烏克蘭危機為何與我們有關？

看過電影 Mr. Jones (港譯：新聞守護者) 的朋友相信會對蘇聯時代史大林為烏克蘭人民所帶來的人為禍害有一定的認識，史學家將那次因飢餓造成的種族滅絕災難稱之為「烏克蘭大饑荒」(Holodomor)。另外如果各位熟知二次大戰發生前的一段歷史，亦可能會發覺今日烏克蘭的情形和1938至39年間希特拉侵略捷克蘇台德 (Sudetenland) 地區十分相似，只是普京發動戰爭的意圖比史大林和希特拉都更具野心。雖然在種族上烏克蘭人與俄羅斯人同是斯拉夫裔，有很多共通之處，但只要在網上稍作搜尋已可以找到兩國在歷史上的恩怨情仇：

兩國的歷史可以追溯到一千多年前，當時的基輔羅斯 (Kievan Rus'，即現時烏克蘭首都基輔) 是第一個斯拉夫城邦的中心，並且孕育出烏克蘭和俄羅斯兩個國家。在公元988年，諾夫哥羅德親王兼基輔大親王弗拉迪米爾一世 (Vladimir I) 在克里米亞城市克森尼索 (Chersonesus) 受洗歸入東正教，最近俄羅斯總理普京就曾經揚言從那時起，「俄羅斯和烏克蘭是一家人，是一個單一族群」。

雖然上述普京的官方宣言與過千年前的歷史有些微牽連，但烏克蘭政府和普羅市民對此並不受落，因為事實是完全相反。如果我們容許普京如此斷章取義的話，早晚任何人飲伏特加酒都會被定義為俄羅斯人而要臣服於普京的獨裁統治下。以另一個較宏觀角度看，情形已經不是單單烏俄兩國的關係，而是代表著廣義的意識形態衝突。普京被視為比史大林和希特拉更具野心，是因為他的目光並不僅限於擴張領土，而是要向西方民主社會宣戰。他厭惡西方自由開放的價值觀，認為是無用及軟弱。曾深入研究及撰寫史大林時代「烏克蘭大饑荒」的史學家 Anne Applebaum 對普京的意圖有以下的論點：

「在普京心目中，他並非只是對付國內的示威者，而是與全世界的民主社會為敵。至於普京是否真心相信莫斯科民眾是受希拉莉的指令所驅使並不重要，他顯然清楚明白民主詞彙的力量，亦了解為何俄羅斯人渴望有一個公平的政制，而不是由普京及其黨羽所操控的政權。在往後的十年，他支持德國、法國、意大利及西班牙國內的極端組織及反抗運動，將戰線延伸至西歐民主國家，以求達到他破壞的目的。俄羅斯官方操縱的媒體支持脫歐，是建基於最終能達至分化及削弱西方民主國家團結力量的結果。許多轉型為富商的前蘇聯幹部高官透過投資滲透入歐洲大型企業，尤其是在匈牙利及塞爾維亞，希望藉此贏得政治影響力。當然，俄羅斯發放假消息的機器在2016年美國總統大選中亦曾發揮出舉足輕重的干預力量。」

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Why does Ukraine matter to all of us?

For those who have watched the movie Mr. Jones would know the manmade catastrophes inflicted on the Ukrainian people by Stalin of the then Soviet Union aka Russia now. Historians have termed the famines and mass deaths the Holodomor. Those who knew the history in the run-up of the second World War; may find what is now happening in Ukraine today reminiscent of Hitler’s occupation of the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia in 1938-39. Putin, however, is larger than Stalin and Hitler not in the narcissistic way he bares his chest but in his war aims. Ukrainians by ethnic lineage perhaps share much with the Russians; they are both Slavic people. A quick few clicks tell us the historic “entanglement” of the two countries:

The two countries’ shared heritage goes back more than a thousand years to a time when Kyiv, now Ukraine’s capital, was at the centre of the first Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, the birthplace of both Ukraine and Russia. In A.D. 988 Vladimir I, the pagan prince of Novgorod and grand prince of Kyiv, accepted the Orthodox Christian faith and was baptised in the Crimean city of Chersonesus. From that moment on, Russian leader Vladimir Putin recently declared, “Russians and Ukrainians are one people, a single whole.”

