The United States has deployed 8,500 troops, and NATO has announced the deployment of ships and fighter jets to Eastern Europe, but Russia continues to deploy more troops and equipment along the Ukrainian border to threaten Europe’s biggest war in decades. Increase day by day.
Although Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly ruled out a military strike on Ukraine, the United States, Britain, NATO and the European Union have called it an unreliable claim. As the US State Department has instructed the families of US embassy staff to leave Ukraine as soon as possible.
Although the European Union, led by French President Emmanuel Macron, continues to hope for a successful mediation in the Ukraine crisis and a diplomatic solution to the conflict, the level of escalating military tensions in the region and the growing risk of war raises the question of Ukraine’s status. It’s important for Russia, and on what grounds might Mr. Putin order an attack on his neighbor?
Kiev: the birthplace of Russia
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia lost control of 14 republics, but the loss of Ukraine seems to have been more bitter than the others. Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union in August 1991, about four months before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and its declaration of independence was approved based on the results of a referendum with 90% of votes in favor.
The split came as Russia’s first government was established in Kiev 12 centuries ago, and in 988 AD, its ruler introduced Orthodox Christianity to Russia. Russia and Ukraine, which have been linked since the ninth century and when Kiev was chosen as the capital of Russia, have been united since 1654 under a treaty under the Russian Tsar. Ukraine, along with Belarus, then formed the Slavic core of the Soviet Union.
This common historical background has led most Ukrainians to speak two languages, Ukrainian and Russian, which are closely related languages. In the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine, where Russian is clearly the majority language, they have come under Russian influence. Therefore, at least one third of the population of Ukraine, which lives mainly in the eastern part of the country near the Russian border, speaks Russian and feels very close to Russia. On the other hand, Ukrainians living in the western and northern parts of the country also speak Russian fluently.
Thus, many Russians do not feel the close cultural, historical, and religious ties they have with the Ukrainians to other former Soviet states in the Baltic region, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. The cultural and social heritage that Russian President Vladimir Putin often relies on. As he noted in an article published last June, Russians and Ukrainians are a people who have a “common historical and spiritual atmosphere” and a common “wall” between them in recent years is “sad.” Mr Putin wrote: “I am convinced that real sovereignty over Ukraine is possible only if it cooperates with Russia; “We have always been and will be many times stronger and more successful together because we are one nation.”
At the same time, however, Kyiv described the Russian president’s argument as a political version of Ukrainian history.
Regardless of Mr. Putin’s sweet historical narrative, Ukraine was the main victim of the 1933-1933 famine that occurred during the dictatorship of the former Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, and which later blamed Ukraine among the former Soviet republics for the Chernobyl disaster.
These events have not been ineffective in the efforts of the Ukrainian people as one of the first former Soviet republics to move towards independence.
The Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution that took place in Ukraine in 2005-2004 overthrew the pro-Russian president and government. From 2004 to 2007, when Ukraine’s economic prosperity increased significantly, the discourse of democracy, human rights, and human rights became more pervasive, and Ukraine as a whole became increasingly pro-Western and pro-EU, and its political and economic relations grew rapidly. It grew to worry Moscow about the spread of the pro-democracy movement to Russia as well as other independent republics.
Since then, tensions between Kiev and Moscow have intensified in line with the ups and downs of Ukraine’s political development for democracy. The tensions culminated with the Ukrainian government’s formal bid to join the European Union and NATO following the fall of Moscow’s president in 2014 and Russia’s invasion of Crimea.
NATO Progress
NATO was established in 1949 to protect the West from Soviet aggression. The military-security alliance has agreed to accept 14 new members since the end of the Cold War, and the treaty has expanded in recent years to the former Soviet republics of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. According to the treaty, if a member state is attacked or attacked, all NATO member states will mobilize collectively to defend it.
The Kremlin is urging NATO not to accept the membership of Ukraine and Georgia, which Russia briefly invaded in 2008, as either country’s membership in the NATO alliance would increase the Western military-security footprint along Russia’s borders.
However, Ukraine has been seeking NATO membership since 2008, and this effort has increased since the overthrow of the anti-Western president in 2014; The country has held joint military exercises with NATO and received weapons such as anti-tank missiles from the United States and drones from Turkey. Kiev and Washington see the move as a step towards strengthening Ukraine’s defense system following Russia’s occupation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and Moscow’s support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, but Mr Putin cites Ukraine’s growing ties with NATO This military-security pact knows.
black Sea
Ukraine was considered a strategic part of the Soviet Union, with important ports on the Black Sea coast. Ukraine and its access to the Black Sea are now strategically important to Russia. The occupation of Crimea in 2014 left Moscow with a naval base in Sevastopol and a Russian naval base in the Black Sea.
