opportunity to show the war through human stories. The second is a conceptual part. I talked about how if Russia wins this war, it could fundamentally change the world. It will be a world where there will be no international law, where wars will only be promoted, and in which Europe will find it difficult to survive at all.

The Geopost: During hybrid wars, the information component is an invisible weapon in which Russia invests a lot of money. Here, in the Balkans, we feel its influence, it is transforming and quickly adapting to new realities. How to resist Russian information aggression?

Volodymyr Yermolenko: We need to understand why the Russians are so skilled in their information war. Because, as you rightly noted, they are constantly adapting. Russia invests significant resources in information warfare, especially in the Balkans. Its strategy is adaptation. Russian propaganda narratives are not tied to certain values, they do not have any big ideas that they believe in. And if they do not believe in these ideas, then it is easier for them to instrumentalize them to a certain extent. They (propagandists – Ed.) juggle these ideas with regard to their own interest. We, Ukrainians, on the contrary, remain faithful to our ideals — independence, freedom. And in some ways it becomes more difficult for us, because we say the same thing, and our enemies say something new all the time. In a situation of information warfare, people seem to be watching a big TV series, they are interested in something new. And here Ukrainians come and say the same thing, and this is a problem.

It seems to me that we need, without losing our belief in great values, to adapt to different target groups, to understand what worries them, and to pay attention to their problems. The success of persuasion is when you are able to reach the person standing in front of you. If you cannot touch the heartstrings of the person who is listening to you, then you will not win the information war.

In view of this, the role of the Ukrainian diaspora in the world is critically important. People who live outside Ukraine understand the peculiarities of other societies better than those who live in Kyiv or Kharkiv. They can build an effective dialogue, find convincing arguments for different audiences.

I constantly say this to my compatriots who live outside Ukraine. Your strength is enormous. Your role is enormous precisely because you are abroad. You should not feel disconnected from Ukraine. Your role is precisely to better understand the specifics of this society, to be reasonable, not just emotional, to find convincing arguments.

The Geopost: What, in your opinion, are the prospects for relations between Pristina and Kyiv? Is official recognition of Kosovo by Ukraine possible?

Volodymyr Yermolenko: I think this would be the right step, because the historical parallels are indeed very tangible. Kosovars suffered from the Serbian genocide, Ukrainians suffer from the Russian genocide. However, there are fears that if Ukraine recognizes Kosovo, this will be an additional argument for Russia’s allies to recognize the annexation of our territories, and these are already five regions. This is not only Crimea, but also Zaporizhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson regions. This wave (manipulation of the issue of recognition of Kosovo – Ed.) may not be in Europe or America, but will come from African, Latin American or Asian countries. This may complicate our diplomatic struggle, because Ukraine seeks to form a broad coalition of countries that condemn Russian aggression.
Yet Ukraine is likely to gradually move towards official recognition of Kosovo, given its integration into international institutions, growing support from other states, and the consistency of this move with overall European policy. /The Geopost/