Russia-Ukraine| The overturn of the European -and not only- life
On the 24th of February Russia violated the international law agreement (“one for all and all for one” of Article 5 of the NATO treaty) by initiating a devastating attack in Ukraine. This attack was defined by Russia as a military campaign and not a war and contained different steps in process threatening Ukraine’s land by air, land and sea, causing a mass exodus of refugees [Source 1]. Russia has long resisted Ukraine’s move towards the European Union and the West’s defense military alliance, NATO. However, Russia resulted in invading Ukraine supporting its goal of denazification of Ukraine. It goes without saying that, after this date the credo of EU “Never again” is not valid anymore due to this attack in Europe. The actions of the Prime Minister Putin constitute a war that is against the democracy and the independence of a European country. Nevertheless, It is deemed important to understand in depth the history of Ukraine in order to acquire a comprehensive and complete view of this case. [Source 2].
During the 10th and 11th centuries, Ukraine was the center of the first eastern Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. During the latter part of the 18th century, most of Ukrainian ethnographic territories were absorbed by the Russian Empire. Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917, Ukraine was able to achieve a short-lived period of independence (1917–20), but was reconquered and forced to endure a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two forced famines (1921–22 and 1932–33) in which over 8 million of people died. Although the final independence for Ukraine was achieved in 1991, by Leonid Kravchuk, with the dissolution of the USSR, democracy and prosperity remained elusive as the legacy of state control. In 2004 Pro-Russian candidate Viktor Yanukovych won the election, but allegations of fraud sparked protests known as the Orange Revolution. In 2008 NATO promised Ukraine to join in the future. On March 16, 2014, a referendum was held in which the population of the region approved the accession to the Russian Federation and Moscow proceeded with the annexation of Crimea [Source 3, 4 & 5].
This geopolitical development was followed by an interesting statement by Henry Kissinger, who was the Former National Security Advisor of the United States of America. In particular, Kissinger said that Ukraine should not join either the East or the West if it wants to survive and thrive, but act as a bridge between them. Accordingly, Russia, on its part, should not force Ukraine into satellite status and thus move its borders again because it would condemn Moscow to repeat the history of “pointless circles” of mutual pressures with Europe and the US [Source 6].
Moreover, Kissinger said among other things that the West should understand that Ukraine cannot be just a foreign country for Russia,because it has been part of Russia for centuries and their stories are intertwined. The European Union has to recognize the fact that its practices in negotiating its relationship with Ukraine contributed to the crisis. At the same time, the US should be looking for a way for the two parts of Ukraine to cooperate with each other in order to reconcile and not to dominate one faction [Source 6].
But the turn of events seemed to be the complete opposite of what Kissinger had argued. On February 24, Russia violated the agreement of international law (“one for all and all for one” of Article 5 of the NATO Treaty) and launched a catastrophic attack in Ukraine. Russia has long resisted Ukraine’s move towards the European Union and the West’s defense military alliance, NATO. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has now entered its third week. Ukrainian President Zelensky asks Vladimir Putin for one-on-one talks, saying that this is the only way to end the war. Russia seeks to occupy the big cities and change the democratically elected government of Ukraine. The Russian leader Putin has also put his nuclear forces on alert, after threatening the West with “consequences you have never seen” if they try to stop him [Source 1]. The Alliance is calling on Russia to immediately cease its military assault, to withdraw all its forces from Ukraine and to turn back from the path of aggression it has chosen. The EU has not only quickly and unanimously adopted tough sanctions, but has also said it will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons to a country in conflict [Source 7]. The EU, among other things, cuts off key Russian banks from the international payment network Swift, which allows the smooth and fast transfer of money across borders and has closed its airspace to Russian airlines. Meanwhile, Germany has suspended the approval of the Russian gas pipeline,which is a major investment by both Russia and European companies [Source 2]. Also, the Consulate General of Greece in Mariupol was hit on March 6 [Source 8].
Having followed in depth how the Ukraine-Russia relationship reached this level, it is appropriate to irritate Kissinger and some of his ideas about the security of all sides. More specifically, Kissinger is considering that Ukraine should have the right to freely choose its economic and political alliances and not join NATO. This presupposes that it has created a government which is compatible with the expressed will of its people. Russia, on its part, should recognize Ukraine’s sovereignty over Crimea [Source 6].
The results of the Russian invasion to the Ukraine grounds will influence the equilibrium in the states of the European Union and in Europe. The governments are starting to feel pressure to reconsider their defensive budget, because they realized that even in 2022, after a long time of peace, a war in Europe is an existing phenomenon. Thus, they should be ready to adapt to the new reality and constantly ready to protect their country if needed. The EU, also, should assist the younger generations who had not experienced a war, to acquire the sense of belonging and membership with the European community. The crisis of war requires a reconstruction of NATO, because NATO is the political and military alliance that is responsible for the collective defense of the member states. To sum up, the Ukrainians should stand up for their country against Russian aggression. They should, also, defend democracy for the liberty and the right of the states to determine and create their own future following the basic principles of the EU [Source 9 & 10].
By ADream Team: Maria Patinioti, Mirto Theodosopoulou, leonidas lepidas, Mar Lsk
Betty Tsakarestou, Mania Xenou
Source 1: https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-60582327
Source 4: https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%9F%CF%85%CE%BA%CF%81%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%AF%CE%B1
Source 5: https://www.vanderbilt.edu/olli/class-materials/Summary_of_Ukrainian_history.pdf
Source 6: https://www.iefimerida.gr/kosmos/kisingker-profiteia-gia-oykrania-2014
