Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24th February 2022 until 2nd March 2022, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that around 1,045,459 refugee arrivals from Ukraine in Poland, Hungary, the Republic of Moldova, other European countries, Slovakia, Romania etc. With 52,4% being currently located in Poland, Germany has taken measures to accommodate Ukrainian refugees as the Deutsche Welle newspaper revealed in an article on 25th February. Germany and Poland do not only share a common border, which is divided only by the Oder river, but Slubice and Berlin are also just a train ride of around 1-1.25 hours apart. Whereas it is not yet sure how many refugees will arrive in Berlin during the next days, weeks and months – it is certain that support by various entities will be needed and solidarity with Ukrainians is essential amid this horrific crisis.
As Germany’s Federal Foreign Office stated on 27th February, “medical supplies, secure housing, military materiel and weapons [is] what Germany is doing [respectively providing] right now”. The German Government did not only increase its contribution to the UN Ukraine Humanitarian Fund by €5 million immediately after the war began, but its citizens have also called for widespread support for and compassion with Ukrainians as they cross the borders into different countries with roughly 1,800 having made it to Germany as of 3rd March 2022. This article will both provide a background of the current situation in Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees’ pathway to different host countries and Germany arguing that the stories of Ukrainian resistance, resilience and success need to be told now and that Ukrainian freelancers and founders need to be supported, wherever they are at the current moment. Especially in a situation, where Ukrainians are being brutally deprived, among others, of their rights to freedom, life and physical integrity – it remains key to remember the impact that Ukrainians can have and will have irrespective of their illegitimate displacement, humiliation and forced impoverishment.
Putin Frames Acts of Aggression and War Crimes As Self-Defence
As Olaf Scholz said, “‘[t]he Russian attack on Ukraine is a blatant violation of international law’”. When Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday, the 24th of February, in the early morning, Vladimir Putin quickly gained critique by leaders from around the world. Annalena Baerbock, the German Foreign Minister, said that Russia “‘violate[d] the most basic and important rules of the international order’” and Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki expressed that “‘the situation in Ukraine…is an existential threat to peace in Europe’”. The latter also explains why Georgia vowed to immediately join the EU in order to protect its people from ‘Russian aggression’ as the Financial Times framed it. With Russia having invaded Georgia in 2008, both Georgia and Ukraine have the same reason for wanting protection through the EU.
However, despite Russia’s violation of international humanitarian law (IHL) and Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter, which states that “[a]ll Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations”, it has yet to be figured out how Russia can be held responsible for its acts of aggression. As was pointed out by Professor Malcolm Langford and Professor emeritus Geir Ulfstein from the Faculty at Law at Oslo University, Vladimir Putin’s speech about the invasion of Ukraine was actually a speech in defence of Russia’s violations of international law. Justifying the use of force by pointing towards the failure of Western countries to ‘have not done better and with less aggression’ in Belgrade, Iraq, Libya and Syria, Putin went on to frame Russia’s actions as acts against ‘extremism’ and ‘genocide’ while openly revealing that Russia had an issue with the NATO’s expansion to the East.
As the Professors from the University of Oslo reemphasize, the fact that Russia disagrees with the NATO’s expansion to the East does not allow the country to claim that the invasion of Ukraine was self-defence. Indeed, Russia’s blame-shifting tactics are by no means innocent. Framing Russia’s aggression as a courageous act against neo-Nazis and drawing up a comparison with the Second World War, Putin certainly knows his audience and has chosen acts of aggression over peaceful negotiations. Ironically, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has posed minority groups at risk. As revealed by Al Jazeera, African students have been facing discrimination at the border with queer people fearing violations of their rights because Poland, Hungary and Romania are not the safest countries for this group. The latter underlines that Putin’s justifications, even if they were justified, made no sense. Risking the lives of different groups in order to restore a self-proclaimed ideological order is neither an appropriate action, nor self-defence.