Although Russia is unlikely to try to occupy all of Ukraine, it could consider attacking the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, which would give Russia more control over the Black Sea. Moscow could also bypass the country and block access to the Black Sea by seizing the land belt between Russia and the Transnistrian strip on Ukraine’s western border.
Thus, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine can only lead to the occupation of an important and strategic region and not become a long war for the occupation of all Ukrainian territory.
The United States has deployed 8,500 troops, and NATO has announced the deployment of ships and fighter jets to Eastern Europe, but Russia continues to deploy more troops and equipment along the Ukrainian border to threaten Europe’s biggest war in decades. Increase day by day.
Although Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly ruled out a military strike on Ukraine, the United States, Britain, NATO and the European Union have called it an unreliable claim. As the US State Department has instructed the families of US embassy staff to leave Ukraine as soon as possible.
Although the European Union, led by French President Emmanuel Macron, continues to hope for a successful mediation in the Ukraine crisis and a diplomatic solution to the conflict, the level of escalating military tensions in the region and the growing risk of war raises the question of Ukraine’s status. It’s important for Russia, and on what grounds might Mr. Putin order an attack on his neighbor?
Kiev: the birthplace of Russia
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia lost control of 14 republics, but the loss of Ukraine seems to have been more bitter than the others. Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union in August 1991, about four months before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and its declaration of independence was approved based on the results of a referendum with 90% of votes in favor.
The split came as Russia’s first government was established in Kiev 12 centuries ago, and in 988 AD, its ruler introduced Orthodox Christianity to Russia. Russia and Ukraine, which have been linked since the ninth century and when Kiev was chosen as the capital of Russia, have been united since 1654 under a treaty under the Russian Tsar. Ukraine, along with Belarus, then formed the Slavic core of the Soviet Union.
This common historical background has led most Ukrainians to speak two languages, Ukrainian and Russian, which are closely related languages. In the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine, where Russian is clearly the majority language, they have come under Russian influence. Therefore, at least one third of the population of Ukraine, which lives mainly in the eastern part of the country near the Russian border, speaks Russian and feels very close to Russia. On the other hand, Ukrainians living in the western and northern parts of the country also speak Russian fluently.
Thus, many Russians do not feel the close cultural, historical, and religious ties they have with the Ukrainians to other former Soviet states in the Baltic region, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. The cultural and social heritage that Russian President Vladimir Putin often relies on. As he noted in an article published last June, Russians and Ukrainians are a people who have a “common historical and spiritual atmosphere” and a common “wall” between them in recent years is “sad.” Mr Putin wrote: “I am convinced that real sovereignty over Ukraine is possible only if it cooperates with Russia; “We have always been and will be many times stronger and more successful together because we are one nation.”
At the same time, however, Kyiv described the Russian president’s argument as a political version of Ukrainian history.
Regardless of Mr. Putin’s sweet historical narrative, Ukraine was the main victim of the 1933-1933 famine that occurred during the dictatorship of the former Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, and which later blamed Ukraine among the former Soviet republics for the Chernobyl disaster.
These events have not been ineffective in the efforts of the Ukrainian people as one of the first former Soviet republics to move towards independence.
The Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution that took place in Ukraine in 2005-2004 overthrew the pro-Russian president and government. From 2004 to 2007, when Ukraine’s economic prosperity increased significantly, the discourse of democracy, human rights, and human rights became more pervasive, and Ukraine as a whole became increasingly pro-Western and pro-EU, and its political and economic relations grew rapidly. It grew to worry Moscow about the spread of the pro-democracy movement to Russia as well as other independent republics.
Since then, tensions between Kiev and Moscow have intensified in line with the ups and downs of Ukraine’s political development for democracy. The tensions culminated with the Ukrainian government’s formal bid to join the European Union and NATO following the fall of Moscow’s president in 2014 and Russia’s invasion of Crimea.
NATO Progress
NATO was established in 1949 to protect the West from Soviet aggression. The military-security alliance has agreed to accept 14 new members since the end of the Cold War, and the treaty has expanded in recent years to the former Soviet republics of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. According to the treaty, if a member state is attacked or attacked, all NATO member states will mobilize collectively to defend it.
The Kremlin is urging NATO not to accept the membership of Ukraine and Georgia, which Russia briefly invaded in 2008, as either country’s membership in the NATO alliance would increase the Western military-security footprint along Russia’s borders.
