Revisiting the Ukraine Narrative through Journalism

Authored by J. Peder Zane via RealClearPolitics

Journalism as the First Draft of History

While journalism is often considered the first draft of history, it's important to remember that this draft is not set in stone. It is a constantly evolving narrative that seeks to answer the essential questions of who, what, when, where, and how. This narrative is continually revised and rewritten as new facts emerge and better answers are discovered.

Recasting the Story of America's Involvement with Ukraine

Recently, two of my colleagues at RealClearInvestigations, Aaron Maté and Paul Sperry, revisited one of the most significant stories of our time: America's intricate and damaging relationship with Ukraine. Through their investigative work, they have revealed facts that many in power have tried to hide. Despite the portrayal of Ukraine as a democratic stronghold and a beacon of freedom by President Biden and other leaders, Maté and Sperry have uncovered how a decade of anti-democratic interference by Biden and other U.S. officials has pushed Ukraine to the brink of destruction and corrupted America's domestic politics.

Ukraine: A Client State of America

Their reporting reveals that Ukraine is not an independent democracy but a client state of America, which has pushed Ukraine into an increasingly tense conflict with Russia. This does not excuse Vladimir Putin's illegal and deadly invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but it does highlight the significant escalation in a decade-long proxy war that the two powers have been conducting on another nation's soil.

The Maidan Movement and the Role of the U.S.

The conflict between Ukraine and Russia has a long history, but Maté's April 30 article begins in 2013. This was the year of the Maidan movement, an uprising against Ukraine's notoriously corrupt president, Viktor Yanukovych, who had delayed signing a trade pact with the European Union to avoid alienating Russia.

U.S. Meddling in Ukraine

Sperry's April 17 article changes our understanding of one of the most famous and consequential examples of U.S. meddling in Ukraine – Biden's December 2015 threat to withhold $1 billion in aid if Ukraine did not fire its top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin. It was well-known that Shokin had launched multiple investigations into Burisma Holdings, the corruption-riddled energy giant that was paying Biden's son Hunter millions of dollars. After Shokin was fired, those probes disappeared.

The Role of Ukraine in U.S. Elections

As Ukraine – a mid-sized country halfway around the world – played a key role in our 2016 and 2020 elections, so it promises to do the same in 2024. At first glance, its prominence seems amazing. Maté and Sperry, in far greater detail than I have summarized here, help us understand why.

The Future of Journalism and History

Their reports are far from the last word. Future reporting will find still undiscovered facts, providing, one hopes, a clear sense of the past as it becomes history. Their work is also achingly relevant to the president as we witness the carnage in Ukraine. As Maté writes, "In claiming to defend Ukraine from Russian influence, Ukraine was subsumed by American influence" at incalculable cost.

Journalism's Role in Unraveling Complex Human Affairs

Their reporting also reveals the tangled complexity of human affairs requires a healthy amount of cognitive dissonance. America’s support for Ukraine may be a necessary defense against Putin’s aggression. But it is also a recurrence of our long and now largely disavowed history of promoting regime change for seemingly noble reasons in far-flung corners of the world such as Guatemala, Iran, South Vietnam, Chile, and other places. It is not the role of journalists to resolve this tension, but, as Maté and Sperry have, to detail it without fear or favor, so that others might.

Final Thoughts

This article raises many thought-provoking questions about the role of journalism in shaping our understanding of history and the complex interplay of global politics. What are your thoughts on this matter? Share this article with your friends and engage in a meaningful discussion. Don't forget to sign up for the Daily Briefing, which is delivered every day at 6pm.