Atlantic Council Names Five Facts World Has Learned About Ukraine Since Russia's Invasion

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Since the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion, the world has gained a clearer understanding of Ukraine, as the country emerges from the shadow of Russian disinformation and years of international obscurity.

This is stated in an article published by the Atlantic Council think tank, Ukrinform reports.

"The war unleashed by Russia almost three years ago in Ukraine is rightly recognized as one of the great crimes of the twenty-first century. Understandably, little attention has been paid so far to the impact the conflict is having on Ukraine's international image. And yet amid the trauma and horror of Russia's invasion, there are growing signs that the unprecedented media spotlight on Ukraine since 2022 is gradually helping to transform global perceptions of the country. As a result, Ukraine is now finally emerging from a prolonged period of international obscurity that has hindered the country's progress for centuries," the article reads.

The author notes that since the collapse of the Soviet Union, little has been done to address the lack of global Following the Soviet collapse, little was done to address this lack of outside awareness or strengthen Ukraine's national brand in the global arena. This low profile helped set the stage for Russia's disinformation efforts, with foreign audiences often prepared to believe all manner of outlandish lies about a country that was otherwise unknown to them. Thanks to the recent media focus on Ukraine, Kremlin propagandists are now finding that their distortions are not so readily accepted.

The Atlantic Council has identified five facts about Ukraine that "have taken root in the international consciousness since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion."

The first is that "Ukraine is not Russia." For generations, Russia was able to impose its imperial propaganda on international audiences, with Ukrainians silenced and Ukraine misleadingly portrayed as "an intrinsic part of Russia's own historical heartlands."

"It was therefore understandable that when an independent Ukraine appeared on the map in 1991, many had trouble distinguishing it from Russia. This created much confusion and went some way to legitimizing subsequent Russian attempts to reassert its authority over Ukraine. The full-scale invasion has changed all that," the article said.

The author notes that since February 2022, international perceptions of the relationship between Russia and Ukraine have undergone a radical transformation as global audiences have witnessed the ferocity of the Russian attack and the determination of Ukraine's national defense.

The second fact, according to the Atlantic Council, is that Ukraine is a huge country in terms of area.

"Prewar Ukraine's low international profile encouraged many to imagine the country as an obscure and irrelevant statelet whose fate mattered little to the wider world. Meanwhile, very few people seemed to appreciate that Ukraine was in fact the largest country wholly in Europe. That is no longer the case," the author said.

According to him, throughout the past three years, the map of Ukraine has featured relentlessly in the international press. While Ukraine may still appear small when compared to Russia, it is a huge country by European standards. Growing awareness of this fact is helping to shape perceptions of Ukraine's geopolitical significance.

The third fact is that Ukraine is an agricultural superpower. the country's real claim to fame is as the breadbasket of Europe. Ukraine's fabled black soil is among the most fertile land in the entire world, making much of the country a giant garden of agrarian abundance. Since 2022, Russia's invasion has helped educate international audiences about Ukraine's crucial role in global food security.

"Extensive media coverage of Russia's Black Sea naval blockade has underlined the importance of Ukrainian agricultural exports, with disruption caused by Moscow's interference leading to famine fears in Africa and price hikes on basic foodstuffs throughout the West. Growing awareness of Ukraine's status as an agricultural superpower has undermined Kremlin efforts to portray the invasion as a strictly local affair, and has mobilized international opposition to the war," the article reads.

The fourth fact is that Ukraine is an innovation hub. Since 2022, Ukraine has demonstrated that it is a sophisticated high tech nation capable of more than holding its own in the most technologically advanced war the world has ever seen.

"Ukraine's ability to develop, deploy, and update its own domestically-produced weapons systems on an almost daily basis has done much to debunk the negative stereotypes of old and establish the country's reputation as a leading innovation hub," the author said, recalling Ukraine's development of naval drones that changed the situation in the Black Sea and long-range drones that hit targets in Russia.

The fifth fact is that Ukraine is united. The full-scale invasion has seriously undermined longstanding Russian efforts to portray Ukraine as a country irrevocably split along geographical and ideological lines. The narrative of a "divided Ukraine" has been a mainstay of Kremlin propaganda since the Soviet era, and has been central to the disinformation that has accompanied the escalating Russian aggression of the past two decades. Ukrainians across the country have overwhelmingly rallied in opposition to the invading Russians.

"The Russian invasion has shattered the myth of a terminally divided Ukraine and proved beyond any reasonable doubt that the vast majority of Ukrainians bitterly oppose the idea of a Russian reunion," the Atlantic Council said.

MENAFN20122024000193011044ID1109018428