However, Ukraine has been seeking NATO membership since 2008, and this effort has increased since the overthrow of the anti-Western president in 2014; The country has held joint military exercises with NATO and received weapons such as anti-tank missiles from the United States and drones from Turkey. Kiev and Washington see the move as a step towards strengthening Ukraine’s defense system following Russia’s occupation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and Moscow’s support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, but Mr Putin cites Ukraine’s growing ties with NATO This military-security pact knows.
black Sea
Ukraine was considered a strategic part of the Soviet Union, with important ports on the Black Sea coast. Ukraine and its access to the Black Sea are now strategically important to Russia. The occupation of Crimea in 2014 left Moscow with a naval base in Sevastopol and a Russian naval base in the Black Sea.
Although Russia is unlikely to try to occupy all of Ukraine, it could consider attacking the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, which would give Russia more control over the Black Sea. Moscow could also bypass the country and block access to the Black Sea by seizing the land belt between Russia and the Transnistrian strip on Ukraine’s western border.
Thus, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine can only lead to the occupation of an important and strategic region and not become a long war for the occupation of all Ukrainian territory.
The United States has deployed 8,500 troops, and NATO has announced the deployment of ships and fighter jets to Eastern Europe, but Russia continues to deploy more troops and equipment along the Ukrainian border to threaten Europe’s biggest war in decades. Increase day by day.
Although Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly ruled out a military strike on Ukraine, the United States, Britain, NATO and the European Union have called it an unreliable claim. As the US State Department has instructed the families of US embassy staff to leave Ukraine as soon as possible.
Although the European Union, led by French President Emmanuel Macron, continues to hope for a successful mediation in the Ukraine crisis and a diplomatic solution to the conflict, the level of escalating military tensions in the region and the growing risk of war raises the question of Ukraine’s status. It’s important for Russia, and on what grounds might Mr. Putin order an attack on his neighbor?
Kiev: the birthplace of Russia
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia lost control of 14 republics, but the loss of Ukraine seems to have been more bitter than the others. Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union in August 1991, about four months before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and its declaration of independence was approved based on the results of a referendum with 90% of votes in favor.
The split came as Russia’s first government was established in Kiev 12 centuries ago, and in 988 AD, its ruler introduced Orthodox Christianity to Russia. Russia and Ukraine, which have been linked since the ninth century and when Kiev was chosen as the capital of Russia, have been united since 1654 under a treaty under the Russian Tsar. Ukraine, along with Belarus, then formed the Slavic core of the Soviet Union.
This common historical background has led most Ukrainians to speak two languages, Ukrainian and Russian, which are closely related languages. In the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine, where Russian is clearly the majority language, they have come under Russian influence. Therefore, at least one third of the population of Ukraine, which lives mainly in the eastern part of the country near the Russian border, speaks Russian and feels very close to Russia. On the other hand, Ukrainians living in the western and northern parts of the country also speak Russian fluently.
Thus, many Russians do not feel the close cultural, historical, and religious ties they have with the Ukrainians to other former Soviet states in the Baltic region, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. The cultural and social heritage that Russian President Vladimir Putin often relies on. As he noted in an article published last June, Russians and Ukrainians are a people who have a “common historical and spiritual atmosphere” and a common “wall” between them in recent years is “sad.” Mr Putin wrote: “I am convinced that real sovereignty over Ukraine is possible only if it cooperates with Russia; “We have always been and will be many times stronger and more successful together because we are one nation.”
At the same time, however, Kyiv described the Russian president’s argument as a political version of Ukrainian history.
Regardless of Mr. Putin’s sweet historical narrative, Ukraine was the main victim of the 1933-1933 famine that occurred during the dictatorship of the former Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, and which later blamed Ukraine among the former Soviet republics for the Chernobyl disaster.
These events have not been ineffective in the efforts of the Ukrainian people as one of the first former Soviet republics to move towards independence.
The Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution that took place in Ukraine in 2005-2004 overthrew the pro-Russian president and government. From 2004 to 2007, when Ukraine’s economic prosperity increased significantly, the discourse of democracy, human rights, and human rights became more pervasive, and Ukraine as a whole became increasingly pro-Western and pro-EU, and its political and economic relations grew rapidly. It grew to worry Moscow about the spread of the pro-democracy movement to Russia as well as other independent republics.
