IS DEMOCRACY DEAD IN UKRAINE?

While certain Western boosters of Ukraine still tout our democracy as a noble cause worth framing, plenty of Ukrainians are slipping out the back door—not dodging Russian rockets or drones, but sidling away from the quagmire of our own politics. The world barely blinks anymore at the sight of Ukrainian men—ordinary guys, not soldiers—dragged into vans and dispatched to the front with next to no training. It’s old news, a grim rerun that’s lost its shock value. Ukrainian nationalism gets the applause, cast as the soul-stirring bond that keeps us whole, a middle finger to Moscow. Meanwhile, the government’s flagrant corruption seems to be ignored as the forgivable grime of wartime.