Russia’s Invasion of the Ukraine: The Causes and Effects
Throughout history, countries around the world have been invaded by neighboring countries for many different reasons. Some have been invaded for political reasons, others, for religious reasons and some for territorial reasons, like Germany during World War 2. Whatever the case may be, all countries have been invaded in the past at one point in time. A recent example of an intrusion in today’s modern world would be Russia into Ukraine. This incident has different perspectives and has caused a lot of turmoil within the country and the rest of the world; the past, present and future of this event are all tied together.
For centuries, Ukraine has been a part of Russia, but like every country that has wanted to be independent from another country; the two countries have had a complicated history. Until 1991, Ukraine became completely independent from Russia. Since its early days, Ukraine has always had Russian roots simply because it was Russia. Most of the people who live in Ukraine speak Russian. Today, Ukraine is split in two, culturally and politically; the west being Pro-European supporters and the east being Pro-Russian supports. The two cannot seem to see eye to eye when it comes to political reasons in the country. Since 2010, the presidential election divided the country with western Ukraine voting heavily in favor of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. (Taylor 1) (Saeed, Gumuchian, and Mortensen 1)
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, wanted to take over Ukraine, Crimea specifically for geopolitical reasons. Vladimir Putin approved military action in Ukraine because it “reserves the right to defend its interests and the Russian speaking people who live there” (Saeed, Gu...
... middle of paper ...
...ng helmets, other non-lethal military aid to Ukraine." Fox News. FOX News Network, 17 Apr. 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
In the end, what we see in the situation in Ukraine is all about the actions that countries involved decide to take. The countries are all keeping a watchful eye on one another and the tension between them is thick. What the countries decide to do from here on out will affect the relationship of the countries and the people living in them in some way. If a country that is on Ukraine’s side does something to help Ukraine but angers Russia in the process, it could lead to some type of military conflict like war. Whatever the case may be in this battle, it is all in due time weather the two countries can work things out amongst themselves and keep the peace or, lead to a big military conflict like another war that will cause many casualties.
...h case the government will be more inclined to respond to it because of this (Robinson 1-2). With Crimea now part of Russia, perhaps the people of Ukraine can have some self-determined actions.
Up until 1954, Ukraine was a crucial and highly profitable member of the USSR. Strategically placed between Russia and the rest of Europe, Ukraine contains many valuable natural gas pipelines. Crimea is autonomously governed peninsula owned by Ukraine, about two and a half time the sizes of the Island of Hawaii. There are roughly twice as many ethnic Russians as there are Ukrainians and the majority feel closer ties to Russia [1]. Anti-government protests turned violent and in late February, the Ukrainian government fired on protestors, killing dozens and wounding hundreds [2]. On March 6th, the leaders of Crimea stated that they intended to join Russia and are planning a vote on March 16th [3].
The information war between the West and Russia had intensified once again and reached levels higher than the levels of Russo-Georgia war (2008). Russian media naturally is defending its annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol as a democratic referendum and justifying the military intervention as the protection of rights of the Russian population of Crimea. The referendum was very controversial since it had an unusually high voter turnout and the Pro-Russian vote has created speculations that the referendum has been falsified by the Russian government. The Western media condemns Russia for the anne...
tried to destroy the Ukrainian nation, tradition and culture. They have been trying to do this
The big crisis in Ukraine is starting to get out of hand. The government cannot even figure out what to do, and is getting kicked out of office. There are street protests happening all over Ukraine especially at Kyiv’s Independence Square. There is civil unrest against Yanukovych because he did not do what the people wanted to have. After everything is starting to cool down, Russian troops start to enter the country. The crisis was getting so far out of hand that the US and the EU had to figure out how to help, so they got involved in the crisis. The Ukraine conflict was triggered by Yanukovych declining the EU deal, and when everything was getting settled down in Ukraine, Russia invades Ukraine.
This paper focuses on the protests in Ukraine and seeks to examine the different aspects related to its effect on Ukraine’s relations with the international community. This paper also discusses the role of other political leaders inside Ukraine on the protests and some of the key actors involved. The approach used to write this paper is realistic. Ukraine’s self-interest combined with the economic and military power of Russia is the possible reason of the decision made by Ukraine. As this case basically deals with power and self-interests of countries, realism will best help to understand and comprehend this case.