There may be a loose thread of relevance from 1000 years ago in Putin’s claim but only if modern Ukrainian government and people share the same sentiment. The reverse is the truth. If we allow Putin to stretch the definition of sovereignty this way then, one day whoever drinks Vodka is a Russian and should be subject to Putin’s dictatorial whims. Let’s take a different vantage point, instead of zooming in into the relationship of the two countries; a broader assessment of the situation shows that each of them is a “proxy” of an ideological conflict. Putin, looms larger than Stalin and Hitler (perhaps the two combined) because his aims is not just territorial; or in Nigel Farage’s words acting out of fear; he wants to show that he is against democracy; he loathes western liberals; he sees them as invalid and weak. Historian Anne Applebaum, who has researched extensively and wrote the history of the Holodomor in Stalin’s Russia, summed up the intention of Putin:

In his mind, [in other words,] he wasn’t merely fighting Russian demonstrators; he was fighting the world’s democracies, in league with enemies of the state. Whether he really believed that crowds in Moscow were taking orders from Hillary Clinton is unimportant. He certainly understood the power of democratic language, the ideas that made Russians want a fair political system, not a kleptocracy controlled by Putin and his gang, and he knew where they came from. Over the subsequent decade, he would take the fight against democracy to Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, where he would support extremist groups and movements in the hope of undermining European democracy. Russian state-controlled media would support the campaign for Brexit, on the grounds that it would weaken Western democratic solidarity, which it has. Russian oligarchs would invest in key industries across Europe and around the world with the aim of gaining political traction, especially in smaller countries like Hungary and Serbia. And, of course, Russian disinformation specialists would intervene in the 2016 American election.

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簡單來說，普京入侵烏克蘭為的並非是單純解決領土糾紛，而是正式向擁有民主人權的自由世界宣戰。如果我們容讓普京好像希特拉一樣變本加厲去大肆蹂躪歐洲諸國，又或者如同前蘇聯姑息史大林的暴行，今次的受害者將不再限於烏克蘭本土或歐洲境內，而可能會漫延至世上其他愛好和平的民主國家國民。試想像普京為一個黑社會龍頭大佬，正在密謀策動向文明世界開戰，而其他平時只講不做的獨裁國家元首亦可能會相繼響應。台灣會是一個明顯的目標，如果台灣淪陷，亞太區其餘的民主地區亦凶多吉少。

現在是時候以行動支援烏克蘭，避免有對人類更嚴重的威脅發生。為逃避共產中國的魔掌，香港人離開家園。同樣面對獨裁管治，我們與烏克蘭人可謂同病相憐。

對於身處英國的香港人，現在烏克蘭所面對的，正是我們將來可能面對的。獨裁政權如俄羅斯以及其盟友中國，從不會停止對外侵略。他們只會通過各種手段如間諜活動，製造內部矛盾，浸透並破壞我們的民主體制。對此，我們需要團結一致對抗這些獨裁政權的挑釁。

我們必需團結一致支持烏克蘭人。我們可以捐助人道救援組織，將所需物資送到烏克蘭；在社交媒體分享消息，並展示我們的支持。如果您有任何想法，不妨向身邊的人分享，鼓勵身邊的人和烏克蘭人站在一起，對抗極權。

This is how you can support them and get involved.

https://www.timeout.com/news/8-ways-you-can-help-the-people-of-ukraine-right-now-022422?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&cid=%7Elondon%7Enatsoc%7Efacebook%7Eechobox&fbclid=IwAR398X5MeFD12ZmgabZNpDr0Jw_KKRT_R8y4CoDjTehE1BmEmjbyDkOpYrM#Echobox=1645700370


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How can we support Ukraine?

In short, Putin has not just declared war or invaded Ukraine per se, he has declared war on democratic systems, the liberal and democracies where we are leading our free and autonomous ways of life. If we allow Putin to carry on his aggression just as Hitler has been allowed to wreck havoc across Europe or as the Soviet Union has tolerated the atrocities of Stalin; the victims this time will no longer be localised in Ukraine or in Europe but spill over to all over the peace-loving people of the democracies globally. Think of Putin as the gangster boss heralding the start of a thugs’ war on civility; other dictatorships with self-conscious existential insecurity will follow his calls. Taiwan is a conspicuous target; once it falls, so will the rest of the democracies in the Asia Pacific region.

It is time to take active actions to support Ukraine to prevent the larger threat to our ways of life. HongKongers fled Hong Kong to evade the dictatorship of China. We are fraternally linked to Ukrainians in this sense.

For those HongKongers in the U.K., what happens to Ukraine now foreshadows the possible fate we may face. Dictatorships like Russia and her ally China will not stop at the invasion of one country, but they will aim at infiltrating democracies. Dictators are trying to bring us down through espionage and causing internal divisions. We should band together to fight against this belligerent and aggressive trend of authoritarian dictatorships.

We must show support and solidarity with Ukrainians and do whatever we can. We can sponsor humanitarian groups who support the affected Ukrainians. We can also share news and actions to take to people around us. Spread your ideas and encourage people around you to stand with Ukraine. We must not yield to tyrants.



This is how you can support them and get involved.

https://www.timeout.com/news/8-ways-you-can-help-the-people-of-ukraine-right-now-022422?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&cid=%7Elondon%7Enatsoc%7Efacebook%7Eechobox&fbclid=IwAR398X5MeFD12ZmgabZNpDr0Jw_KKRT_R8y4CoDjTehE1BmEmjbyDkOpYrM#Echobox=1645700370


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#光復香港時代革命 #自由 #民主 #民主自由 #英國戰線 #海外戰線 #英港同行 #暖氣軍師