The War in Ukraine. Views from the (Eastern) Border of Europe

On 24 February 2022, Europe’s prolonged era of “peace” was put to an end. Yet by no means should one overlook other conflicts that have broken out on the old continent since the end of World War 2; to name but a few: the Greek civil war, the occupation of Budapest and Prague, as well as the wars involving the republics of the former Yugoslavia. However, for seventy-seven years there had been no large-scale conventional war where one sovereign state invaded another country.

Nevertheless, the impact of the war has not been felt identically across the continent. Because of their geographic and historical connections with Ukraine and Russia, Central and Eastern European countries – where confrontations interlocked with the past have always loomed large – have immediately found themselves on the frontline. They have rapidly emerged as the refuge for millions of people. The sieges of Kharkiv, Kerson and Mariupol, as well as the Butcha massacre, echo with their histories made of sufferings, more or less remote in time, in the wake of invasions, forced population displacements, urbicides and mass massacres. This is the very place where the boundaries of Europe are at issue.

 

Coordinated by Jean-Yves Grenier, Sabina Loriga, and Gábor Sonkoly

 

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