Yanukovych has created the issues plaguing Ukraine by rejecting an economic deal with the European Union. The deal would have been beneficial to the Union which was looking for more economies to enter into the agreement, and a profitable decision for Ukrainians looking for a larger market to sell their goods, but “even a textbook case of "win-win" economic reform was still not strong enough to withstand the highly fractured nature of Ukraine's political alliances in this case” (Curran).
As Judt argues, the state is indispensable to bind people together. The problem is particularly acute for Russia, where citizens have no confidence in government and much of the social networks are now with the Soviet Union. But this recipe—Orthodoxy, Autocracy and Nationality tied with xenophobia and exceptionalism—we already tried. We must not deceive ourselves about our power and role in the international relations. Otherwise, what will be Putin’s Crimean War?
Before the Ukraine crisis even started, Russia and Ukraine have had an on-going history for over 1000 years. The relationship between these two countries has had its ups and downs including the recent bloodshed where several pro-Russian militants were killed by Ukrainian military forces. Clearly, the crisis is reaching a level of tension and violence it hasn't experienced in decades. As the world debates the fate of the Ukraine, one of the central questions seems to be, “While the Ukraine has had close ties to Russia for centuries, why does Russia now feel justified in taking over entire sections of the Ukraine, like Crimea?” Again, it starts with the fact that these two co...
...the task of the US and their European allies to bring the case to the European Court of Human Rights; the charge, a violation of its international treaty rights. Russia should also be required to conduct peace negotiations with the Chechens under the guidance of the various European Groups with a vested interest in the preservation of the borders of the surrounding countries. Threats of this can be conveyed to Russia, but this action, and anything that may come of it will not necessarily by abided by Russia. Russia has already shown that it will do what it wants concerning this issue. The US and its European allies are in apposition where threatening Russia with action is the only thing that they can do. Russia will not respond to these threats and will best only give them lip service. That this conflict be resolved in a manner favourable to Russia is essential. Russia cannot permit the secession of any part of its territory because it will lead to actions by other regions and the access to Caucasus oil fields cannot be lost. Any other action taken by a third party will only result in destabilization of Russia and termination of diplomatic relations between Russia and the west.
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe, that borders Russia north and northeast. Lately Ukraine has been making international headlines; the country is in complete and total turmoil or for lack of better words a crisis. What started as a request from the Ukrainian citizens for a change in government, limit the powers of the president, restore the country constitution back to its original form from 2004-2010, and get closer ties to the EU. Peaceful protesting turned in to a nightmare, when the then president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych failed to make good on his word. Instead, he made a deal with Russian president and late sought refuge in Russia. A few weeks later, he was ousted from this prompted the Ukraine revolution and the annexation of Crimea also known as the Crimean crisis. A revolution in Ukraine took place in February 2014 for a period of 5 days in Kiev the capital of Ukraine, after a series of violent events in the capital culminated with the ousting of the then-President of Ukraine. Immediately following the ousting of Yanukovych, immediate changes took place in Ukraine’s sociopolitical system. Starting with the a new interim government being installed and the constitution was restored to its original state, and plans to hold impromptu presidential elections in the months to follow. Before the revolution, Ukraine had been sunken by years of corruption, mismanagement, lack of growth economically , their currency value had dropped , and they had the inability to secure funding from public markets. Because of this, president Yanukovych wanted to establish closer relationship with the European Union (EU) and Russia in order to attract the money necessary to maintain Ukraine's standard of living without a...
Being a diverse country comprising of multi ethic population its quiet natural to have diverse opinion. A state needs to be pluralistic and must heed attention to the voice of the people. The Ukrainian governemnt has failed in that account. Ukraine is on the verge of civil war and it must be avoided at all cost.
Wilk, Andrzej. "The Military Consequences of the Annexation of Crimea | OSW." Www.OSW.waw.pl. N.p., 19 Mar. 2014. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. .
The Ukrainian crisis was a result of social upheaval against the former president, Mr. Yanukovich, who decided to pull out of the association with the European Union (BBC News, 2014). The upheaval that lasted for about two months resulted in more than 100 people killed (NY Times, 2014). In February 22 Mr. Yanukovich disappears and the opposition takes control over the government in Ukraine (BBC News, 2014). Upon learning that Mr. Yanukovich is currently residing in Kazakhstan, the new government of Ukraine requests from Kazakhstan the extradition of the overthrown president, who is accused of crime against the Ukrainian citizenry.
... and tension will use the leverage gained from interdependence as a weapon as against each other. E.g., Russia is using its power as a main supplier of gas and oil to weaken the harsh international condemnation.