Russia’s Attack on Ukraine is Defensive, Not Imperialist – Indian Expert

Russia - ukrain conflict

Political Desk, Delhi – Magazine: Russia and Ukraine are the two largest countries of Europe. However, Russia (17 million square kilometers) is 28 times larger than Ukraine in area. In terms of population, Russia is far ahead of Ukraine. The population of Russia is 144 million, while that of Ukraine is 44 million. Fertility rates have also decreased in both countries since 1990. Currently there is a 1.5 fertility rate in Russia and 1.2 in Ukraine.

Russia - ukrain conflict

Ukraine has deep cultural, economic and political ties with Russia, being part of the Soviet Union in the past. Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, is also known as the ‘mother of Russian cities’. The cultural influence of this city is as much as that of a city like Moscow or St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia.

The separation of Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union is considered by many Russian politicians to be a big mistake in history. Many Russian politicians see the loss of permanent hold over Ukraine and Western clout in Ukraine as a blow to Russia’s international reputation. Russia has been vocal about protecting the 8 million Russian people living in Ukraine, Ukraine is also important for Russia from the point of view of trade. Russia does not want Ukraine to become a member of NATO at any cost. Russia believes that if Ukraine joins NATO, then this security organization will try to tighten the noose on Russia.

What is Russia-Ukraine dispute?

The dispute is that Ukraine wants to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Russia is opposing it. NATO is a military alliance between the US and the West, so Russia does not want its neighboring country to become a NATO friend.

This whole dispute over NATO countries has given rise to the possibility of a new war in which more than one country can participate. Russia has deployed 1,25,000 of its troops along the 450-km-long international border with Ukraine. These soldiers have been deployed on the eastern and north-eastern border of Ukraine. Russia has also deployed its warships in the Black Sea which are equipped with dangerous missiles. Russia annexed Crimea, an important port area in Ukraine, in 2014, and the conflict has never ended since then.

Russia has also deployed drones along the Ukrainian border, which can destroy any military base in the blink of an eye. Russia has surrounded Ukraine from all sides. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has divided the world into two factions. On one side is Russia, which is supported by countries like China and on the other side is Ukraine, which is getting support from US, UK and other NATO countries.

NATO Gives Support to Ukraine

Despite not being a member of NATO, Ukraine has good relations with NATO. Ukraine has also urged the US-led NATO military alliance to impose economic sanctions on Russia to prevent a possible invasion by thousands of Russian troops. Ukraine is not a member of NATO, but NATO has clearly stated that it is committed to maintaining the sovereignty of the former Soviet republic. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has also warned Russia. Stoltenberg has clearly warned that Russia will have to pay a heavy price if it shows any kind of aggression or military action against Ukraine. The NATO Secretary-General says that Western countries can also take economic sanctions and other measures against Russia.

When the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991, 15 new countries were formed, including Ukraine. In the true sense, Ukraine got independence in the year 1991. However, Ukraine understands from the beginning that it can never compete with Russia on its own and therefore wants to join a military organization that can protect its independence. There is no better organization than NATO that can defend Ukraine.

Ukraine neither has a large army like Russia nor modern weapons. Ukraine has 1.1 million soldiers while Russia has 2.9 million. Ukraine has 98 fighter planes, Russia has about 1500 fighter planes. Russia also has more attack helicopters, tanks and armored vehicles than Ukraine.

What is NATO

NATO is a military group consisting of 30 countries such as America, Canada, Britain and France. Now the challenge before Russia is that some of its neighboring countries have already joined NATO. Among them are countries like Estonia and Latvia, which were previously part of the Soviet Union. Now if Ukraine also becomes a part of NATO, then Russia will be surrounded by its enemy countries from all sides and countries like America will dominate it. If Ukraine becomes a member of NATO and Russia attacks it in the future, then under the agreement all 30 countries of this group will consider it an attack against themselves and will also provide military assistance to Ukraine.

