I just read an appealing article about Ukraine. Written by a woman who is half Russian and half Ukrainian, it touches on some things that have largely escaped attention of the media so far. She argues that all the press about the troubles between the two nations comes from Russia. Official Russia, that is. It is an invented problem in search of a military solution. In other words, Putin’s insistence on the security of Russian-speaking Ukrainians is nothing but an excuse to intervene. Dividing the country is the ultimate objective. In fact, there is no strife between Ukrainian and Russian speakers in Ukraine. Both languages are fine wherever one goes in the country. The appealing bit in this article is that nationalism, and especially bloodthirsty nationalism, is a political invention. Otherwise, it does not exist. Nationalism, what nationalism? Thinking of similar divisions closer to home, as it were, I cannot but wonder. Although national divisions are often abused for political purposes, they are also real enough. As well as deadly enough. Would that Ukraine’s national divisions were nothing but Putin’s inventions. And would that former Yugoslavia’s national divisions were of the same ilk.