Russia has now invaded Ukraine and started a full scale war since February 24, 2022. This war has spanned for over 500 days causing a great divide between multiple countries and territories. It’s truly astounding that in the 21st century a massive battle such as the one we see today is still possible. Many thought we live in the most peaceful times in history and wars like this one would be less likely due to globalization. It is true war is much more difficult to occur in these days as many different countries are dependent on each other for resources and energy.
Russia’s Reason For War
Russia’s official reason for beginning the war was to demilitarize Ukraine and to de-nazify the country. However, it’s important to consider that Ukraine’s previous president which was elected in 2010 was Viktor Yanukovych who was mostly pro-Russia. The United States had meddled in the president of Ukraine’s term throughout his presidency as the US sent multiple representatives to support the Euromaiden Revolution including John McCain, Geoffey Pyatt, and Victoria Nuland. Essentially the Obama administration had been planning to help the revolt for many years.
Not only was the United States meddling in Ukraine, but their main goal was to oust the current president in an attempt to prevent additional pro-Russian leadership in the country. When the current president of Ukraine decided to go against the European Union’s offer and accept the Russian offer there were massive protests against his regime which helped the Svoboda Party retain their edge. As we know now there was additional meddling with Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden throughout Ukraine regarding Burisma which was an energy company.
This helped push Russia to enter Crimea which is known as the Crimean Crises in 2014 involving an annexation of the region for Russia during the power vacuumed which occurred. In theory, it seems Russia decided to take what they can as they knew they were going to lose power in Ukraine to the United States and in turn NATO. The reality of the situation is that Ukraine does have a large Russian population toward the east with a more Ukrainian population in the eastern regions. Before Russia formally invaded Ukraine they entered into the Donetsk area in a few days prior to the full scale invasion.
The reasons Russia invaded Ukraine is that Vladimir Putin understood that NATO had been getting closer and closer to Russia’s borders. Vladimir Putin was forced to make a decision to either allow a country on it’s border to get into NATO or decide to go to war with Ukraine prior to it obtaining membership in NATO and in response gaining additional protections. At this point in time America could not directly enter into the war, it can only provide supplies, and conduct sanctions against Russia to try harming them monetarily.
NATO, EU, and US Influence
NATO is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization which has continued gaining leadership voluntarily as Democratic countries have entered into the organization. The NATO alliance has deeply stated that if any of the member states are attacked by a foreign country then NATO can act by sending help with a potential of armed forces from the alliance. This doesn’t only cause military aid in a situation of an invasion, but it also provides the potential for NATO members to have troops, buildings, and military already in NATO member states.
The European Union also had a hand to play in the Ukraine war which goes back to the 2013 uprising. When the uprising happened in Ukraine the European Union sent people to Ukraine to negotiate a deal with the people who were revolting against the current president. Their main goal in this situation is trying to have a hand in Ukraine as well as NATO would have a hand. The reasons for this is influence and power over the region which includes providing additional pressure onto Russia.
The United States wants influence over Ukraine and was able to obtain this through the coup that occurred in 2013. America had a hand in this change as they want the resources provided from Ukraine. Additionally having a greater power through NATO and their allies of the European Union. In theory, America would want this war to happen as it makes Russia look worse in the global outlook of the world. It’s also well-known from World War 2 that wars help the United States make more money due to the fact that weapons are extremely profitable in our military industrial complex. Secondly, it’s also understood that regime changes are quite common with the United States meddling into other country’s politics to deepen their influence.
Consequences and Sanctions
The consequences of this war for Russia are multiple sanctions conducted by multiple countries and specifically by the United States. Now the important questions to ask is whether or not the sanctions actually worked to cripple Russia. The reality of the situation is that Russia is still at war with Ukraine and the sanctions slowed Russia, but they didn’t necessarily cripple Russia to the point where the war would be affected massively. It just goes to show that United States sanctions with multiple other countries might not affect other countries as much as we thought.
