--- title: Why the People of Ukraine Will Triumph description: History shows that determined, brave people can defeat a larger, more powerful hostile enemy, writes Sebastian Junger canonical: https://time.com/6256975/why-the-people-of-ukraine-will-triumph/ author: Sebastian Junger article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-02-20T18:01:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T07:13:22.821Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Why the People of Ukraine Will Triumph og:description: History shows that determined, brave people can defeat a larger, more powerful hostile enemy, writes Sebastian Junger og:url: https://time.com/6256975/why-the-people-of-ukraine-will-triumph/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf8c1c95beb9981f3/698a3a7f096a9448986ad830/GettyImages-1467654165.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Ukrainian Soldiers Man Snow-Covered Trenches In Southern Donbas og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why the People of Ukraine Will Triumph twitter:description: History shows that determined, brave people can defeat a larger, more powerful hostile enemy, writes Sebastian Junger twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf8c1c95beb9981f3/698a3a7f096a9448986ad830/GettyImages-1467654165.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why the People of Ukraine Will Triumph > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=a0cbae48-1d0c-44c9-b99f-4d8bf2496a34&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: TIME Person of the Year 2022: Volodymyr Zelensky & The Spirit of Ukraine [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Person of the Year 2022: Volodymyr Zelensky & The Spirit of Ukraine](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zyzgfN0f.m3u8) (6:56)  _Published 2022-12-07. History shows that determined, brave people can defeat a larger, more powerful hostile enemy, writes Sebastian Junger_ by [Sebastian Junger](https://time.com/author/sebastian-junger/) ## Sebastian Junger Feb 20, 2023 6:01 PM UTC by [Sebastian Junger](https://time.com/author/sebastian-junger/) ## Sebastian Junger Feb 20, 2023 6:01 PM UTC To the people of Ukraine: You have been at war for a year now, and death must have touched virtually every family in your country. Your struggle reminds me of Sarajevo, where I first experienced war as a journalist in 1993\. The Bosnian Serb army had besieged the beautiful Bosnian capital and ordinary citizens—many just teenagers—learned to use the tools of war to defend their families and homes. The situation was both noble and tragic; inspiring and sad. It made me want to be Sarajevan. It made me want a great cause in my life that would require me to put others before myself. You seem to make yourself immortal when you do that; you seem to make yourself impervious to pain and fear and doubt. The reality is much more complicated, of course. But over and over throughout history, ordinary people defending their homes and families have found themselves capable of feats they never could have imagined. [My father](https://time.com/6049600/sebastian-junger-father-fascism-spain/) was a refugee from two wars. In 1936 he and his family fled Madrid when the fascists came in under General Francisco Franco and then fled again when the Nazis invaded France. It looked like fascism was going to take over the world, but some people knew better. Czech leader Tomas Masaryk, watching Hitler’s rise in the 1930s, commented famously, “Dictators always look good until the last five minutes.” All of Western Europe’s authoritarian regimes have collapsed since World War Two. (Franco lived to old age, but Spain reverted to a democracy within months of Franco’s death, and a left-wing military coup rid Portugal of fascism a few years after the retirement of Antonio Salazar.) Of the Eastern Bloc countries, only Russia and Belarus have slid back into authoritarianism. Europe is an overwhelmingly democratic continent because there are people everywhere who were and are willing to risk their lives defying evil. Those brave people included British, Canadian, and American soldiers who sustained casualty rates as high as 90 percent storming the beaches of Normandy during World War Two. With the help of resistance fighters in France and other occupied countries, they went on to crush the Nazi regime and eradicate fascism in Central Europe. The Ukrainian resistance is a direct descendent of these heroic citizens who helped allied forces. When Hitler shot himself in his bunker in the last days of the war, he knew that soldiers and freedom fighters from the world’s oldest democracies were closing in on him. Like Hitler, [Putin](https://time.com/6202839/putin-miscalculations-war-ukraine/) will fail in his endeavor—not only will he fail, but it will eventually destroy him. As a result, other dictators around the world will take note of the fact that smaller countries often win wars against invaders, and that invading a supposedly weak neighbor will probably end in failure. History is filled with inspiring examples. The Ottoman Empire invaded Montenegro over and over in the 1600s, outnumbering the Montenegrins by as much as 12-to-1\. Each time, these mountain people drove out their invaders—often inflicting high casualties. Hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned, Irish rebels threw off English rule in the years after the Easter Rising of 1916\. Around the same time, American workers defeated the combined might of the U.S. government, corporate power, and the National Guard to implement crucial labor reforms that form the basis of today’s society. **_Read More:_** [**_Inside the Basement Where a Village Spent a Month in Captivity_** ](https://time.com/6255183/ukraine-basement-yahidne-held-captive/) Freedom is one of the few things that, throughout history, people have regularly been willing to die for. That can make invading a free society very costly. But a fight for freedom will not succeed without leaders who are willing to make the same sacrifices as everyone else. (“Officers eat last” is a staple of the U.S. Marine Corps—meaning, ordinary soldiers take precedence when food is scarce.) And without leaders who are willing to make the same sacrifices as everyone else, ordinary people will have little reason to believe that the society they are fighting for will be a fair one.  