Why people heroize those who beat TRC

Kolesnyk struck a TRC employee. Collage: Glavnoe

On February 17, a video spread online featuring "Kolos" footballer Danylo Kolesnyk, who struck a TRC employee while trying to protect a man with three children from illegal mobilization.

Kolesnyk instantly became a folk hero. The video of the fight went viral, shared by thousands of people on social media with enthusiastic comments, and his subsequent arrest by police caused universal condemnation. And this despite the fact that in the footage the athlete did nothing heroic, rather the opposite – he punches a person in military uniform in the face. And the army in Ukraine now has an almost sacred status.

And here we encounter a paradoxical situation. The authorities, UGCC and OCU publicly promote war "until victory," and also encourage and support the TRC in every way. And this is logical: if military commissars stop their work, there will be no one to fight.

And here we have a shocking contradiction – the people not only do not support mobilization, they openly hate TRC personnel. Therefore, any statements by "patriotic" denominations that Ukrainians are ready to endure shelling, sit without light and heat "for as long as necessary" causes bewilderment: if we are indeed ready to fight to the last, why then does no one want to do it themselves? Why are there such a fantastic number of unauthorized absences in the army? Why do people call the TRC "manhunters," organize to rescue "draft dodgers" from them, why do they heroize those who dared to fight back against military commissars?

And also, why does the UGCC head Sviatoslav Shevchuk publicly call for war until victory, while he himself hides "draft dodger" workers in temples? Why do OCU bloggers delete their posts supporting the TRC due to massive hate in the comments?

Shevchuk's fellow Catholic bishop Vitaliy Kryvytskyi recently stated, why do we need this war if in 15 years there will be no one left in Ukraine? And there is nothing to object to him.

Any war ends, and the current one will end too. And the sooner, the more Ukrainians will be alive after it. The later, the fewer. And here it would be good to remember the slogan popular among OCU and UGCC: "Ukraine above all." If, of course, Ukraine stands for Ukrainians here.

Read also