The reason why the sanctions didn’t work as well as we thought they would is that other countries who don’t believe in the NATO, EU, and US thought pattern on the war don’t really have to follow them. We almost helped Russia create additional allies in the mess as the current allies of the United States already existed. However, Russia gained additional allies through an organization known as BRICS which includes China, India, Brazil, and South Africa. Of course BRICS was originally declared in 2009 to 2010, but the sanctions have shown these countries that an alliance is more important.
Continued support for BRICS was spurred as the other countries noticed that if you’re in the crosshairs of America, then you can suffer greatly economically. Nobody and no country wants to be at the whim of another being completely helpless once that other country considers you as their target. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has showed the world what would happen in the case of one country invading another. Especially if the country being invaded is supported through corruption with the United States.
Ukraine People Struggle
The worst part of this war in Ukraine is that the average people are the one’s suffering the most from it. During wartime it’s not the rich, wealthy, or leaders who actually fight the war. In reality these people are the ones who are able to flee Ukraine in droves and they’re definitely flying away with all their money. It’s the Ukrainian common man and woman who suffers during war because it’s them who stay back to fight against the aggression which is partly at fault due to NATO, United States influence, and European Union influence.
The rich and political figures are never sent into the battlefields to fight the wars. The civilians, children, combatants, women, and refugees are the actual ones who are directly involved with what has happened. Civilians are the most vulnerable during wars. They often face indiscriminate violence, displacement, and loss of homes, livelihoods, and loved ones. Children are particularly susceptible to the adverse effects of war. Many are forcibly recruited as child soldiers or subjected to various forms of exploitation and abuse.
Soldiers and fighters on both sides of the conflict endure significant physical and emotional hardships. They risk injury, death, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Many soldiers are young and may be coerced into joining armed groups. Women often experience specific forms of violence during wars, such as sexual assault, rape, and human trafficking. They may also be left to shoulder the burden of caring for families and communities amid the destruction of infrastructure and societal norms.
Modern Times in the War
Currently in our modern times with over a year into the Ukraine war we can see that Russia has made advances into Ukraine. Additionally Ukraine is finally stating that they will no longer only defend and has launched a counteroffensive. However, it’s incredibly crucial to note that Vladimir Putin most likely doesn’t want to occupy Ukraine as a sub-country. Knowing what happened to Afghanistan and Iraq having a military occupancy in a country will most likely not turn out well for the country involved. It’s costly and doesn’t really provide the importance we initially thought it would.
Vladimir Putin was told by Americans to be irrational, Nazi-like, and wanting to create the soviet union. Reality is that Vladimir Putin is a smart individual who understands what exactly the United States wanted. However, they could not allow Ukraine to join NATO and the only option they had was to wreck Ukraine. The main goal in this invasion isn’t to really take over, but to create enough havoc to weaken Ukraine as a whole. Through this method and limiting the takeover will allow Russia to obtain it’s goal of not allowing Ukraine to enter NATO.
The main goals of this invasion isn’t to recreate the USSR, but it’s to allow this war to take as long as they possibly can. This is to continue to not allow Ukraine to join NATO, but it will allow the population of Ukraine to understand that Russia’s ultimate goal isn’t to destroy it’s sovereignty. Again the United States gains highly through this conflict by harming Russia economically through sanctions and gaining a large amount of money by allowing its military industrial complex to oil their gears with weapons, supplies, and ammo.
Another important fact to note is that there was a recent drone strike in Moscow which involved a government building. The target of the drone bombing has been confirmed that it was a secret ministry of economic development office on floor ten of a skyscraper. Many have critiqued this drone strike in Moscow as it’s a densely populated civilian region in downtown Moscow. The public notates that nobody cares about what Ukraine is doing as they are the ones who the war came to and they need to do whatever they can to harm the Russians.