A young woman walks among graves of Ukrainian soldiers killed during the current war over the past year at the Field of Mars cemetery on February 20, 2023 in Lviv, Ukraine. Funerals of soldiers killed in eastern Ukraine are a nearly daily occurrence in Lviv. Sean Gallup-Getty Images Finally, all free societies accord full rights and respect to women. A cause that sidelines women will probably fail for lack of popular support. Not only do women confer a kind of moral legitimacy to political causes, but women’s social networks are often lateral rather than hierarchical—a huge asset for any underground movement. During the 1912 labor riots in my home state of Massachusetts, a frustrated official complained, “One good policeman can handle ten men, but it takes ten policemen to handle one woman.” Within weeks, the strikers forced the U.S. government, the textile industry, and the National Guard to concede to their demands. Because of your success against Russian forces, China may hesitate to attack [Taiwan](https://time.com/6221072/why-protecting-taiwan-really-matters-to-the-u-s/), North Korea may think twice before declaring war on South Korea, and Russia may abandon claims to the Baltic countries. Western leaders clearly understand that the fight for Ukraine is a fight for peace and stability in all of Europe—if not the world. They have remained united in their commitment to providing advanced weapons and ammunition, as well as tactical training by some of the West’s most elite special forces. President Biden clearly wants to send Ukraine the maximum amount of military aid without triggering a catastrophic backlash by Putin. As the war continues to go in Ukraine’s favor, many Americans hope that he will choose a moment to provide enough arms for a decisive victory against Russia. Humans are the _only_ species where a smaller individual or group can defeat a larger one—otherwise, the world would be dominated by fascist mega-states, and freedom would not be possible. But that is not what the world looks like. Smaller countries like Ukraine can stand up to the powerful dictatorships and fight them to a standstill—particularly when they have access to advanced weapons and tactics. If Ukraine remains free, other countries will remain free as well, because fascist leaders around the world will be forced to understand that power does not always triumph. In fact, as often as not, it fails. ## Transcript [00:00] Ukrainian flag on a flying in the city of Carson of the Russian [00:04] troops withdrew from the airplanes president, made a surprise [00:07] visit to her song, the largest city retaken today from Russia, [00:11] in the beginning or the end of the war. [00:15] I was able to join president selenski on a trip to your phone. [00:20] You wanted to get there as fast as possible is security, [00:23] were dead set against it. [00:25] They told him, please don't go there at least. [00:28] Wait, so that the mind-clearing teams can go through Russian [00:31] Artillery, can very easily strike. [00:33] It was extremely dangerous knowledge that and he said I still [00:37] need to go. [00:39] The situation on the ground is painful and tragic, [00:42] but I think a lot of the covers misses is the positivity. [00:45] And in the resilience that Ukrainian show even when there's a [00:48] blackout, even when their missile strikes, [00:50] people continue to try to go about their daily lives. [00:53] Not get into the fair, not given to the depression to keep living. [01:12] My name is Simon Schuster. [01:13] I'm a correspondent for Time Magazine and I've been covering [01:16] Russia and Ukraine for about 15 years. [01:20] I've experienced the war inside the presidential bubble to a large [01:24] extent because of my previous relationships with with the president [01:27] is team. They've been super generous in letting me be a fly on [01:31] the wall. The photographer who work with me on the story. [01:34] Might seem Duke, I've known him for many years, [01:36] is a dear old friend of mine. [01:37] We met during the revolution in Ukraine. [01:39] In 2014. Did you ask ukrainians if they'll tell you this war [01:45] has been going on for a year is not fundamentally new. [01:48] But what happened in? [01:49] February is a much larger scale, much more violent, [01:52] much more horrifying. [01:55] I have no dream about to be War photographer for creeping [02:00] in my country more than 8 years ago. [02:02] I should to cover this and work with magazine, [02:06] spreads of tools, real situation, and try to fight against [02:12] the Russian propaganda in the world. [02:14] I am really proud to be grainy On In This Moment. [02:25] I started reporting on presidents Wednesday before he was president. [02:30] His career before. [02:31] He went into politics in 2019, was as a comedian movie producer [02:36] and actor. He made fun of the politicians that you ended up replacing. [02:42] Virginia ever seen your dream, came to power, [02:46] promising to be from outside the system. [02:48] Not corrupted by the oligarchs. [02:50] The wealthy and self-serving Elites, that's how he defines [02:54] himself as one of the main reasons why his campaign was successful. [02:57] And I think many people voted because they believed that the [03:01] president that they saw in that TV show would be the president. [03:03] This is when she would become [03:06] Things are more