Has war healed Ukraine’s great divide?

The phrase divide et impera has echoed through history, its power as relevant today as it was in ancient Rome. Divide and conquer; rule through division. Rulers, then and now, have wielded this principle like a double-edged sword – deepening rifts to maintain control, ensuring that wounds never fully heal. At best, they turn into scars, waiting to be torn open again at the slightest provocation.

In my own country, Ukraine, I’ve witnessed the devastating impact of this strategy for many years. While Western Ukrainians once called for the Donbas to be fenced off with barbed wire, people in the East labeled them neo-Nazis and Banderites. At times, political tensions led to “Orange Revolutions.” At others, backlash brought pro-Russian figures like Viktor Yanukovych to power.

For decades, Ukrainian politicians have manipulated linguistic and cultural divisions for their own gain, exploiting the country’s bilingual character – Ukrainian and Russian are both widely spoken.