Russia’s Key Distortions of World War II History
Who is responsible for unleashing World War II?
Published
28.04.2025
Without a doubt, the responsibility for starting World War II lies with Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
And the Soviet Union bears a significant share of the responsibility:
- Stalin facilitated the Nazis’ rise to power in Germany by forbidding German communists from forming a united front with the socialists to oppose the Nazis;
- By signing the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the Secret Protocol in August 1939, Germany and the USSR established their spheres of influence across Europe and agreed on the partitioning of Poland. In September–October, the Wehrmacht and the Red Army put these agreements into effect. The two totalitarian regimes remained de facto allies until June 22, 1941. The Soviet Union supplied Germany with food, petroleum products, and raw materials for its military industry. During that time, the Nazis occupied Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Yugoslavia, and Greece, while the Soviets invaded Finland and annexed Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Romanian Bessarabia.
The issue of the USSR’s responsibility remained obscured for a long time and, to a large extent, still is due to the Soviet Union’s contribution to the victory over Germany.
Part of the responsibility also lies with democratic countries that pursued a policy of appeasement and allowed Hitler to annex Austria, entered into the Munich Agreement, and failed to provide sufficient assistance to Poland in 1939. This period is known as the Phoney War, during which France and the United Kingdom declared war on Germany but conducted virtually no land operations until 1940, when Germany attacked France. Russia exploits this narrative, promoting the idea that “everyone is to blame,” thus obscuring the Soviet Union’s role in starting the war. However, despite certain hesitations, appeasement of the aggressor, and disregard for the interests of smaller countries, the Western democracies did not commit acts of aggression. Rather, through flawed policies, they attempted to prevent a major war. In other words, they did not initiate World War II.
The accountability lies with the aggressors.
*Based on materials from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security and the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance
Is it true that “Russia saved Europe from fascism”?
Published
28.04.2025
No, that is not true. Such a statement is a gross manipulation.
- Firstly, it was not Russia (nor the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic – RSFSR) that participated in World War II, but the Soviet Union (USSR) — a state composed of multiple union republics, with Russia being only one of them.
- Secondly, the victory in World War II was not achieved by the USSR alone (and certainly not by Russia alone), but by the anti-Hitler coalition, whose key members — in addition to the USSR — were the United States and the United Kingdom, along with dozens of other countries across the Americas, Europe, and Asia, including China.
- Thirdly, the expulsion of the Nazis from Central Europe was not simply “liberation.” In many cases, it was a replacement of Nazi occupation (a regime allied with Hitler) with Soviet occupation.
Between 1944 and 1945, most of Central Europe came under Soviet occupation. Later, communist parties loyal to the Kremlin seized power in these countries, and regimes modeled after Stalin’s USSR were established. This process was accompanied by repression, expropriation, and other totalitarian practices. The Red Army also committed war crimes (including mass rape, murder, and looting of civilians) not only in Germany or Nazi satellite states, but also in the so-called “liberated” countries such as Czechoslovakia and Poland, etc.
After the defeat of Nazi Germany, the USSR occupied Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, and East Germany, establishing puppet authoritarian regimes. These countries later joined the Warsaw Pact, a military alliance opposing NATO. The Kremlin brutally crushed democratic uprisings in Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968). In Poland, a similar scenario nearly unfolded in the early 1980s, though it was ultimately avoided.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, these Eastern European states left the Soviet bloc and became members of the European Union and NATO.
In 1944–1945, the USSR essentially demanded “compensation” from its Western allies for its role in the war against Hitler in the form of geopolitical control over Central Europe. Later, the Soviet Union used its participation in the war as justification for maintaining its sphere of influence in Europe.
Modern Russia continues to promote the narrative that it deserves a “special status” and “consideration of its interests” solely based on the USSR’s role in the 1945 victory over Nazi Germany. However, it is crucial to remember that the Kremlin directly contributed to the Nazis’ rise to power, and the USSR entered World War II as an aggressor and ally of Nazi Germany, remaining so from August 1939 until June 22, 1941.
It is also important to understand that Nazism was morally and legally condemned, and its ideology was declared criminal and inhumane. In contrast, the crimes of the USSR (including mass deportations, the destruction of the Dnipro HPP dam, the Katyn massacre, and numerous war crimes on “liberated” territories) have not received such condemnation. This allows the Kremlin to continue manipulating the memory of WWII, its geopolitical consequences, and to exploit that memory to justify new crimes, including Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine.
*Based on materials from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security and the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance
What was Ukraine’s contribution to the victory over Nazism in World War II?
Published
28.04.2025
Over 7 million Ukrainians took part in military operations within the armed forces of various Allied countries. Nearly all of Ukraine’s industrial facilities were converted to support the war effort. Ukraine’s direct human losses during World War II exceeded 8 million people (approximately 25% of the population), while economic losses amounted to 285 million rubles of the time. The country suffered immense destruction as 100% of its territory was occupied during the war.
- Participation in military operations
- Over 7 million Ukrainians served in all theaters of WWII, within the armed forces of the Allies:
o Red Army – approximately 7 million. Throughout the war, Ukrainians made up 23% of the Red Army’s total personnel;
o Poland – 120,000 (in 1939);
o United States – up to 80,000 (in 1945);
o Canada – up to 45,000 (in 1945);
o France – up to 5,000 (in 1940);
o About 100,000 individuals also served in the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), which waged a partisan war against both Nazi Germany and the USSR.
- By late summer 1941, 3.2 million soldiers from Ukraine had been mobilized into the Red Army. Ukrainians constituted 50% of the Southwestern Front forces. Between 1943 and 1945, an additional 4.5 million people were recruited. From the second half of 1943 onward, Ukrainians made up 60–80% of the personnel in the Ukrainian Fronts.
- Ukrainians held high-ranking command positions in the Red Army, including Hryhorii Kulyk, Semen Tymoshenko, Ivan Cherniakhovsky, Andriy Hrechko, Andriy Yeremenko, Kyrylo Moskalenko, Pylyp Zhmachenko, and Rodion Malynovsky.
- Some 2.5 million Ukrainians were awarded orders and medals, 2,000 Ukrainian Red Army soldiers were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Ivan Kozhedub, a legendary fighter pilot, was honored three times, and 32 Ukrainians were double recipients.
- Ukraine is also linked to the formal end of the war: on September 2, 1945, General Kuzma Derevyanko, a native of Uman district, signed Japan’s unconditional surrender on behalf of the USSR.
- Work for defense industry and support for the economy
- Ukrainians, including children, worked in defense industries, agriculture, and manufacturing, ensuring the army was supplied with weapons and food, while maintaining the economy behind the front lines.
- Around 3.5 million residents of the Ukrainian SSR were evacuated to the USSR’s rear regions, along with 550 industrial enterprises, 70 universities, 40 theaters, and numerous museums and their staff.
- Human losses
Ukraine suffered over 8 million deaths in World War II, amounting to about 25% of its pre-war population.
- Dramatic destruction of territory
- 100% of Ukraine’s territory was occupied at different stages of the war. The front line crossed the country twice (and more in some regions): first during the Wehrmacht’s advance in 1941, and again during the Soviet counteroffensive in 1943–1944.
*Based on materials from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security and the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance
Did Russia suffer the most in World War II?
Published
28.04.2025
No, that is not true. Russia claims the greatest losses in WWII in order to appeal to the sense of guilt of the Germans and the sense of obligation of other countries.
- Firstly, it was not Russia (nor the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic – RSFSR) that participated in World War II, but the Soviet Union (USSR) — a state composed of multiple union republics, with Russia being only one of them.
- Secondly, although Russia accounts for more than 50% of the total human losses of the Soviet Union, the greatest demographic losses (in relation to the total population) and destruction were suffered by Ukraine and Belarus. These republics were fully occupied and had the most intense combat operations on their territory. The largest number of Holocaust victims in the USSR also occurred in Ukraine and Belarus.
- Thirdly, the human losses of the entire Soviet Union are comparable to those of China.
IMPORTANT: The figures of Soviet losses have been and continue to be a subject of manipulation. The figures outlined below are averages, and these are the numbers most often cited in scientific assessments.
The total losses of the Soviet Union were 26-27 million people. Of these, approximately 14 million were from the RSFSR. Direct human losses in Ukraine during World War II exceeded 8 million people (more than 5 million civilians and more than 3 million mobilized into the Red Army). Therefore, Russia accounts for over 50% of the total human losses of the Soviet Union, while Ukraine accounts for 25-30%. However, Ukraine suffered more significant demographic damage than Russia: Russia lost about 13% of its population, while Ukraine lost 25%. The population of Ukraine decreased from 42 million in 1940 to 32 million in 1945 due to deaths, diseases, famine, evacuations, migration to the rear, and deportations to Germany.
