Greek tragedian Aeschylus said, “In war, truth is the first casualty.” This is as true today as it was in the 5th century BC. For Christians to come to an accurate assessment concerning the pivotal geo-political issue of our day, we have to get behind the headlines.

Uncomfortable though it may be, we have to accept that the commentary we receive through the media is, like all commentary, shaped by the biases of those who control the narrative. Too often the media tends to adjust the facts to the political narrative, rather than adjusting the narrative to the facts.

Changing the narrative

The media view of Ukraine has changed markedly. Before the war, we were given the impression that Ukraine was awash with Neo-Nazis. A 2014 BBC Newsnight programme on the Maidan Uprising noted that Ukraine represented an increasing “neo -Nazi threat”. The film claimed that the new government had close links with Neo-Nazi groups like the Azov Battalion. England internationalist Sol Campbell warned football supporters not to go to the 2012 European Cup finals in Ukraine – “Don’t even risk it ... because you could end up coming back in a coffin.” A Guardian documentary in 2017 reported on Nazi youth summer camps.

To claim that Ukraine was steeped in violent Nazi ideology was a gross exaggeration; to claim that sectors of Ukrainian society maintain an unhealthy attachment to Nazi ideology is not. However, now that the West has aligned with Ukraine, the situation has been normalised, with little mention of extreme right-wing militias. Even the Azov Battalion is now portrayed as the heroic defender of Mariupol.

The war is presented as part of a global struggle between democracy and totalitarianism, with Ukrainian President Zelensky being granted Winston Churchill’s mantle as a wartime leader. President Biden described the conflict as “a battle between democracy and autocracy, between liberty and repression, between a rules-based order and one governed by brute force.”

What is ignored is that Ukraine has long been one of the world’s more corrupt countries. In January 2022, Transparency International ranked Ukraine 123rd of the 180 countries it examined, with a score of 32 on a 1–100-point scale. By comparison, notoriously corrupt Russia ranked only marginally lower, 139th, with a score of 29.

There is little attempt in the Western media to try to understand that Russia may have what it sees as legitimate reasons for its ‘special military operation’.

If Ukraine is not as pure white as suggested, is Russia so pitch black? We are given the impression that Russia is led by an out-of-control oligarchic cross between Hitler and Stalin, determined to impose his will on his neighbours. There is little attempt in the Western media to try to understand that Russia may have what it sees as legitimate reasons for its ‘special military operation’.

Effects of the conflict

Just as yesterday the West saw Ukraine as a hotbed of Nazis, so Russia today sees Ukraine as a hotbed of Nazis. Putin claims he wishes to “demilitarise and de-Nazify” Ukraine to protect ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine from attack. The Maidan revolution which replaced the pro-Russia government with a pro-EU government is seen in Russia as a violent attack on Russian interests and people.

More importantly, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sends a message to NATO leaders who steadfastly ignored its complaints of NATO’s continual post-Soviet expansion. Russia sees the possibility of a NATO-aligned Ukraine on its western border as an existential threat to Russian security.

The war has already had serious consequences beyond Ukraine’s borders. Russia and China have been driven in a closer in alliance against the West. Supply chains have been disrupted, causing scarcities of commodities such as wheat, which could mean starvation in some countries in Africa. We are already paying higher fuel costs because of the war and, facing growing inflation, we inevitably factor in the cost to the West.

Is it a just war?

There is no black/white distinction; rather, it is a matter of varying shades of grey. Can we ever find a Christian position on this appalling situation? The Christian turns to the concept of a just war. Theologians from Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas onward have developed a way of deciding if specific wars can be justified. This is not intended to justify wars but to prevent them. It shows that going to war, except in certain very limited circumstances, is clearly wrong.

The Christian turns to the concept of a just war.... It shows that going to war, except in certain very limited circumstances, is clearly wrong.

There are five criteria to be met if we are to assess whether or not a war is just:

1. Is it for a just cause? In this context, both sides would claim that they have a just cause; Russia to protect ethnic Russians, Ukraine to repel an illegal invasion.
2. Is it with the right intention? It would be wrong to fight a war with the intention of bolstering a leader’s re-election chances, or to commandeer another country’s resources. Both countries claim good intentions; Russia to guarantee the right of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions to self-determination; Ukraine in self-defence.
3. Is it from a legitimate authority? Both governments would claim to be legitimate authorities.
4. Is it proportional? Here the Russian claim to be fighting a just war falls down. We cannot describe turning Ukrainian cities into rubble with untold thousands of civilians killed as being proportional to Russia’s stated aims.
5. Is it a last resort? Ukraine is certainly fighting as a last resort, they have no other option in the face of naked aggression. The invasion was not a last resort forced upon Russia by an intransigent Ukraine; rather Russia failed to enter into reasonable negotiations with Ukraine over its concerns before invading.

Whilst both sides have faults, it is clear once we have cut through the propaganda that an aggressive Russia is engaged in an unjust war against its neighbour.

Perhaps we can take encouragement from the news that despite all they have suffered, Ukrainian civilians are still helping captured Russian soldiers. A video of a Ukrainian woman giving a young Russian soldier food and the opportunity to call home to his mother has gone viral. In the midst of devastation, it is still possible to act as a compassionate human.

What can Christians do?

We can pray for the situation.

• Pray for the anxious and the fearful. Pray that all who don’t know what tomorrow will bring may find strength and comfort in God.
• Pray for the injured and the bereaved.
• Pray for the soldiers who are fighting, Ukrainian and Russian, and for their families, that they may be together again soon.
• Pray for global leaders who have power that they use it wisely.
• Pray for Christians and church leaders as they seek to minister to the hurting, the angry and the frightened.
• Pray for a just peace and for reconciliation.
• Pray that the Lord’s Kingdom will come, and his will be done.