Ukraine's history of subjection to foreign domination means that its ability
to define itself is based on the capacity to ensure its sovereign status
(April 19). Your portrayal of 17th century Ukrainian cossack Bohdan
Khmelnytsky as a liberator whose lasting legacy includes the consigning
of Ukraine to Russian subjugation offers an important lesson to this end.
No foreign power will guarantee the autonomy Ukraine has won, but its substantial
military strength does not automatically guarantee independence.
Ukraine President Kravchuk deserves credit for carving out Ukraine's own
defence force from the former Soviet Union. It is impossible to determine
how many of the former Soviet soldiers who took an oath of loyalty to Ukraine
did so out of necessity rather than patriotism. This uncertainty,
along with Ukraine's desire to obtain international security guarantees
for giving up its nuclear arsenal, leaves it vulnerable to repeating history.
President Kravchuk could become another Khmelnytsky. He would be
revered for leading Ukraine to independence, yet, by placing reliance on
foreign nations' security assurances, repeat one of the cossack's legacies. |