Wagner Coup
Yevgeny Prigozhin was the leader of the military mercenary unit for Russia known as the Wagner Group. Quite recently there was a coup attempt where the Wagner group disagreed with Putin’s methods during the war. What exactly did they disagree with? Well the Wagner group and their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin wanted to have a more brutal involvement in the war. Putin’s methods in the war have been quite limited to damage to Ukraine even though United States media outlets seem to portray him as an evil Villain.
There are many Russians in Ukraine and their population has a lot of Russian ideology involved in it. Putin doesn’t want to damage relations and viewpoints of the citizens of Ukraine completely by harming too many people including innocents, civilians, women, and children. Doing this would cause a ripple effect which would damage their relations in the future and cause a large majority of the population to hate Russia as a whole. Of course this already happened as Vladimir Putin launched a war against Ukraine, but right now the damages are very limited compared to what they can do.
In reality, if Putin and Russia really wanted to take over Ukraine they would have been able to do it. With barbaric methods and complete decimation of the country they would be able to take over most likely. However, they are allowing other countries to support Ukraine through military aid, loans, and new technology which Ukraine people have to be trained on. Putin also allowed time for Ukraine to evacuate the majority of their citizens prior to the war commencing fully.
Nuclear Threat
There is a major threat of nuclear war if any country directly involves their military to participate in the war. We can see that aid, loans, and equipment is being sent to Ukraine which Putin could not do much to stop. However, if any country steps in to fight for Ukraine against Russia it means that a potential world war might ensue. Worst part about this possibility is that nukes are a major talking point in the current era as Russia has a large arsenal of nuclear weapons at their disposal.
Vladimir Putin has already stated that nuclear warfare is possible in this situation if anything of Russia is threatened with his statement involving the following “if there’s a threat to our territorial integrity, independence, and sovereignty and the existence of the Russian state.” Putin’s threats are valid as they have more nuclear weapons than all of NATO with his statement. However, it’s important to note that Russia does not want to use nuclear weapons until there is a complete threat to their country.
If other countries do get involved in this war directly it means there’s a high chance that nuclear warfare is possible. This reality would be completely changed if this happens as nuclear warfare is completely going to decimate and harm large populations of people. It might actually cause the world war nobody wanted. Additionally nuclear warfare is extremely destructive as radiation would be a large factor in repopulating areas destroyed by a nuclear war.
Conclusion
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which has been ongoing for over 500 days, has caused a profound divide among multiple countries and territories. In an era where many believed we lived in the most peaceful times in history, the scale and magnitude of this conflict have been truly astonishing. Globalization and interdependence among nations were thought to reduce the likelihood of such massive wars, but the situation in Ukraine has challenged that notion.
Russia’s stated reason for the war was to demilitarize and de-nazify Ukraine, but the roots of the conflict can be traced back to geopolitical tensions and struggles for influence. The involvement of the United States, European Union, and NATO further complicated the situation, with each seeking to exert control and influence over the region. The consequences of the war include multiple sanctions against Russia, but their effectiveness in crippling the country economically have been limited due to alliances with other nations.
Amidst this conflict, it is the average people of Ukraine who suffer the most. Civilians, children, combatants, women, and refugees bear the brunt of the violence and displacement. The war has highlighted the vulnerability of civilians during armed conflicts and the devastating impacts on communities.
As the war continues, it is evident that Russia’s goals are not necessarily to occupy Ukraine but rather to create enough havoc to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO. The threat of nuclear war looms in the background, with Russia’s large nuclear arsenal and warnings of potential nuclear warfare if its territorial integrity and sovereignty are threatened.
The war in Ukraine stands as a grim reminder of the enduring potential for conflict and its devastating effects on innocent lives. It underscores the complexity of international relations, the pursuit of power and influence, and the need for diplomatic efforts to prevent and resolve such conflicts. The ultimate hope is for a peaceful resolution that can bring an end to the suffering and restore stability to the region.