Using accurate terminology is vital for understanding what is at stake during a major war. Hence, Ukraine’s armed struggle against Russia’s invasion is not simply a defensive operation or a “counteroffensive.” It is an existential war of national liberation through which Ukraine can succeed in expunging centuries of Russification and enforced assimilation. Americans should understand Ukraine’s predicament, as the United States itself was founded through liberation from the British Empire. Ukraine’s victory will also encourage other subject nations in Russia to aspire for independence.