A decade ago, on December 8, 2013, despite the ban on demonstrations, in addition to a huge police presence, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians packed the center of Kiev shouting “Revolution!” A statue of Lenin would end up on the ground. Agents provocateurs paid by the government were infiltrated among the crowd and violent clashes took place.

The next day, the headquarters of the political parties opposed to the government were taken over by the security forces and their computers confiscated, while the protesters, in addition to setting up barricades, took over City Hall and various government buildings. What happened during those violent days was a kind of replay of the Orange Revolution carried out by thousands of Ukrainians against Putin between 2004 and 2005, that is, a decade before.

What was at stake in these two confrontations was nothing less than the soul of Ukraine, which was doubting whether to continue under the tutelage of Moscow as Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych intended, or lean towards a more promising future within the EU. under the protective umbrella of NATO. Now, the country was divided into two: the east that borders Russia, mostly Russian-speaking and pro-Putin, and the Ukrainian-speaking west, which, like the capital, Kiev, was more in line with the West.

Against all odds, however, Yanukovych, a survivor of a poisoning that left his face a map, was re-elected in 2012. But aware of Putin’s true designs regarding the sovereignty of Ukraine, the re-elected president, with the squares taken against him, he began to seek protection in the EU. Although deep down what he was really looking for was nothing more than to make a profit in both Moscow and Brussels. It is from this change of attitude on the part of Yanukovych that more and more Ukrainians of all origins began to look favorably on the rapprochement with the West.

But there was another strong argument in favor of this trend: the astonishing takeoff of the economy of neighboring Poland after its entry into the EU in 2004. Three predecessors of Yanukovych, all of them pro-Russian in office, along with the Church Ukrainian Orthodox, expressed pro-European sentiments, while the president continued to think that he could play both sides and always come out on top.

Putin saw his opportunity in Yanukovych’s self-serving indecision and Brussels’ nice but hollow words… and invaded Crimea. However, the script did not count on Zelensky’s coming to power, since Ukrainian oligarchs were going to come to an agreement without major problems with their long-time Russian colleagues when it came to sharing the loot, and Putin would be the mambo tsar.

Both Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have managed to remain in power, although not Zelensky, who will soon have to face the polls in democratic elections that could give victory to a pro-Russian candidate. There is war fatigue. The world now looks at Gaza. Trump could be re-elected in 2024. There is nothing but uncertainty, suffering, fatigue and war.

Let no one look for the truth in these two antagonistic stories, let no one tear their clothes. In these times, as we are learning as we go, electoral promises last little more than the space of a press conference, and nothing happens. Where I said I say, I say Diego. And it is all validated by the related media, the networks and a people who feel discouraged, disoriented, deceived and tired, enormously fatigued. Fear fueled by hoaxes breeds monsters.