Ukraine in 2025
Surviving those who seek to profit from Fruits of Aggression
Ukraine - surviving those who seek to profit from the Fruits of Aggression.
A lesson in resilience and determination to survive.
This thread is playful yet passionate, weaving in the unshakeable resolve of Ukrainians with an unequivocal rejection of any proposal to partition their nation. All references are included for further digging into the tale.
Imagine a sunflower—bright, bold, and rooted in fields of golden grain—being told that it must split into pieces to suit someone else’s whims. Absurd, right? And yet, the idea that Ukraine, a sovereign nation with its head held high amidst chaos, could be carved up as if it were mere fruit spoils in the hands of aggressors—clearly forbidden by international law’s “fruits of aggression” principle.
Proposals to divide Ukraine as spoils of war don’t just ignore history—they rewrite it. They overlook how, under unimaginable pressure, Ukraine’s economy hasn’t crumbled but rather transformed.
Though not typically dubbed by that exact term, this notion stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the UN Charter’s forbidding of the acquisition of territory by force, enshrined in Article 2(4).
Ukraine is not a passive victim awaiting slicing—the nation is a masterpiece in motion. Since the calamitous days of February 2022, when Russian tanks rolled across the border, Ukrainians have answered with courage, determination, and a defiant refusal to be reduced to the distorted desires of indicted war criminals like Vladimir Putin—or absurdly, a flippant notion floated by figures like the convicted felon Donald Trump—to redivide their country.
Take Ukraine’s media for example: rather than broadcasting despair, the nine largest television networks banded together to launch the “United News Telemarathon,” a continuous stream of real, un-spun updates that helped shield the populace from disinformation. The result? A civic identity blooming faster than any propaganda could wilt it.
Or consider the ingenuity in reconstruction and de-mining. The HALO Trust has warned that Ukraine has become one of the most severely mined countries on earth. The anniversary sees an area larger than Greece at risk of landmines and unexploded ordnance. In total 138,503 km square of Ukraine has been affected by fighting and minelaying.
Ukrainians, armed with social enterprise models and emerging tech, mobilised to clear over 150,000 square kilometres of mine-laden ground—land laid waste by the very war that was supposed to divide them. Innovation, community, and commerce blend in this grounded rebellion.
Female entrepreneurs, making up half the nation’s small-business force, power a social-impact economy that prioritises rebuilding—and healing—over hollow profit. Women's entrepreneurship in 2025, is on the rise in Ukraine, playing a critical role in economic development, resilience, and recovery. Despite the challenging context, over two-thirds (68%) of Ukrainian women confirm they have considered starting their own business. The ability to pursue their dream appears to be a key motivation for starting the business as cited by almost half (48%) of female business owners in Ukraine. These findings come from a new Mastercard research, conducted ahead of International Women's Day 2025.
What motivates Ukrainian women to start a business?
Beyond pursuing their dream, other key motivations for Ukrainian women to start a business include the desire to work for themselves, feeling the timing was right, and having a promising idea they needed to bring to life – each cited by 29% of respondents.
The younger generation shows the highest entrepreneurial aspirations – 83% of Gen Z and millennial women dream of starting their own business, surpassing the global survey averages of 71% and 65% respectively.
Among priority areas for business development, Ukrainian women are considering online sales (22%), education, including tutoring (17%), agriculture (15%), and food and drink (15%). Notably, only 3% of Ukrainian women plan to start a business in IT, compared to 14% of men, indicating significant potential for increasing female presence in the technology sector
Meanwhile, at the global stage, the UN General Assembly did not mince words: Russia’s aggression was labeled a blatant violation of the Charter, and the international community affirmed that Ukraine’s sovereignty—and its people’s right to remain undivided—must not be compromised.
Three years after the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the General Assembly today adopted two resolutions reaffirming Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, calling for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in line with the United Nations Charter.
On February 24th, 2025 - The United Nations General Assembly:
Three years after the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the General Assembly adopted two resolutions reaffirming Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, calling for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in line with the United Nations Charter.
The tell tale signs of what Trump was aiming to do by carving up Ukrainian territory in favour of it’s new ally, Russia - were demonstrated when the United States’ introduced a rival text, “L.11” — which called on the Assembly to “implore a swift end to the conflict and further urge a lasting peace between Ukraine and the Russian Federation” — encountered resistance due to its omission of any reference to Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the victim’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In short, suggesting the partition of Ukraine is like inviting a sunflower to cut off its blossoms and call that a “fresh start.” This would be not just cruel—but illegal under international law. Ukraine’s story, from the trenches to the boardrooms, from media studios to farmland, is not one of fracturing under pressure, but of blooming against it.
References for further reading:
Legal foundations of sovereignty and aggression—especially Article 2(4) of the UN Charter and how Russia’s invasion violated it https://www.e-ir.info/2022/03/13/understanding-the-illegality-of-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/
The United News Telemarathon and Ukraine’s strategy against disinformation https://spectator.clingendael.org/nl/publicatie/resilience-amidst-war-ukraines-road-ahead
Humanitarian de-mining, social-impact enterprises, and Ukraine’s economic resilience https://www.visionofhumanity.org/resilience-in-times-of-adversity-transforming-ukraines-future
https://www.halotrust.org/news/three-years-of-war-make-ukraine-one-of-worlds-most-mined-countries/
UN General Assembly condemnation and accountability measures for Russia’s aggression https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/
Woman entrepreneurs in Ukraine - report update https://www.mastercard.com/news/eemea/en/newsroom/press-releases/en/2025-1/march/fuelled-by-their-dreams-68-of-ukrainian-women-consider-starting-a-business-reveals-mastercard-study/
Hope you enjoyed this quirky journey—firmly standing with Ukraine’s unity while turning the page to its lighthearted, yet unbreakable tomorrow.
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Beefy, your use of the majestic sunflower as a metaphor creates vivid imagery that serves to remind us of the beauty and resilience of the Ukrainian people. All I would add to your eloquent piece is something that happened within the first week of the full scale invasion. As russian tanks were heading for Kyiv, Biden, in a well-meaning gesture offered to evacuate Zelinskyy and his family to a safe destination. Zelinskyy's immediate response? "I don't need a lift I need ammo" Says it all.