ONTOLOGICAL DRIFT OF CAUSES

Abstract

Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine has given rise to much speculation about its causes and aims. The accessibility of the modern media allows to freely hear the voices of both sides which creates a unique situation in many ways. Among the many theories and hypotheses about the causes and goals of this war, there is no consensus for any of the warring parties. The options and hypotheses expressed differ noticeably from each other even within each of the countries. This article attempts to classify the expressed points of view on the causes and goals of the war for the Russian and Ukrainian sides. It is noted that Russia, having started the war, has a lot more versions than Ukraine. For the Ukrainian side, the war is predominantly perceived through the formula ‘we have been attacked and we defend ourselves, our land, and our way of life’. Meanwhile, the question of why Russia carried out the attack is much more difficult. In this article, the author identifies six levels of social existence, into which the suggested versions can be distributed. These six levels are: individual, group, political, ideological, geopolitical, and civilizational. The article suggests that the cause cannot be limited to one level, it is important for the aggressor to justify its actions on all six levels. It is noteworthy that for Russia the economic level is not significant, in fact, most of the Russian war opponents are at this level, while for Ukraine the economic level matters a lot. According to the author of the article, only religion can unite six such different levels. Therefore, he suggests, for Russia, this war is of religious nature although it is not connected with religion and does not have a religious form. The author finds this situation paradoxical and ugly.