Global Political and Social Awareness - The Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Around three days ago, the Russian military under orders from Russian President Vladimir Putin crossed into the sovereign and independent nation of Ukraine with the goal of undermining its independence. It is a three-prong offensive that has forced a new wave of united, patriotic support from a flood of proud Ukrainian citizens. Many of them have joined the Ukrainian army to express their unbridled demand to defend everything the have, their properties, rights, and expectation to live in harmony. Ukrainian sovereignty and statehood are being directly threatened by a man who believes he can dictate whatever he wants and how he wants it. It is the biggest war campaign Europe has seen since the Second World War. For quite some time now, a significant build up of Russian arms in three areas surrounding Ukraine was noticed by satellite. Russia has been keen on establishing a strong foothold in Ukraine for around a decade and the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and official recognition of separatist movements in the Donetzk and Luhansk regions of Eastern Ukraine were the beginning. What does Vladimir Putin want? Let us discuss.

As mentioned earlier in my article entitled: "Tsar Putin", the Russian president is keen on expanding its influence around its vast continental nation. It is massive, so a lot of land would have to be considered for his audacious and aggressive goals. There is a significant historical meaning to Putin's radical and dangerous expansive policies which does require him to undermine sovereign nations that once was an anchor point for Soviet economic and political stability during the Cold War. I believe Ukraine hits more closer to home for Putin than any other nation. It is personal. Ukraine is also a large country, one of the largest in Eastern Europe in fact. The country is known for its impressive agricultural development and output. This is why it is known as the "Bread Basket" of Europe. Furthermore, Ukraine is home to a lot of heavy industry and incredible amounts of raw materials including precious metals. Strategically, Ukraine is an essential tool for Russia as well, being situated along the Black Sea. Ukraine was one of the most powerful Warsaw Pact states during the Cold War. The Soviet Union invested a lot of money into the country between the Second World War until its dissolution in 1992. Also, going much farther back of course, where Ukraine is today was the beating heart of the Kiever Rus, a massive and powerful medieval kingdom with prominent sway over politics in the Eastern Theater and even in Western Europe. Anne of Kyiv became Queen of France in 1051 upon marrying King Henry I which would be the best example. The Kiever Rus can also be considered the predecessor state of Russia since a good portion of its kingdom was also in the modern framework of today's Western Russia. After the Mongols completely destroyed the kingdom in 1240, much of its influence gradually shifted farther Northeast. Imperial Russia saw its monumental capacity take shape after Peter the Great entered power in the beginning of the 18th Century. Since then, many cities and infrastructure were founded and constructed in present day Ukraine under Russian leadership. Ukraine could only taste full independence from its foreign authority figures after the Soviet Union fell which ended centuries of occupation of Ukrainian culture. 

Ever since Putin ascended as President in 2000, he has been on a mission to rebuild the Russian Federation. Naturally, the country suffered from an immense identity crisis since the fall of the Soviet Union. The country was doing poorly economically and had been having a lot of trouble in getting back onto its feet. Putin realized the hardship the country was facing and decided to rebuild it in accordance to his image. Unfortunately, his plans included the future of key neighboring states. Putin distrusts the West greatly. With former Warsaw Pact nations joining the European Union and NATO, Putin recognized this as a threat to Russia. He and his supporters in government did not like seeing parts of the old Soviet Union disappear piece by piece over time. He believes the West is completely incompatible to Russian standards and therefore, they cannot coexist under any means. Putin also dislikes the USA's global influence on many countries. He believes without the USA things could get better for Russia and it would have less trouble to spread its power. They do have connections with China and Iran and I bet he has some relationships with others countries I am not aware of, which can be seen as a threat to the West since many of these countries are controversial with shady practices in human rights and so on. At the same time, the Kremlin is building an international community it can back on for any reason. One of them is to keep itself separate from the West. 

Putin knows Russia isn't doing so well. The occupation of Ukraine and its possible amalgamation could improve Russia's economy. Russia was never interested in democracy, human rights, and liberties. Historically, the country has been mostly autocratic. To see such a big neighboring country like Ukraine absorb Western ideals is completely unacceptable to Putin. He even warned Finland that joining NATO could have disastrous consequences for that nation which is totally intolerable. Belarus and Ukraine are supposed to be buffer zones to Western expansion and when one of them fails, in Putin's maligned mind, he has to act. Despotic Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and his supporters don't give a damn about their country and they would love to see it join the Russian Federation one day. But Ukraine is much different. They love independence, are proud of their country, and they have a distinct linguistic dialect, culture and heritage which sets it apart from Russia. In the end, none of that mattered to Putin and his government. He officially recognized the separatist regions of Eastern Ukraine and a few days later, coordinated an invasion into different regions of the country followed by rocket and air attacks.  

This armed conflict will cause a lot of harm to Russians. The sanctions will hit extremely hard. Valuable Russian commodities are being pulled from shelves, contracts and agreements are being nullified. International communities are ending any collaborations that have anything to do with Russia. Bank accounts and assets are frozen. Many people will face economic hardship within Russia which could result in a major backlash to Putin. They will blame him for the misery and maybe there will be turmoil that will prove hard for him to control. 

A lot of Russians are also against the war. In a brazen display of courage and defiance, thousands have taken to the streets to condemn their President's actions. As expected, many of them have been apprehended by police and taken away. In Putin's police state, they are thrown behind bars without being heard by anyone in the justice system. My hat goes off to their bold move to speak up against someone who is losing his mind. 

Of course, the Russian government has published its propaganda pieces to try to legitimize its attack on a friendly foreign country. Ukrainians are being labelled as fascists and Nazis by the Russian government due to their roles in the Second World War. The Ukrainian government may have undertaken atrocities against minorities and the Jewish population back then during the Second World War but the current government isn't like that at all. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is Jewish and his ancestors were murdered by German soldiers as they swept through the region during the Second World War. I understand the Azov Battalion has Nazi elements within their ranks but I believe the majority of the Ukrainian military today doesn't have any extremist components. The current Ukrainian nation has nothing to do with such radical, murderous, and vile ideologies and they don't condone such behavior. The Russian media is painting them as the bad guys so Putin would be seen as the Great Savior, when in fact, already many innocent civilians have been killed by the insurrection. Last time I checked, a supposed Great Savior isn't responsible for killing unarmed people. 

It has been reported the Russian soldiers were unaware of the severity of the invasion. In fact, according to them, they believed they were participating in a drill or exercise, meaning they weren't aware this move was leading up to a full-scale war. A few of them were crying and expressing regret for invading. If this turns out to be true, then Putin and the commanders lied to the military. This would also mean that people have died because of a lie which makes this situation even more troubling. 

There is an important historical point to articulate according to a colleague of mine. He has drawn interesting comparisons between Adolf Hitler's expansionist vitriol to Putin's grand scheme of conquest. After Hitler ascended to power in 1933 he embarked on numerous programs to make Germany more formidable. He rebuild the military, was vicious to the opposition, took over Western Czechoslovakia, and annexed Austria while the League of Nations did nothing. They just let him do anything he wanted until he invaded Poland in 1939 to which the allies finally had enough. When will NATO or the UN do something to stop Putin? How much are they willing to risk? Of course, Russia has nuclear weapons and Putin has threatened to use them if anyone intervened with his invasion of Ukraine, but they can't keep letting Putin do whatever he wants. Naturally, sanctions and isolation will help but how far can they go? I can only hope for a peaceful resolution for Ukraine at this time. I am concerned about its sovereignty and its future as an independent nation. I have nothing but love, respect, and admiration for Ukraine and its incredible and brave people and they will always enjoy my unprecedented support. I wish them luck and lots of love.