Dmytro Bintsarovskyi

Theologische Universiteit Utrecht

[Dmytro Bintsarovskyi @bintsarovskyi]

My piece on some misconceptions about the war in Ukraine.
In NL, I am preaching to the choir here (although I am not sure about some reformatorische kringen), but American conservative Christians are less unanimous in expressing solidarity with Ukraine.
https://t.co/Wq1JqtztN5

[Dmytro Bintsarovskyi @bintsarovskyi]

@RpsAgainstTrump I see no point in having JD Vance - a healthy mini-Trump- become Acting President. Why are you promoting this idea?

[Dmytro Bintsarovskyi @bintsarovskyi]

@roddreher But Orthodox believers in Ukraine have double cause for joy! Christ is risen!

[Dmytro Bintsarovskyi @bintsarovskyi]

@markdtooley A simpler church structure and an emphasis on personal decisions (incl. adult baptism) resonate with American individualism.

[Dmytro Bintsarovskyi @bintsarovskyi]

@FeserEdward America still has internal checks that limit how far Trump can go.
But this rhetoric gives cover to truly tyrannical regimes in dealing with their neighbors: “If America can, why can’t we?”

[Dmytro Bintsarovskyi @bintsarovskyi]

@megbasham It’s not just Trump vs. Harris. Support for Trump also meant backing him in primaries, taking his “Christianity” at face value, abandoning moral categories in foreign policy, excusing his flattery and boasting, and resorting to whataboutism for his every lie or wrongdoing.

[Dmytro Bintsarovskyi @bintsarovskyi]

@RpsAgainstTrump US: Security guarantees are possible only if the war ends.
Ukraine: How do we end it?
US: Per Russia, you must leave Donbas (and we won’t pressure them to change this pre-condition).
Ukraine: So we have to leave Donbas for guarantees?
US: That's a lie.

[Dmytro Bintsarovskyi @bintsarovskyi]

@RLHeinrichs It is indeed in our shared interest, but that does not contradict the point Kate was making: that Ukraine had no choice but to fight against the aggressor, whereas the US chose to fight against Iran

[Dmytro Bintsarovskyi @bintsarovskyi]

@AndrewTWalker I regret that Democrats refused to take a stand. But I struggle with how biblical it is to appeal to “empathy for Ukrainians” after cutting off aid, allowing Russia to bomb Ukraine in ways it didn’t dare under Biden, and adopting a neutral stance re a war with a clear aggressor.

[Dmytro Bintsarovskyi @bintsarovskyi]

@AdamKinzinger @michaelgwaltz A year of neutrality has delivered nothing. It has only eroded America’s moral standing, with nothing to show for it in return.

[Dmytro Bintsarovskyi @bintsarovskyi]

@IAPonomarenko The Americans might say words are powerless anyway. I am afraid we’ve reached a point where this U.S. administration’s words really mean nothing to Ukrainians.
Thank you to Europeans and others for your words of support - from you, they truly matter to Ukraine.

[Dmytro Bintsarovskyi @bintsarovskyi]

@Dzokavaac @mobbs_mentality @TracySabolDC Ukraine is widely regarded as the heart of Evangelicalism in Eastern Europe.

[Dmytro Bintsarovskyi @bintsarovskyi]

Blaming the U.S. for the war while hoping for the U.S. to end it — a classic.
As the saying goes: the two things Russians want most are to destroy America — and to get a green card.

[Kate from Kharkiv @BohuslavskaKate]

Russians are convinced: Ukraine will capitulate — Der Spiegel

The German magazine interviewed Lev Gudkov, director of the “Levada Center” — public opinion research institute in Russia — about Russian attitudes after nearly four years of war:

- 66% support the Abu Dhabi negotiations, while only 26% favor continuing the war — the lowest figure since 2022.

- Russians pin their hopes on Donald Trump and the U.S. to pressure Ukraine‼️

- They believe the war will end only on Putin’s terms and that Ukraine will surrender.

- 70% would approve halting the war now, yet 60% would not agree to withdrawing Russian troops.

- 80% blame the U.S., 70% blame NATO, and only 6–8% blame Russia itself.

- 92% think Russia is surrounded by enemies — the highest level since 1994.

- The most aggressive attitudes are found in Moscow’s wealthy and educated circles.

- A majority expect the war to last another year or longer.

[Dmytro Bintsarovskyi @bintsarovskyi]

@RLHeinrichs Thanks for sharing this analysis and for your position.
Blaming the U.S. for the war while hoping for the U.S. to end it — a classic.
As the saying goes: the two things Russians want most are to destroy America — and to get a green card.

[Dmytro Bintsarovskyi @bintsarovskyi]

@mobbs_mentality True. Yet in contrast to the previous pope, Leo XIV has taken a clearer moral position on the war in Ukraine, - at a time when both-sidesism has become more widespread, partly due to the new U.S. administration

[Dmytro Bintsarovskyi @bintsarovskyi]

@IAPonomarenko Lasting peace will result from a balance of power. If, as Trump repeatedly claims, Ukraine is the weaker side, then it makes sense to support the weaker side. Weapon deliveries escalate conflicts with symmetric military potentials, but deescalate those with asymmetric ones.

[Dmytro Bintsarovskyi @bintsarovskyi]

@mobbs_mentality Russians want to impress Trump. In a world governed by moral norms and constraints, the use of force against civilians rather than military targets would be regarded as a sign of weakness. In Trump’s worldview, however, it is treated as leverage and evidence of strength.

[Dmytro Bintsarovskyi @bintsarovskyi]

@nfergus "impeded progress toward a peace deal for Ukraine" means "helped Ukraine avoid capitulation", right?

[Dmytro Bintsarovskyi @bintsarovskyi]

@FeserEdward @Pontifex Observer status is enough (as at the UN), since the Board will likely turn into a circus—and it is more dignified to watch than to join it.

[Dmytro Bintsarovskyi @bintsarovskyi]

@FeserEdward But the U.S. has also primaries where the same candidate won three times in a row.

[Dmytro Bintsarovskyi @bintsarovskyi]

@dangambardello Trump’s aggressive threats -> countries pushing back -> Trump proclaims a victory but in fact retreats.
The same pattern with trade policy, the Mineral deal with Ukraine, commercial diplomacy with China, tariff threat over Greenland