By Raina Lath
As most of us know by now, Russia has invaded Ukraine and as tensions escalate and news rapidly changes, many begin to wonder what exactly is the point of all this.
Why did Russia invade Ukraine?
As with most politics, we must start at the beginning, decades and decades ago. Ukraine was the backbone of the Soviet Union until it declared independence in 1991 following the fall of the Soviet Union. As this happened, NATO extended eastward, eventually including the majority of Europe's former communist countries. Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, all of which were originally part of the Soviet Union, joined NATO, as did Poland, Romania, and others.
As a result, NATO, which was formed to fight the Soviet Union, moved several miles nearer to Moscow, bordering it directly. In 2008, it indicated that it hoped to enlist Ukraine someday however, this is still viewed as a long-shot.
The Russian president has described NATO's expansion as dangerous, and the potential of Ukraine joining the alliance as an ongoing threat to Russia. Russia's concerns about NATO have been increasingly harsh as the country has grown more aggressive and militarily powerful.
In interviews and speeches, Putin has highlighted that Ukraine is culturally, linguistically, and politically a part of Russia. While a portion of Ukraine's largely Russian-speaking population in the east shares these sentiments, a more nationalist, Ukrainian-speaking population in the west has long advocated for closer integration within Europe.
Putin gave the US and NATO a list of security requests in December. The most important of them is an assurance that Ukraine will never join NATO and that the organisation will reduce its military presence in Eastern and Central Europe - suggestions that the US and its allies have consistently dismissed.
As the fall of the soviet union was a disaster, Putin wants to reconstitute as much of the Soviet Union as possible as he is getting older. He feels the need to reclaim the former Soviet republic.
How has the US and other countries responded?
President Biden made it known in early December that his administration would not consider sending soldiers to fight for Ukraine, emphasising, among other things, the fact that Ukraine is not a member of NATO and hence does not fall under its mutual defence obligation.
Instead, the US has delivered anti-tank and anti-aircraft weaponry to Ukraine, strengthened American military presence in NATO nations bordering Russia, and sent 8,500 troops to Eastern Europe on high alert. Officials in the US have lately warned that if Putin invades Ukraine, the US will support a Ukrainian rebellion. Although the main threat the US opposes to Russia is the economic sanctions it would impose. These sanctions could be detrimental to the Russian economy which would thereby incentivize Putin to step away from Ukraine. As Russia has already begun invading Ukraine, US, UK, Japan and many other nations have already issued sanctions on Russia making it clear that if Russia continues, greater sanctions will be put in place.
However, in Europe, sanctions applied in response to a Russian invasion of Ukraine would harm Europe significantly more than the United States. Europe has significant trade links with Russia and it is heavily reliant on Russian gas supply.
Let’s just hope that things don’t get any worse.
Sources:
Comments