Since then, tensions between Kiev and Moscow have intensified in line with the ups and downs of Ukraine’s political development for democracy. The tensions culminated with the Ukrainian government’s formal bid to join the European Union and NATO following the fall of Moscow’s president in 2014 and Russia’s invasion of Crimea.
NATO Progress
NATO was established in 1949 to protect the West from Soviet aggression. The military-security alliance has agreed to accept 14 new members since the end of the Cold War, and the treaty has expanded in recent years to the former Soviet republics of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. According to the treaty, if a member state is attacked or attacked, all NATO member states will mobilize collectively to defend it.
The Kremlin is urging NATO not to accept the membership of Ukraine and Georgia, which Russia briefly invaded in 2008, as either country’s membership in the NATO alliance would increase the Western military-security footprint along Russia’s borders.
However, Ukraine has been seeking NATO membership since 2008, and this effort has increased since the overthrow of the anti-Western president in 2014; The country has held joint military exercises with NATO and received weapons such as anti-tank missiles from the United States and drones from Turkey. Kiev and Washington see the move as a step towards strengthening Ukraine’s defense system following Russia’s occupation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and Moscow’s support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, but Mr Putin cites Ukraine’s growing ties with NATO This military-security pact knows.
black Sea
Ukraine was considered a strategic part of the Soviet Union, with important ports on the Black Sea coast. Ukraine and its access to the Black Sea are now strategically important to Russia. The occupation of Crimea in 2014 left Moscow with a naval base in Sevastopol and a Russian naval base in the Black Sea.
Although Russia is unlikely to try to occupy all of Ukraine, it could consider attacking the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, which would give Russia more control over the Black Sea. Moscow could also bypass the country and block access to the Black Sea by seizing the land belt between Russia and the Transnistrian strip on Ukraine’s western border.
Thus, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine can only lead to the occupation of an important and strategic region and not become a long war for the occupation of all Ukrainian territory.
The United States has deployed 8,500 troops, and NATO has announced the deployment of ships and fighter jets to Eastern Europe, but Russia continues to deploy more troops and equipment along the Ukrainian border to threaten Europe’s biggest war in decades. Increase day by day.
Although Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly ruled out a military strike on Ukraine, the United States, Britain, NATO and the European Union have called it an unreliable claim. As the US State Department has instructed the families of US embassy staff to leave Ukraine as soon as possible.
Although the European Union, led by French President Emmanuel Macron, continues to hope for a successful mediation in the Ukraine crisis and a diplomatic solution to the conflict, the level of escalating military tensions in the region and the growing risk of war raises the question of Ukraine’s status. It’s important for Russia, and on what grounds might Mr. Putin order an attack on his neighbor?
Kiev: the birthplace of Russia
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia lost control of 14 republics, but the loss of Ukraine seems to have been more bitter than the others. Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union in August 1991, about four months before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and its declaration of independence was approved based on the results of a referendum with 90% of votes in favor.
The split came as Russia’s first government was established in Kiev 12 centuries ago, and in 988 AD, its ruler introduced Orthodox Christianity to Russia. Russia and Ukraine, which have been linked since the ninth century and when Kiev was chosen as the capital of Russia, have been united since 1654 under a treaty under the Russian Tsar. Ukraine, along with Belarus, then formed the Slavic core of the Soviet Union.
This common historical background has led most Ukrainians to speak two languages, Ukrainian and Russian, which are closely related languages. In the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine, where Russian is clearly the majority language, they have come under Russian influence. Therefore, at least one third of the population of Ukraine, which lives mainly in the eastern part of the country near the Russian border, speaks Russian and feels very close to Russia. On the other hand, Ukrainians living in the western and northern parts of the country also speak Russian fluently.
Thus, many Russians do not feel the close cultural, historical, and religious ties they have with the Ukrainians to other former Soviet states in the Baltic region, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. The cultural and social heritage that Russian President Vladimir Putin often relies on. As he noted in an article published last June, Russians and Ukrainians are a people who have a “common historical and spiritual atmosphere” and a common “wall” between them in recent years is “sad.” Mr Putin wrote: “I am convinced that real sovereignty over Ukraine is possible only if it cooperates with Russia; “We have always been and will be many times stronger and more successful together because we are one nation.”
At the same time, however, Kyiv described the Russian president’s argument as a political version of Ukrainian history.
Regardless of Mr. Putin’s sweet historical narrative, Ukraine was the main victim of the 1933-1933 famine that occurred during the dictatorship of the former Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, and which later blamed Ukraine among the former Soviet republics for the Chernobyl disaster.
These events have not been ineffective in the efforts of the Ukrainian people as one of the first former Soviet republics to move towards independence.
The Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution that took place in Ukraine in 2005-2004 overthrew the pro-Russian president and government. From 2004 to 2007, when Ukraine’s economic prosperity increased significantly, the discourse of democracy, human rights, and human rights became more pervasive, and Ukraine as a whole became increasingly pro-Western and pro-EU, and its political and economic relations grew rapidly. It grew to worry Moscow about the spread of the pro-democracy movement to Russia as well as other independent republics.
Since then, tensions between Kiev and Moscow have intensified in line with the ups and downs of Ukraine’s political development for democracy. The tensions culminated with the Ukrainian government’s formal bid to join the European Union and NATO following the fall of Moscow’s president in 2014 and Russia’s invasion of Crimea.
NATO Progress
NATO was established in 1949 to protect the West from Soviet aggression. The military-security alliance has agreed to accept 14 new members since the end of the Cold War, and the treaty has expanded in recent years to the former Soviet republics of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. According to the treaty, if a member state is attacked or attacked, all NATO member states will mobilize collectively to defend it.
The Kremlin is urging NATO not to accept the membership of Ukraine and Georgia, which Russia briefly invaded in 2008, as either country’s membership in the NATO alliance would increase the Western military-security footprint along Russia’s borders.
However, Ukraine has been seeking NATO membership since 2008, and this effort has increased since the overthrow of the anti-Western president in 2014; The country has held joint military exercises with NATO and received weapons such as anti-tank missiles from the United States and drones from Turkey. Kiev and Washington see the move as a step towards strengthening Ukraine’s defense system following Russia’s occupation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and Moscow’s support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, but Mr Putin cites Ukraine’s growing ties with NATO This military-security pact knows.
black Sea
Ukraine was considered a strategic part of the Soviet Union, with important ports on the Black Sea coast. Ukraine and its access to the Black Sea are now strategically important to Russia. The occupation of Crimea in 2014 left Moscow with a naval base in Sevastopol and a Russian naval base in the Black Sea.
Although Russia is unlikely to try to occupy all of Ukraine, it could consider attacking the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, which would give Russia more control over the Black Sea. Moscow could also bypass the country and block access to the Black Sea by seizing the land belt between Russia and the Transnistrian strip on Ukraine’s western border.
Thus, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine can only lead to the occupation of an important and strategic region and not become a long war for the occupation of all Ukrainian territory.
Economy
Ukraine has a large agricultural industry and has been considered by both the former Soviet Union and Russia. In the early years of independence, millions of Ukrainians worked in Russia, and the Russian-Ukrainian border was one of the largest immigration corridors in the world.
But with the development of Kiev-Brussels relations, Ukraine’s exports to Russia fell from $ 29 billion in 2011 to about $ 5 billion in 2021. Also, when Viktor Yanukovych won the presidential election in 2010 as an ally of Mr. Putin, the capital of Russian companies returned to Ukraine, and by 2013 it accounted for about 7% of the total foreign investment in the country. Russia has also bought $ 15 billion in Ukrainian government bonds to deal with the economic crisis caused by the deteriorating relations between Kiev and the European Union.
But after Yanukovych’s ouster in 2014, Ukraine’s exports to the EU grew, and China became Ukraine’s first trading partner.
Kiev also stopped buying gas from Russia in 2014, buying gas from the European open market, importing through Hungary, Poland and Slovenia, and using its domestic gas storage facilities to maintain supply during the period. It marked a turning point in Kiev-Moscow economic relations. But the transit of Russian gas from Ukraine to Europe continues under an agreement with the 2024 time limit.
Ukraine is also a key component of Russia’s plans for a Eurasian Customs Union with some other countries independent of the former Soviet Union.
Putin’s personal motives
Vladimir Putin, who still has the chance to run for another six-year term as president of Russia after the end of the current term in 2024, on the one hand, as he reacted to the developments in Belarus and Kazakhstan, is forming a model. A democracy that is a member of the European Union and NATO, and that is economically advanced and, ironically, is in Russia’s neighborhood, has no interest.
He may also be thinking about his legacy. He also openly mourned the collapse of the Soviet Union in an interview broadcast on December 12. Ukraine is therefore an “unfinished business” for him, as he sees his growing popularity after the annexation of Crimea as a way to increase his popularity at the end of his current presidency by taking over another part of Ukraine.
Thus, maintaining tensions over Ukraine helps Mr. Putin send a political message across Russia: that he is a staunch defender of Russian interests in a world surrounded by enemies.
