The Russia/Ukraine Conflict: Explained
The day is February the 24th, 2022. Prior to this day, we were on the edge of overcoming the COVID-19 virus and regaining the years lost due to the pandemic. But on this day, Russia will invade Ukraine, resulting in what is currently known as the most violent invasion since WW2. Why this was to occur was a mystery at the time, with speculation of Putin wanting to bring life back to the USSR– and what better place to invade than Ukraine, the 2nd largest country in Europe right after Russia? Unfortunately, most people do not know the history between Ukraine and Russia. For those unfamiliar, this article will attempt to explain the history behind this invasion.
Ukraine and Russia’s Relationship
Since the independence of Ukraine was established shortly after the fall of the USSR, the country has not been on the best of terms with Russia, but they still remained neutral. On February 20th, 2014 Russia had invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. Prior to this, Ukraine and its neighboring countries were not in NATO, meaning NATO interference was not possible at this time. Post invasion was rough for Ukraine; they had lost a city in their country that had money going in and out of it for government programs. This event has been keeping Ukraine and Russia in a silent stand-off.
What is NATO?
NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a group of countries dedicated to world peace. Its main goal is to make sure all of its members have freedom and security through NATO´s political and military means. The countries in NATO have signed a paper declaring that, if any of its members were to get invaded, they would bring military and financial aid to the said country to protect its freedom and land from invasion.
What is the UN?
A very similar international group is called the United Nations. Why hasn’t the UN intervened with its military aid to Ukraine? According to the UN’s security council’s terms and conditions, one of the 5 “head” countries could veto any vote made by any other country in the security council. This is because the majority of problems that are brought up tend to be futile and not beneficial, and they need a way to easily go around these topics and return to more serious matters. As a member of the five countries with veto power, Russia is keeping UN aid at a stalemate by vetoing the calls for help from Ukraine.
Ukraine and NATO
It is clear how powerful NATO is in its ability to aid countries. The same week where negotiations and the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO had occurred, Ukraine got met with an invasion from the Russian military, which implies to us the strength that NATO holds for such countries. As the war went on, Russian President Vladamir Putin went on record to say that “If Ukraine was to join NATO it would serve as a direct threat to the security of Russia” With this in mind, we can see Putin’s view on Ukraine joining sides with the west which is not in his agenda. He has refused to join NATO under the suspicion and distrust of all things western.
Who are the Big Decision Makers?
On the Russian side of the conflict, we have Vladimir Putin. The former Russian intelligence officer worked in the KGB and has slowly moved up the rank throughout the years. He had run for election with the trust of the Oligarchs, and won the election to hold office in Russia. He’s been in office from 2000–2008, and 2012-present. He lived through the fall and demise of the USSR.
On the opposite side of the table, we have Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The former actor and comedian who ran as president as a joke, but also as a goal, and to which he won the hearts of the Ukrainian population and was voted in as president. He has shown great resilience to the war, being realistic to the people of Ukraine but giving them hope by engaging in the conflict, unlike other leaders who would rather stay away from the points of conflict and deal with it from a protected area. Zelenskyy has shown great patriotism and resilience to the country of Ukraine.
Why Did Russia Invade Ukraine?
President Putin had claimed that he wanted to “Demilitarize and de-Nazificate Ukraine.” This is problematic for multiple reasons, including the fact that Ukraine is a democratic society and the current president is Jewish. People believe this was a blatant excuse and a lie just to attempt to reason himself to the international community. The main point the international community believes is that Putin is power-hungry. Prisoners of war from Russia said have said that they initially thought that they were on a peacekeeping mission or that Ukraine had attacked them, which is adding in the evidence of propaganda against the Russian military to make them believe certain things are happening in the world. This leads them to false conclusions and builds confidence to enter a conflict they’d be against regardless.
Another possible reason is that Russia wanted more land. Despite being the largest country by land area, a majority of it is either uninhabited or inhabitable due to the harsh Russian winter climate. It is very tough to inhabit land areas due to lack of livestock and agriculture, with snow plowing down very often causing difficulties to sustain life and create a habitable environment. Since many believe that Putin is seeking a new way to rebuild the USSR, it’s possible he wants to invade Ukraine and take it over so he can border more countries, leading to more areas of attack in the situation where he truly wants to seek through this mission of his. With the annexation of Crimea, we already know that he has the military capabilities to invade neighboring countries.
What Can I Do to Support Ukraine?
There’s a lot we can do, including donating money to a fundraising organization like the Red Cross, where they purchase necessities and basic living items for the over 1 million people who have been displaced by Russian war efforts. Another thing people did that was quite creative was rent out homes on Airbnb in Ukraine so that the money could go directly to the families and people who needed it the most. You can also help out by protesting at your next local ¨Peace for Ukraine¨ or ¨Slava Ukraini¨ protest, where you and a group of people peacefully protest at your nearest government-held facility to impose new sanctions on Russia to minimize the funding Russia has received during these times.
What Can We Take From This?
I would like to start this conclusion by stating that the world we live in is odd. Despite the advances we have had as a world, we still fight against one another like savages. There is a difference between competition, and international conflicts where people are displaced and lives are taken. Despite the almost instant ability of communication to anywhere in the world, we all as a society still face the issues people hundreds of years ago faced with invasions, conflicts, and incompetent people with too much power. Despite what we have done to face these issues and learn from our past, we still aren’t able to leave our mistakes behind and grow from them. Humanity is only as destined and as advanced as we want to be, for only ignorance and envy will cause us our biggest problems. We could change so much and make the future of life as a civilization more positive and successful if we put our minds together. People still believe that violence is the key to the door of the future, and through that door is a black veil hiding the end of what we do not know. Despite all of our humanitarian efforts, our world is still plagued with issues we have wished to overcome. Like societal issues like racism and gender equality, from health issues like starvation of and access to basic and proper health care. Until we can make it to a point where the world is together and we can decide on topics and decisions as a whole, we can not get to fixing these rather trivial problems. The view on NATO and the UN is brilliant, but until we get a group that is all fair and equal, where each member can make the same change as others, we can only wish to hope we can get over our current issues of corruption, climate change, and the endless list of issues people have to sadly endure on their daily lives in the years going forward.