The latter was even underlined more as Russia took over control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which constitutes the largest of its kind in Europe with an output of 5,700MW. As a fire broke out at the complex on 4th March 2022, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy requested to talk with Vladmir Putin showing Ukraine’s willingness to stop the war with the US Embassy in Ukraine having expressed that attacking a nuclear power plant constitutes a war crime. As IHL foresees, individual and collective self-defence must be “based upon Security Council resolutions and…the people’s right to self-determination”. On the other hand, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) stipulates that war crimes include:
“(i) Wilful killing; (ii) Torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments; (iii) Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health; (iv) Extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly; (v) Compelling a prisoner of war or other protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile Power; (vi) Willfully depriving a prisoner of war or other protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial; (vii) Unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement; (viii) Taking of hostages”
(Rome Statute, §8)
With the attack of a nuclear power plant being both unlawful, wantonly and counting as wilfully causing great suffering and serious injury to body and health, Russia has certainly breached international humanitarian and criminal law. As the Rome Statute continues, “other serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in international armed conflict” are, for instance, “(ii) [i]ntentionally directing attacks against civilian objects, that is, objects which are not military objectives”. The latter may explain why the United Nations Human Rights Council (OHCHR) has set up an independent commission “to investigate rights violations by Russia in Ukraine”. As more and more Ukrainian refugees have entered Germany, the Kremlin is not yet ready to sign negotiations with Ukraine – however, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has released a statement declaring that discrimination, violence and xenophobia against third country nationals on the way to host countries must end. The latter shows that not only Russia will have to be held accountable, but also whoever engages in discrimination and violence against refugees from Ukraine on the way to Germany and other host countries.
Ukrainians Will Remember, Not Forget and Proceed Despite Russian Aggression
On 3rd March 2022, Berlin’s Mayor Franziska Giffey announced that 20,000 beds will be prepared for refugees from Ukraine in Germany’s capital. Further beds will be prepared in different regions so that a much larger number of Ukrainians can be hosted amid Germany’s cold winter. Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrman, for instance, announced that 50,000 to 100,000 beds will be made available. With more than 18,000 refugees from Ukraine having arrived in Germany to this date, while around 3,000 of them are not Ukrainian nationals, it might be important to emphasize that the current hardship of Ukrainians is an enforced one – Ukrainians will remember Russia’s war crimes and not forget – but they will certainly also continue to live their lives despite the challenges and hardship, which Russia lay in their way.
From a historical point of view, the relationship between Germany and Ukraine is a problematic one. During the Second World War, 2,2 million of Ukrainians were brought to Germany as ‘slave labourers’ (‘Ostarbeiter’ – eastern workers). As the documentation reveals, most of them were young women with death rates in forced labour camps having been particularly high “due to lack[s] of adequate food, shelter, clothing, and medical supplies”. The latter demonstrates that despite Ukrainians resilience, Germany plays an important role in providing shelter, fair asylum procedures, safety and, beyond, economic rights. As Ukrainian refugees are entering Germany, the German Government should certainly consider allowing those who work as freelancers and those, who are self-employed, to continue their work in the easiest way possible. Whereas the latter may not be a priority over providing shelter, medical assistance and psychological support, the latter means to support Ukrainian resistance and to make sure that Ukrainians can limit their losses.
One platform, through which Ukrainian entrepreneurs can receive support is Etsy. By downloading digital files, customers can send donations in support of Ukrainians with Etsy having “waiv[ed] all seller fees for Ukrainians”. For more information on how to donate, follow this link! Beyond that – especially as the news are showcasing Ukrainians in a situation of hardship – it might be important to strengthen stories of Ukrainian resilience and resistance not after the war is over, but already – now. As a matter of fact, last year was not only the launch of the German-Ukrainian Digital Partnership, but the Ukrainian start-up ecosystem and Ukrainian entrepreneurs have been on top of things! As Tech Ukraine writes, by 2025 Ukraine was “projected to generate 10 billion USD” through its high-tech industry. Ukraine does not only have outstanding talents, but companies such as Petcube, Grammarly and GitLab prove that “technical creativity is a national feature” as Tech Ukraine reemphasizes. And yet, they are only the beginning! If you are curious about the best Ukrainian start-ups, you should definitely have a look at this interactive map by StartupBlink, which counts around 400 highly innovative start-ups in Kyiv only! If you know any Ukrainians start-ups needing a shoutout, please contact us so we can share their work throughout the next weeks!
Centurion Plus
Whoever you are reading this – this special article calls for support for Ukrainian refugees and entrepreneurs. In addition, it is a call to remember the strength of Ukrainians, to tell their stories – which are not related to what Russia has imposed on them! It is also to tell the stories of other groups fleeing from Ukraine under terrible and unsafe conditions. If you are a Ukrainian founder, please reach out to us via LinkedIn by commenting about your work under any post in order to reach at least a somewhat broader audience. If you instead stumble on the work of an Ukrainian entrepreneur in need, please make sure to support them!
