By Bob Rae

February 22, 2026

As we mark the fourth anniversary of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, a few points strike me as most important. The first is that this war has been — its geopolitical, political, and military characteristics aside — a battle of truth vs. lies.

President Vladimir Putin has never accepted Ukraine’s borders, national identity, language, culture, or sovereignty. Putin articulates a foundational belief, shared by many Russians, that “Ukraine is not a real country”, framing it instead as a “Nazi project” being used by some in the West to thwart Russia’s rightful efforts to restore its empire.

President Donald Trump reportedly parroted this lie about Ukraine during a 2017 briefing. He has made similar comments delegitimizing Canada’s statehood and identity, calling the border between Canada and the United States “unnatural”.

The second point is that this foundational myth has been either underestimated or, as is the case with Trump and his entourage, accepted as a worldview that is fully justified.

At the United Nations in the winter of 2022, the conventional wisdom was that if the Russians invaded, it would be in Eastern Ukraine. Once that orthodoxy was shattered, another took its place: the brave, plucky Ukrainian could not possibly hold out against a Russian assault.

Once the Ukrainians proved everyone wrong, the third (and still devastatingly defeatist) orthodoxy was “don’t let the Ukrainians lose, but don’t widen or deepen the war. Hence the four-year war: “as long as it takes” but no attacks on Russian bases, no weaponry that would allow Ukraine to actually hit back to ultimate effect.

This lasted through the Biden presidency, with two other key developments.

The first was the astonishing level of innovation in Ukrainian military technology, which created a fighting force that defied the myth of Russian invincibility. The battlefield dynamic became a classic case of a Goliath outmaneuvered by a David: The flabby, hubristic bully who underestimated his prey and the agile, resilient underdog who uses drones as a slingshot.

President Zelensky’s fortitude in the face of these brutal headwinds — to say nothing of the knives in his back — is truly extraordinary.

The second was the extent of assistance to the Russians from China, North Korea and Iran. They have provided a ruthless lifeline that will forever in infamy.

The re-election of Donald Trump has meant that the Biden administration policy, as debilitating as it was, could be dealt a devastating blow because of the extent to which Trump and his entourage used their apparent belief in the Putin/Lavrov narrative about Russia’s claims and grievances to rationalize what has appeared to be the administration’s taking of a side.

The February 28, 2025, ritual humiliation of President Zelensky in the Oval office had a surprising effect: it stiffened the spines of those in NATO who did not want to betray Ukraine or Zelensky.

A year ago, a UN General Assembly vote in support of Ukraine and against Russian aggression passed easily, but the United States joined Russia and the usual authoritarian suspects against the resolution. It was the day the world turned upside down.

Since that time, for a full year, NATO has been buying American weapons and technology to supply Ukraine, Russia has lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers, Ukrainians have been freezing in the dark civilians are dying as infrastructure across the country is under attack, and China continues to prop up Putin.

President Zelensky’s fortitude in the face of these brutal headwinds — to say nothing of the knives in his back — is truly extraordinary. The Russian propaganda machine continues to blow poisonous smog over the internet and social media. Meetings happen, but the fundamental problem remains: Russia’s objective is not land, but the destruction of Ukraine.

Lenin used to refer to fellow travelers as “useful idiots”. Russia as a New World Order player has more than its fair share of similar types — grifters, grafters, appeasers, even heads of government. The dark truth remains. Nothing could be more dangerous than any kind of victory for Putin or defeat for Ukraine.

Trump’s abandonment of Ukraine is worse than appeasement. Even Chamberlain finally came to terms with what Nazism was all about. It is still up to all of us to ensure that Ukraine’s fight becomes fully ours, that our words match our deeds, and that Russia’s aggression is finally met with its defeat.

Otherwise, we will find ourselves in a world where not only is international law a thing of the past, but where the madness of dictators alone determines what is a country and what is not.

Policy Columnist Bob Rae teaches and writes on law and public policy. He is a Fellow of Massey College, the Munk School at the University of Toronto, the Forum of Federations and a Matthews Fellow in public policy Queen’s University. He served as Ontario’s 21st Premier, interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, and Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations.