Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper since 1995

Let us hope that no nation's people will have to choose again between a Hitler and a Stalin.

History’s arguments over who did what to whom during World War II will probably never end. But as the 64th anniversary of the Allied Victory is celebrated, the world would do well to remember that no country suffered more than Ukraine to achieve this awful triumph.

An estimated eight million Ukrainians were killed during the war, civilians and soldiers, and another two million went in exile abroad or were jailed. In all, a quarter of the nation’s people were lost, industries were left in ruins, cities and villages destroyed.

The surrender of Nazi Germany did not liberate Ukrainians from all their oppressors. Ukrainians still had a murderous Josef Stalin to contend with until his death in 1953. They had to wait until 1991 for the tottering Soviet Union to collapse.

Living on the main battleground between Hitler and Stalin, the 20th century’s worst mass murderers, forced awful choices on Ukrainians. Millions sided with Stalin; a much smaller number went with Hitler. But the dominant emotions of most Ukrainians were probably survival, the desire to be rid of both dictators and a deep longing to build an independent nation.

Anyone who played a role in combat is well into their 80s now. Most of these survivors were low-level soldiers or cannon fodder for the enemy.

While war criminals deserve punishment to this day, Ukraine’s leaders would do well to take a more statesmanlike approach to these lingering disputes while pressing for a full accounting of historical events. They should look for ways to strengthen national unity, rather than lead the name-calling bandwagon over who was a “Nazi” or a “Communist” during World War II.

Let us also hope that no nation’s people will have to choose again between a Hitler or a Stalin.