The last few days have sealed Ukraine’s place in the global imagination – and for Russia, that’s a big problem
History has broken into a sprint. Changes that were imagined to be the work of generations, or even centuries, have happened in days. Geopolitical shifts whose impact will endure for decades have come in hours. All wars are accelerants, but Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is remaking the world before our very eyes.
Start with national identity. The way nations see themselves, and are seen by others, is meant to be the stuff of evolution: slow and gradual, the layers added in increments. And yet Russia’s brutal attempt to swallow up its neighbour has changed something profound in little more than a week.
Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist
