Political scientist: Caution with word “victory” reflects maturing society

The decline in the use of the word “victory” in the Ukrainian public sphere is not a sign of disappointment, but rather the emergence of a more mature and realistic approach to the war.

This view was expressed by political analyst and public figure Oleh Saakian in an interview with Ukrinform. 

According to him, Ukrainians’ current restraint is a natural reaction to past experiences of inflated expectations and disappointments.

“Neither the government nor society wants to shout ‘We’ve made it!’ until they’ve actually crossed the finish line. This isn’t a rejection of victory—it’s caution born of experience,” the expert noted.

He recalled that following high-profile optimistic expectations such as “coffee in Yalta,” as well as periods of external pressure with proposals for compromises, Ukrainian society has become significantly more cautious in its statements.

According to Saakian, Ukraine has now shifted from an emotional approach to a more pragmatic one: first, achieving parity and ensuring “no defeat,” stabilizing the situation, and only then—talking about victory.

“The period of ‘throwing hats in the air’ is over. It has been replaced by restrained pessimism, which will eventually transform into a new wave of optimism—when there are real grounds for it,” he explained.

At the same time, the expert emphasized that the very concept of victory for Ukraine remains unchanged. “Victory means the restoration of territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as security guarantees that prevent the war from happening again. We cannot adapt the definition of victory to the circumstances,” Saakian stressed.

According to him, there is a wide spectrum of intermediate results between victory and defeat—partial achievements and tactical decisions—but this does not mean a change in the strategic goal.

The expert also described the approach he considers optimal for Ukraine as “optimism on the horizon and realism in action.”

“Optimism in strategy, cold calculation in specific decisions. That is the formula for resilience,” he noted.

In his view, the opposite model is far more dangerous—when pessimism dominates strategically, but overly risky decisions are made at the tactical level.

Assessing the overall course of the war, Saakian noted that Ukraine is maintaining the right direction, despite the complexity of certain stages. “We have not made critical mistakes that would have radically limited our capabilities. We are moving forward at a fairly good pace—given the scale of the cost of this war,” he said.

At the same time, the expert acknowledged that the high cost of the war is a consequence not only of Russia’s actions but also of the underestimation of threats in previous years. “But even with this burden, we are holding our ground and moving forward,” Saakian concluded.

As reported by Ukrinform, the return of prisoners of war, the preservation of statehood, the cessation of missile attacks, the liberation of Ukrainian territories within the 1991 borders, and the death of Russian leader Putin are among the main indicators of Ukraine’s victory in the war with Russia, according to a sociological survey.