The Ukrainian SSR also suffered far greater destruction – 100% of its territory (as well as Belarus and the Baltic States) was occupied, with the front line moving through the entire country twice (globally twice, and more in some regions) during the German offensive in 1941 and the Red Army’s offensive in 1943-1944. In contrast, 13 regions and territories in the RSFSR were occupied, which is 3% of the total area of the republic.
Globally speaking, the human losses of the Soviet Union are comparable to those of China. The official estimate of the People’s Republic of China is 35 million deaths (the calculation methodology is unknown; conservative estimates by Western historians suggest 17–18 million, of which over 4 million were military personnel and the rest civilians).
In Europe, the countries with the highest losses were Germany (approximately 6.5 million) and Poland (6 million, over 3 million of whom were Jews exterminated by the Nazis). Japan’s losses amounted to 3.8 million.
Russia claims the highest number of WWII casualties in order to appeal to the guilt of the Germans and to the sense of indebtedness of other countries. It has been able to do so largely because, for a long time, Russia and the Soviet Union were treated as synonymous in public discourse, political rhetoric, and even historiography. The USSR was often referred to as “Russia”, and after the Russian Federation became an independent state, everything related to the USSR was retroactively attributed to it. Meanwhile, the contributions of other nations and union republics remained largely invisible. Unfortunately, this inertia still persists to this day.
*Based on materials from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security and the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance
Why do Ukraine and Europe celebrate Victory Day on May 8, While Russia marks it on May 9?
Published
28.04.2025
There are reasons for this:
- First, the act of surrender was signed in Karlshorst (a suburb of Berlin) on May 8 at 22:43 Central European Time (UTC+1), which was already 00:43 on May 9 Moscow time.
- Second, celebrating Victory Day on May 9 has symbolic significance for Moscow and is intended to emphasize the idea that Moscow is the “center of the world,” with Moscow time as the point of reference.
Europe celebrates Victory Day over Nazism on May 8 because the war in Europe officially ended on May 8, 1945. The ceasefire was declared at 23:01 on May 8 Central European Time (UTC+1), and the act of surrender was signed in Karlshorst (a suburb of Berlin) at 22:43. In Moscow time, this occurred at 00:43 on May 9. However, this was the second document confirming Germany’s surrender.
The first surrender act was signed on May 7, 1945 in Reims, France, on territory controlled by the Western Allies.
However, Stalin demanded that the surrender be signed in Germany because Berlin was the capital of the Third Reich, and its capture by the Red Army had symbolic significance. Participation in key events, such as accepting the surrender in Berlin, increased the international authority of the Soviet Union. The surrender act on May 8 essentially reiterated the act signed on May 7.
Over time, the Soviet Union turned Victory Day into a propaganda tool. In 1965, twenty years after the end of World War II, May 9 became an official holiday and a symbol of the Soviet Union’s power and military strength. Active celebration helped foster patriotic education and strengthen belief in communist ideals. Marking Victory Day on May 9 emphasized that Moscow was the “center of the world” and Moscow time was the “point of reference.”
In modern Russia, unfortunately, this day has transformed into a so-called “victory cult”. The celebration of Victory Day has taken on elements of a quasi-religious cult, with carnival-like features and necromancy, and has become part of aggressive war propaganda.
Ukraine, however, aligns with European practices of commemorating the war and its victims, and therefore observes Victory and Remembrance Day on May 8. On May 9, Ukraine celebrates Europe Day — the day the Schuman Declaration was signed, marking the beginning of the European Coal and Steel Community, which eventually transformed into the European Union.
*Based on materials from the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security and the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance
Additional sources:
- https://spravdi.gov.ua/top-5-mifiv-pro-drugu-svitovu-vijnu/
- https://uinp.gov.ua/informaciyni-materialy/zhurnalistam/informaciyni-materialy-do-dnya-pamyati-ta-peremogy-nad-nacyzmom-u-drugiy-svitoviy-viyny-8-travnya
When did World War II begin for Ukraine and Ukrainians?
Published
05.05.2025
World War II began for Ukrainians on September 1, 1939, when German airplanes bombed Lviv, which at the time was part of Poland.
