Timothy SnyderVerified account

1/10. Ukraine matters today as it has mattered for a century: as a signal of coming political trends. A century ago, it was the center of the wars after the First World War that ended in the creation of the Soviet Union. #SerhiiPlokhii #GatesofEurope

2/10. For Stalin, Ukraine was a breadbasket to be exploited to modernize the USSR. His policies led to the starvation of millions of inhabitants of Ukraine. @anneapplebaum #RedFamine

3/10. For Hitler, Ukraine was a breadbasket to be exploited to create a German empire. His desire to take Ukraine from the USSR brought about the Second World War. #Bloodlands

4/10. In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed because Ukrainians (in every part of the country by majority) voted for independence. If Ukraine is independent, Russia has a chance not to be an empire. #ReconstructionofNations

5/10. Ukraine is a democracy. If it can remain so, Russians might believe that Russia, too, could be a democracy. A democratic Ukraine opens futures for Russia that Mr. Putin fears. #FionaHill #CliffordGaddy #MrPutin