The Russia-Ukraine Conflict By Alice Read-Clarke In recent months, there have been increasing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, largely focused on troops
amassed near Ukraine’s borders, but what is happening right now and why?
The Why
The Current Situation
There have been tensions between Russia and Ukraine for many years, which can be linked back to the fall of the USSR. As both Russia and Ukraine were part of the Soviet Union, and they border each other, they have strong social and cultural ties. When the USSR was split into separate countries, some citizens, particuarly in Ukraine, thought that they should join with Russia. These people are called ‘separatists’, and there has been fighting between them and the Ukrainian military since Russia annexed (cut of) Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
Russia had claimed that it is moving troops away from the Ukrainian border, however this was disputed by senior US officials, who have also said that 7000 troops had arrived in recent days (17 Feb 2022). Both political leaders in the US and UK warned that invasion is imminent (19th Feb), a warning which was backed up by the escalation in fighting between Ukrainian military and separatists. There had been a ‘dramatic increase’ in attacks between these two forces, and two Ukrainian soldiers were killed on Saturday 19th, the first reported deaths in some weeks.
Russia also fears the influence of the global organisation NATO. NATO is a group of countries who agree to come to one another’s aid in the case of armed attack or invasion against one of the member countries. It was formed in 1949 and was originally created to counter the threat of post-war Russia, and the possibility of its expansion into Europe. Whilst Ukraine is not a member of NATO, it does have an understanding with the group that it could join the alliance at some point in the future. Russia is very much against Ukraine joining NATO, and also opposes NATOs movement of troops into eastern Europe since 2014.
On the 22nd of Febuary, Putin announced that Russia will officially recognise separatist-held regions, Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states, and that Russia troops would be moving there as ‘peacekeepers’. This action was condemned by world leaders, who also warned that this could be the start to a ‘full-scale’ Russian invasion. The UK begun to place sanctions on Russian banks, as well as wealthy Russian individuals. The Ukrainian President, President Zelenskyy, said that Ukraine will not fall to Russia, and urged its citizens to fight, allowing them to arm themselves, and supplying weapons. In the early hours of the 24th of Febuary, President Putin broadcasted a message announcing a ‘special military operation’ to ‘demilitarize and denazify’ Ukraine. He warned Ukrainian soldiers to go home, and threatened violence against those who resisted or tried to stop the Russian advancement. Soon after this announcement, it was reported that Russian troops had crossed the border, and attacks had been carried out on
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