Vladimir Lenin, the hero of the Russian Revolution, once said that ‘to lose Ukraine would be like cutting off its head from a body for Russia’. This is the reason why Russia is opposing Ukraine’s entry into NATO. Ukraine is located on the western border of Russia. When Russia was invaded during World War II, which lasted from 1939 to 1945, Ukraine was the only region from which Russia defended its border. Now if Ukraine went with NATO countries, then Moscow, the capital of Russia, would be just 640 km away from the west. At present this distance is about 1600 kms.

Why does Ukraine want to join NATO?

The reason for Ukraine joining NATO country is 100 years old, when a separate country did not even exist. Before 1917, Russia and Ukraine were part of the Russian Empire. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, the empire disintegrated and Ukraine declared itself an independent country. However, Ukraine remained independent for barely three years, and in 1920 it joined the Soviet Union. The people of Ukraine have always considered themselves an independent country.

USA’s Role in this Disput

America has an important role in the dispute between Russia and Ukraine. America has sent 3000 of its soldiers to help Ukraine and it has been assured from their side that they will do everything possible to help Ukraine. The truth is that the current US President, Joe Biden, is using Ukraine only to strengthen his image. Last year the US had to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan. Apart from this, America could not achieve anything in Iran and despite all the sanctions, North Korea is also conducting missile tests continuously. These incidents have damaged America’s super power image. Which is why Joe Biden wants to make up for it with the Ukraine-Russia dispute.

Apart from America, countries like Britain and France have also supported Ukraine. How long the support for these countries will last is a big question. Because America don’t want to face Russia directly.

Putin has also warned NATO and Ukrain Many Times

Russia has long opposed Ukraine’s move to move towards the European Organization, NATO and the European Union.

At the same time, the statement of Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding Russia’s plan to invade Ukraine has also come to the fore. Putin has clearly said that Russia will ask NATO for a guarantee that they will not move east. He said that in talks with Russia, America and its allies, we will insist on making special agreements. This agreement will be in relation to the further advance of NATO to the east and to stop the deployment of weapons systems near Russian territory.

Whole Story of Russia and Ukrain Disput in 10 points:

  1. Tensions between Russia and Ukraine began in November 2013 when Viktor Yanukovich, the then President of Ukraine, began protesting in Kyiv. While he had the support of Russia.
    Yanukovich had to flee the country in February 2014 due to protests by US-UK backed protesters.
  2. Angered by this, Russia annexed Crimea in southern Ukraine. After this he supported the separatists there. These separatists occupied large parts of eastern Ukraine.
  3. Since 2014, pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces have been fighting in the Donbass province.
  4. Even before this, when Ukraine broke away from the Soviet Union in 1991, there were many conflicts between the two countries over Crimea.
  5. After 2014, Western countries took the initiative to prevent the constant tension and conflict in Russia and Ukraine and to establish peace. France and Germany signed a peace and ceasefire agreement between the two in 2015 in Minsk, the capital of Belarus.
  6. Recently Ukraine began to build close and friendship with NATO. Ukraine has good relations with NATO. NATO ie ‘North Atlantic Treaty Organization’ was created in 1949 to deal with the then Soviet Union.
  7. Ukraine’s close proximity to NATO began to exasperate Russia. (30 countries of the world including America and Britain are members of NATO. If a country attacks a third country, then all the member countries of NATO unite and fight it).
  8. Russia wants NATO not to expand itself. President Putin was putting pressure on Ukraine and Western countries regarding this demand.
  9. After all, Russia attacked Ukraine on Thursday, regardless of the sanctions of America and other countries.
  10. So far, NATO, the US and no other country have declared to join the war in support of Ukraine. They are indirectly helping Ukraine, so it is difficult to say what turn this war will take. If the countries of Europe or America take any military action against Russia, then there can be trouble for the whole world.

You would also love to read about 25th Island of Greece.

titu
Delhi Magazine Team

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