Olexander Bogomolov: The most important component in the Ukrainian identity is Europeanness

“Europeanness is the most important component in the Ukrainian national identity, without which Ukraine fails to receive the status of an independent state,” – he said. 

According to the expert, , the process of acquiring Europeanness by the Ukrainians “develops itself and is not an indicator of our progress – progress of Ukraine as a state, strengthening of its nationhood”. 

O. Bogomolov also stressed that the statement about the alleged split in Ukrainian society is not true: “The idea that Ukraine is split into two almost similar parts – East and West – is already refuted and is not heard even in the Western mass media”. According to him, there is only a small part, where this split can be observed – among the population of Donbas. 

The expert also noted that Ukraine is facing a dilemma: on the one hand to continue military resistance, because of the aggression it is facing, and on the other – there is need to implement reforms, go on with nation-building and combating corruption.

In addition, there is a “fierce lack of resources – both of the military and economic components”.  In this regard, he said, our Western partners should play a very important role.

O.Bohomolov also pointed to the problem, which is related to the fact that for a long time the strategy of the West concerning the Black Sea region was supported by an idea that “Russia is a partner”. Due to the quantity of efforts taken to support such a position, in is only a brave one in the West who can take a sharp stance against Russia, he said.

Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies believes that Ukraine is not on the top of the list of the main problems of the West, although “it significantly moved forward”.

For your information:

The Youth Kyiv Security Forum is a new initiative of the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation, which aims at creation of a discussion platform for young experts from different countries on important issues of international relations and foreign policy. The main goal of the Forum is to empower the new generation by increasing their capacity to participate in policy analyses and policy development processes.

The Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation is a non-governmental organization aimed at facilitating the development  of public diplomacy and international cooperation with Ukraine.