For Ukraine, the war started on September 1, 1939, with Nazi Germany’s attack on Poland — a country that then included parts of Ukrainian lands.
This is an important and often surprising piece of information for people from post-Soviet countries because the Soviet Union propagated the myth that World War II began for all Soviet citizens on June 22, 1941, the day Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union. But that is not true.
On September 1, 1939, German bombers struck Lviv. Soon after, Ternopil, Stanislaviv (now Ivano-Frankivsk), Lutsk, Drohobych, Sarny, Yavoriv and some other cities were also targeted. On September 17, the Soviet Union entered the war as an ally of Nazi Germany. During the Soviet invasion of Poland, Ukrainians fought on both sides — in both the Polish and Soviet armies. Over 100,000 Ukrainians fought in the ranks of the Polish army defending against the invasion.
Soon after, Ukrainians were also forced to take part in the Soviet Union’s aggressive war against Finland in 1939–1940, serving in the Red Army.
As a result of an agreement between the Nazis and Communists to carve up Central and Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union annexed Western Ukraine and Western Belarus in 1939 and occupied the Baltic States, Bessarabia, and Northern Bukovina in 1940.
Which country can be credited for the victory over Nazism in World War II?
Published
05.05.2025
The defeat of Nazism was a shared achievement of all nations and peoples who fought in World War II.
- The World War II affected much of the planet: 61 countries took part, and warfare took place in around 40 countries across Europe, North Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. According to various estimates, the war took lives of 50 to 85 million people.
- The greatest contributions to the defeat of Nazism were made by the Soviet Union (not to be confused with modern-day Russia), the United States, and Great Britain. Soviet forces liberated much of Eastern Europe and captured Berlin.
However, it is important to remember that the Kremlin played a direct role in enabling the Nazis’ rise to power in Germany. The USSR entered the war as an aggressor and Nazi Germany’s ally, and remained one from August 1939 to June 22, 1941.
- Starting in early 1942, the United States began supplying military equipment, vehicles, weapons, and fuel to the USSR through the Lend-Lease program — a lifeline that was crucial to Soviet survival in the early stages of the war.
- Great Britain joined the war from the very beginning, with British forces fighting at sea and in the air. British industry played a vital role in supporting its military.
- China, France (the French Resistance and later the Free French Forces), Poland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, and other countries of the British Commonwealth also made significant contributions.
- The partisan resistance movements in Yugoslavia and Greece were also important to the Allied war effort.
What does Ukraine commemorate on May 8?
Published
05.05.2025
On May 8, Ukraine — alongside other European countries — commemorates the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in World War II.
This day serves as a reminder that World War II began due to the collusion of two totalitarian regimes: National Socialism (Nazism) in Germany and Communism in the USSR, as well as the initial unwillingness of powerful nations to confront the aggressors.
Between 1939 and 1945, both totalitarian regimes committed numerous crimes against humanity, war crimes, and acts of genocide on Ukrainian territory. As a result, Ukrainians, Jews, Crimean Tatars, and other ethnic groups living in what is now Ukraine suffered tremendous losses.
When and why did Ukraine begin commemorating Victory Day on May 8 instead of May 9?
Published
05.05.2025
Ukraine officially embraced May 8 as the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in World War II in 2023. This shift is deeply symbolic of the country’s move toward European traditions and a rejection of the Soviet-style glorification of military power. Instead, the focus is on honoring the victims of the war.
In 2023, the Ukrainian Parliament passed the Law “On the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in World War II 1939–1945,” which officially established May 8 as the day Ukraine commemorates victory over Nazism and remembers the war victims, together with the rest of Europe.
The gradual transition to this European tradition began after the Revolution of Dignity (2013–2014). This tradition is not just about changing the date, but also about changing the focus — from militarism and the cult of victory to the contributions of different communities to defeating Nazism, and to the suffering and loss experienced by individuals during the war.
The Day of Remembrance and Victory serves as a reminder that World War II began as a result of a pact between two totalitarian regimes:
the National Socialist (Nazi) regime in Germany and the Communist regime in the Soviet Union. It also reflects the silent unwillingness of the world’s most powerful states to resist the aggressors. Between 1939 and 1945, both regimes committed numerous crimes against humanity, war crimes, and acts of genocide on Ukrainian soil causing enormous losses to the Ukrainian, Jewish, Crimean Tatar, and other peoples living within the borders of modern-day Ukraine.