A view from Ukraine, Vytas Buciunas

As Russia looks poised to invade Ukraine, we speak to a friend of ours inside Ukraine. Vytas Buciunas is a developmental coach based in Kiev.

In this conversation we discuss the recent history of Ukraine, what a conflict might mean for the region and the world, and whether the developmental map from disciplines like Integral theory can help illustrate what's going on.

[Pharmakon-ls]

Sending heartfelt prayers and wishes to you Vytas, thank you for the interview, hope you could stay safe.

[nomadr]

Thanks Vytas. Glory to Ukraine! Glory to Lithuania!

[angelastubbe]

I see a need for other perspectives on the subject matter to create some balanced view here.

[ТамараСухенко-бь]

thank you for this conversation and discovering Ukrainian perspective

[twocoppercoins]

"A view from Ukraine" i think you have to be careful how to frame these geopolitical affairs. This perspective welcomed and many more from the Ukraine too hopefully

[romansobak]

That’s one point of view from Ukraine I would have like other views acknowledged /presented - assuming not all Ukrainians are of one mind, maybe they are on national independence.
I was shocked by your acceptance of official US propaganda justifying military aggression against resource rich country-Afghanistan.at the barrel of the gun was corporation oil men mr kharzai, corruption and social destruction.democracy or human rights were nothing more than a proverbial fig leaf . I did expect much more from rebel wisdom. Could you try again and present granular comparison of Russian and American empire.

[CactusLand]

I've lived in Russia and been to Ukraine. I would pay close attention to Vytas comments about Russia operating out of 'red' perspective. A truly integral perspective deals with reality, not fantasy. Real threats need to be evaluated holistically. Is this an existential threat to the West, or a simply a regional conflict? Not sure there is an easy answer, but we need to consider the possibility that a line in the sand needs to be drawn, and if we do draw that line, the only way the Russians will respect it is if they KNOW it will be defended with the full force of NATO. The problem is, if that is the right course, which it might be, there isn't, at the moment, the political leadership to carry it out. Russian troops in Kiev would set off the conflict phase of the fourth turning, which by definition, is that moment of complete loss of institutional faith, from which the new epoch emerges.

[Garcwyn]

One of those rare situations where I feel sympathetic with the three incumbents. First and perhaps more importantly, Ukraine has the right to pursue its own path and destiny. Which seems to be a liberal democratic type of system not disimilar to the ones in the West. This clearly poses a threat to Putin’s Russia which will dread to see a prosperous liberal society in one of the former Soviet’s republic.

Then is Russia. Feeling betrayed once again by the West and NATO (“not an inch eastwards…”) and all the implications of having offensive weapons and NATO bases in Ukraine where most of its fleet is stationed (Crimea). I don’t think the USA will ever accept something similar done to them. In fact it didn’t and we nearly saw an all-nuclear war (the Cuban crisis).

And then is the West with its serious concerns re Russian imperialism and the redraw of borders, which clearly there are some undertones in this crisis. Perhaps it’s not the dominant motive but Putin has been very vocal about the “biggest catastrophe of the XXI century” or the fall of the USSR. Of course he will dress this with security concerns (which as I said above there are).

There are intertwined interests and everything in between which makes the whole crisis even more complex to untangle. Usually these situations end up badly

[Ciudadana_Cero]

Great way to juxtapose integral theory to the Ukrainian conflict, I see parallels with the way the response of the west has been with Latam, specifically Cuba and Venezuela.

[fridgemagnett]

What does Mr Buciunas think about the Minsk accords? Not exactly empire building, are they?

[Marty]

Don’t disagree with anything said, but what isn’t discussed are the benefits to Russia if they don’t invade. I’m guessing Russia has its own cost/benefits equation and have serious motivations and not just doing it to test the waters.

[SJTRADESFUTURES]

Wow and last month you were all debating covid vaccines and mandates and ..now here we are
Time to switch off the drip.feed of news ...

[Mrkillerkane]

I respect this guys perspective as a Ukrainian but he seems a bit dismissive of Russias security concerns. I wonder how many seconds Washington would tolerate a Russian led cold war military alliance lining its canadian border with troops and missile batteries 30 years after the cold war.

[simontuffs]

Now we need a view from the people in Crimea, What threat are the people of Crimea to Ukraine. What is the threat of Ukraine on the Crimea.

[mlake]

The US has more than 1000 foreign military installations and this guy says Putin is trying to build an empire. What Putin says is simply "you cannot put NATO missiles (read US missiles) within 10 minutes of Moscow". Seems like Kennedy had a similar policy . I hope you find an actual Ukrainian scholar to talk to rather than a banker. Ukrainians are not of one opinion obviously.

[mattspintosmith]

In Spiral Dynamics terms, the problem for the West could be more at the orange level where Western democracies get corrupted by oligarch money. Then the rational analysis we hope for from orange leadership is less able to function. I can see Green level not helping in a country like Germany where there is too much attempting to "see the other side of the argument" instead of seeing violent, aggressive authoritarianism for what it is. A Second Tier response from the West would be flexible and dynamic - able to wrong foot plodding authoritarians.

[notgerhardnotrichter]

Lithuania is doing amazing job in terms of helping Ukraine, voicing true threats of Putin's regime & standing together with Taiwan !!! 💛💚❤

[MonaMarMag]

Jedno jest pewne Putin ( ani żaden inny Prezydent czy też Król lub Królowa ) nie jest ani żadnym Carem ani Bogiem .
Wszyscy jesteśmy wolnymi ludźmi a tutaj jesteśmy tylko przejazdem jak ktoś mądrze zauważył .
Tyle w temacie .

[joedavis]

... Russia is doing this to the Ukraine. The USA is doing this to its own people.

[olgakarpushina]

Why don't you try to be more unbiased and arrange a talk with someone from the Russian side? You aways hear one side of the story and it's annoying.