Natto Thoughts: Ukraine

Disrupt and Demoralize, Deniably

Natto Team — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 01:00:30 GMT

Introduction: Undermining Support for Ukraine With Hacktivist Personas

As the war of attrition in Ukraine drags on, Russian President Putin appears to be betting that Ukraine’s allies will eventually tire of supporting that country. Strains in that support have already appeared, with the September 30 victory of a populist in Slovak elections, tensions between Poland and Ukraine, and the US Congress’ September 30 adoption of a spending package that averted a US government shutdown but did not include additional military funding for Ukraine.

As countries debate further aid to Ukraine, Russia’s leadership continues its years-long efforts to erode that country’s reputation. One key theme has been to portray Ukraine as hopelessly corrupt. Indeed, Ukraine struggles with the Soviet legacy of corruption, as NattoThoughts has discussed here and here. Advocates for Ukraine express hope that a new generation there can finally shake off that legacy, and Ukrainian popular support for anti-corruptio…

For Some Ukrainians, Russian Language Triggers Trauma Response

Natto Team — Fri, 18 Aug 2023 03:11:40 GMT

Until a few years ago, it seemed normal to hear the Ukrainian and Russian languages used interchangeably in Ukraine. For example, a TV interviewer might pose a question in Ukrainian, the interviewee responds in Russian, and they understand each other, as in this May 2023 interview in Odesa https://www.youtube[.]com/watch?v=9_PDOk82Gr8&t=944s). No big deal, right?

However, as historian Timothy Snyder pointed out, the coexistence of two languages reflects the colonial relationship between Russia and Ukraine; the colonized population has to learn the colonizer’s language, but not vice versa. Ukrainians under the Russian and Soviet empires needed to become bilingual in order to advance their careers; Russians denigrated the Ukrainian language as an uncultured peasant dialect. Now, during open war, bilingualism gives Ukrainians an edge. They can understand the language of the Russian aggressors, but Russians cannot understand them when they speak Ukrainian. Bilingualism also gives Ukrainian…

Rebuilding Ukraine – Hopes and Fears

Natto Team — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 22:30:03 GMT

As Russian missiles destroy Ukrainian homes, livelihoods, and essential services, Ukraine has been constantly rebuilding. The country will face an even bigger job when the guns eventually fall silent—to rebuild the shattered physical infrastructure and heal traumatized bodies, minds, and communities. Ukrainian and international politicians, thought leaders and activists envision the reconstruction process as an opportunity to build a renewed Ukraine: an environmentally green, high-tech country that has shed the vestiges of Soviet-era corruption and patronage politics, cares for the widows and the disabled, includes Ukrainians of any ethnic and language background, and encourages and capitalizes on the flourishing civil society initiatives that have helped the country survive the war. How can Ukraine and its supporters fund, organize and carry out those visions? Ukrainian and international policymakers, investors and thought leaders are full of ideas for addressing economic and politi…

“State-in-a-Smartphone” App Helps Ukraine Weather War and Counter Corruption

Natto Team — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 01:29:58 GMT

On May 22, 2023, crowds of people, chattering in English and Ukrainian, flocked to the historic Warner Theater in Washington DC for “Diia in DC,” a sort of roadshow to advertise the Diia e-government app that Ukraine’s Ministry for Digital Transformation developed with support from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Kingdom’s Agency for International Development (UKAID), and the Eurasia Foundation.

Entering the Warner Theater, Washington, DC, May 23, 2023 (Photo by Team Natto)

Inside, the atmosphere resembled a rock concert, with Ukrainian music blasting from the slickly lit stage as the audience filed in.