The War in Ukraine, a Shattered Trust: Liberation Theology and the Struggle for Justice
Document Type
Editorial
Publication Date
Spring 2022
Abstract
"We can acknowledge the wariness sown in the Russian state after NATO’s dangerous incursion into Eastern Europe and the Baltics since 1991, in clear violation of a commitment given to Russia’s leaders as the Soviet Union was crumbling into a dark vortex of disassembly. This incursion on the part of NATO was a great tragedy and a crime. But was there not also a violation of trust sown in Ukraine after Putin signed the Budapest Memorandum in 1994 (along with the US and Britain) but failed to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity in return for Ukraine’s agreement to give up its nuclear arsenal, at that time the third-largest in the world? By 1996, Ukraine became one of the only countries in the world to relinquish its nuclear weapons. So, is it not accurate to describe Russia’s imposed annexation of Crimea and menacing threats against eastern Ukraine as acts of imperial aggression on the part of a fascist leader enticed by the withering siren song of neo-Stalinism?"
Recommended Citation
McLaren, P. (2022). The war in Ukraine, a shattered trust: Liberation theology and the struggle for justice. PESA Agora. https://pesaagora.com/columns/the-war-in-ukraine-a-shattered-trust/
Copyright
PESA Agora
Comments
This article was originally published in PESA Agora in spring 2022.