The acute problems created by the war are compounded by the problems created by the poverty that existed before. There is a giant divide between modern Ukraine and its parents. The modern Ukranians have adapted to an international community brought on by the advent of the internet and blend right into the European identity, while the previous generation struggles to find relevance from a mixed history of corruption and nepotism.

A large part of the struggle for Ukraine is to answer the question of what it means to be Ukrainian. Thanks to this conflict the country is going through a renaissance of thinking about its identity, and it is creating a sort of social glue that never existed before.