On February 24, 2022, the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, announced that he would send troops into eastern Ukraine. Poland, Romania, and Slovakia prepared to accept Ukrainian refugees. We assume that most readers wonder why Russia decided to invade Ukraine and what Putin wants from Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president. Before examining the crisis in Ukraine, we will introduce the background and history of Russia and Ukraine.
The two nations share the same heritage of the first Slavic city called Kyivan Rus. Since Kyivan Rus is the birthplace of both Ukraine and Russia, Putin recently said, “Russians and Ukrainians are one people, a single whole.” However, in 1283, the armies of Mongolia invaded Kyivan Rus and ruled over it for 240 years. Since the invasion by Mongolia, Rus began to separate into two groups that were either anti-Mongolian or pro-Mongolian. Later, the anti-Mongolians kept resisting the enemy. This group became the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which later established Ukraine. However, the pro-Mongolians supported Mongolia and later founded the Grand Duchy of Moscow.
In 1917, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was founded and incorporated into the Soviet Union. The Ukrainians could not accept this humiliation and kept seeking independence. The Soviet Union refused their request and oppressed Ukrainian sovereignty and the people. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the people of Ukraine accomplished their dream of independence. Still, there was a serious political conflict between pro-European (western Ukraine) and pro-Russian (eastern Ukraine). During political chaos, in 2014, Crimea was seized during a rebellion supported by the Russian government. Following this, Crimea and the Russian government signed a treaty establishing the annexation of Crimea. Furthermore, people in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas sought independence and the establishment of the People’s Republics of Luhansk and Donetsk. To secede from Ukraine, they declared war on the Ukrainian government. This ultimately led to Russia’s invasion.
Russia's invasion, which began in February, is ongoing. There have been numerous civilian and military casualties, as well as severe economic and social damage to Russia. As a person living in an era of freedom and democracy, it is difficult to understand Russia's determination to continue this irrational and unjustifiable war. Why is the Russian government continuing this heinous war despite the enormous costs?
To begin answering this, consider the geopolitical significance of the Ukrainian region. Because of its vast and fertile land, Ukraine is regarded as a valuable granary in Eurasia. As a result, if Russia seizes the country, the region will not be able to secure important resources. This will also affect other countries’ food supplies and economies around the world. From Russia’s perspective, however, Ukraine poses a security threat. Many facilities are concentrated in Moscow, Russia's capital city. As such, if missiles were to be launched from Ukraine, which is very close to Moscow, Russia could be defeated devastatingly.
The second reason is the hegemonic ideology that remains in the Russian government. Vladimir Putin has ambitions to restore Russia’s power to that seen during the Soviet era. Putin garners support from the Russian people by using this ambition as a political goal. The upshot is that far-right ideology, such as Slavic nationalism, and totalitarianism is the basis for the Russian government’s actions.
On February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine, seriously hurting the country with its dominant power in the early stages of the war. However, the situation began to change in March when the Russian army started to encounter military supply problems. As military support to Ukraine from other countries started to arrive, Russia continued to struggle. Now, in desperation, Russia has even started committing war crimes against civilians. The Russian army’s supply problem is worsening, and their invasion has so far failed. Ukraine has even successfully counterattacked in some regions.
We can see Russia’s problems worsening and that they are shedding the blood of innocent people. Can Putin be stopped? Undoubtedly, this is what must happen.