complicated. [03:09] What is a wartime leader? [03:13] I think. President zelensky is surprised everybody consistently. [03:17] What his advisers have told me since the beginning of the invasion [03:19] is that he lets the general do the fighting and he focuses [03:23] on what he is good at, which is communication, [03:25] grabbing the attention of the world and not allowing the world [03:28] to turn away to make sure that the West, [03:30] the US Europeans, actively support Ukraine with weapons supplies, [03:36] with financial aid, with political support. [03:38] Also inspiring the public with speeches, story. [03:47] He's always on line is always filming videos, [03:49] posting videos and the way that he's been able to communicate, [03:52] not only with his people, but the people around the world or we're [03:56] watching this war is is unique to history. [03:58] And I think that's been a very powerful tool friend when you get [04:01] a minute. [04:02] This was his decision to stay in key of throughout. [04:09] The invasion has been so important because it was very hard [04:14] morally politically personally, for anyone else in the structure of [04:19] the state, ministers, government officials to leave because [04:22] of the bosses there. [04:23] I think it was Wednesday to run away, [04:25] it's it's fair to say that there would be a much higher chance [04:29] that the state structure of Ukraine. [04:31] Ukraine is a, the country is, is a state that the government [04:35] would collapse. [04:36] Show The Country Inn. [04:38] And I think many around the world. [04:40] That key is not scared. [04:41] There's no reason to fear this. [04:43] This Invader that that Ukraine can win that, [04:45] it will win that inspired. [04:47] A lot of people in inside the country and outside to stand [04:50] up and help fight this war. [04:53] Ukrainians generally hold, they're worried about the future [04:56] inside people say, just give it a couple more months and we'll [05:00] have our Victory. [05:00] They certainly expressed that belief all the time but it's it's a [05:05] it's a scary time. [05:06] This strategy that Russia is pursuing of bombing and freezing [05:10] the country into submission is very scary Ukraine's Capital [05:14] again I talked to you in Ukraine, [05:18] aren't sure how they're going to get through that but if asked [05:22] and do you think the victory is around the corner? [05:24] They say yes. [05:25] We're definitely going to win and and victory is coming. [05:29] I think everybody up, right? [05:32] I just don't believe it's a photographer or Soldier. [05:35] Save me, I'm not afraid to try to fight because we fight for [05:40] our phone. We don't have any choice. [05:46] When I talked about the role in history with the landscape [05:49] was on a train coming back from hair salon, [05:51] he said it's too early to judge my role in history. [05:55] I'm not done yet. [05:56] I still need to finish this thing for the country and I think [06:01] they wasn't really just the war. [06:03] He meant, he wants to finish this kind of cycle of Oppression [06:08] and subjugation that Russia has pursued for Generations. [06:13] He doesn't want to, just have a temporary truce or an Armistice [06:18] that allows Russia can rearm and retrench and cry. [06:21] Again, really wants to break the cycle. [06:22] So the Russians ever attack c-crane again. [06:26] So that it remains a free independent and sovereign country. [06:30] That's how he sees his role in history. [06:32] And and what he wants to do, [06:34] if not, just kind of set them to go, [06:36] see a shins that leads to a cease-fire. [06:38] It's the breaking of a historical cycle of Oppression [06:41] that's been going on since before he was alive. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6256975/why-the-people-of-ukraine-will-triumph/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6256975/why-the-people-of-ukraine-will-triumph/"},"headline":"Why the People of Ukraine Will Triumph","datePublished":"2023-02-20T18:01:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-19T07:13:22.821Z","description":"History shows that determined, brave people can defeat a larger, more powerful hostile enemy, writes Sebastian Junger","url":"https://time.com/6256975/why-the-people-of-ukraine-will-triumph/","keywords":["Ukraine","freelance"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf8c1c95beb9981f3/698a3a7f096a9448986ad830/GettyImages-1467654165.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sebastian Junger","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sebastian-junger/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf8c1c95beb9981f3/698a3a7f096a9448986ad830/GettyImages-1467654165.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ukrainian Soldiers Man Snow-Covered Trenches In Southern Donbas","caption":"Ukrainian Soldiers Man Snow-Covered Trenches In Southern Donbas","creditText":"Scott Peterson-Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/ukraine/","name":"Ukraine"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6256975/why-the-people-of-ukraine-will-triumph/","name":"Why the People of Ukraine Will Triumph"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME Person of the Year 2022: Volodymyr Zelensky & The Spirit of Ukraine","description":"History shows that determined, brave people can defeat a larger, more powerful hostile enemy, writes Sebastian Junger","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/zyzgfN0f/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2022-12-07T12:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zyzgfN0f.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/6256975/why-the-people-of-ukraine-will-triumph/","duration":"PT6M56S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/6256975/why-the-people-of-ukraine-will-triumph/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```