Expert: Putin is using his own version of history as weapon to justify war against Ukraine

He said this in an exclusive comment to a Ukrinform correspondent in The Hague.

“Putin claims that Ukrainians, as ‘Little Russians,’ are one with the larger Russian people through a 1,000-year history. He uses his version of the past to claim that most of Ukraine is supposedly historical Russian territory, and that, in his view, Ukraine has no right to exist as a sovereign state. We need to understand what is going on in his mind and exactly how he uses history as a tool to promote these narratives. Because, using historical facts, one can also tell a completely different story about Ukraine as a free, sovereign, democratic state and about how it was formed precisely because of this history,” he said.

According to him, “history is a powerful weapon. Putin uses it to mobilize Russian society and create a compelling narrative for the outside world, which is unfamiliar with this history. For Ukrainians, this is a deeply personal issue—it is also their history. But Americans or Europeans often do not know it well enough. This became particularly clear, for example, during the interview with Tucker Carlson, when Putin spent half an hour presenting his version of history to justify his position. To an American or broader Western audience, this can sound quite complex and convincing.”

He also noted that the Kremlin’s use of historical rhetoric is aimed at Western audiences, who often lack sufficient knowledge of the history of Ukraine and the region.

“That is why it is important to understand why and how Putin is doing this, so that people can better grasp how we arrived at Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and all the steps leading up to it. Putin has spent years shaping his approach to Europe and Ukraine. At first, he spoke of the ‘closeness’ between Ukrainians and Russians, but later began to claim that they are ‘one people.’ He began to use these narratives particularly actively after the annexation of Crimea. “That is why it is important for people in the Netherlands and the international audience to understand how and why Putin uses history as a weapon, and what we can do to counter this,” he said.

He also noted that the greatest danger to Europe today is not only Russia’s military aggression but also hybrid warfare—propaganda, sabotage, and influence operations.

“We must understand how Putin distorts history and uses it as a weapon. Understanding does not mean justification. Without understanding, it is impossible to counteract effectively; we need to understand his logic to know how to counter it. Before the full-scale invasion, many voices from Eastern Europe warned of the risk of a major war. The CIA also warned. But in many European countries, including the Netherlands, the prevailing view was that Putin was “not serious.” However, he has been consistently building this narrative for years. And if a person repeats certain things for years, there is a high probability that they will try to make it happen. Therefore, the key is to take him seriously. Not because he is right, but because we need to understand his intentions. Putin very pragmatically exploits the weaknesses of others. And it is precisely this understanding of his intentions that is critically important for making the right decisions and countering him. The voices of other Eastern European countries are also important. In the book and in our lecture, we quoted Radosław Sikorski, who spoke very clearly about Poland’s historical experience with Russia,” the expert concluded.

It is worth noting that as part of the two-day Security Conference in The Hague, a series of events took place at the Leiden University campus in The Hague with the active participation of young people, as it is the younger generation that will shape the future of Europe and global security.

As reported by Ukrinform, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten stated that he sees Ukraine’s future as a full member of the European Union and emphasized the need to begin negotiations as soon as possible.

Photo: Iryna Drabok