Ukraine was the vital pillar of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the main enemy of United States. The country became the second-most extensive and influential among the fifteen Soviet countries after Russia. Ukraine acted as the headquarters of the Russian navy fleet in the black Sea and a portion of the nuclear arms. Additionally, it was the most significant share of the government’s farming and security divisions. Ukraine was important to the alliance, and its move to break up affairs in 1991 led to the death of the great power’s saving grace.
How War Started in Ukraine
For the thirty years of its existence, Ukraine toiled to shape its future as an autonomous nation while also trying to associate itself more effectively with Western organizations including the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty association. Nevertheless, Kyiv battled to find a middle ground in its international strategy and restore its extreme internal battles (Tarnavska 42). Whereas most people who spoke Russian in the east desired strong connections with Russia, the Ukrainian-speaking inhabitants in the western areas of the state usually supported tighter incorporation with European countries.
In 2014, Ukraine became a battlefield after Russia invaded Crimea and started to provide weapons and support to separatists, the militia volunteer group in the state’s southeast corner in the Donbas area. Russia moved to capture Crime for the first time following the second world battle when the European countries conquered other nations. The Donbas fight was the worst in Europe after the Balkan fights of the nineties, claiming the existence of over fourteen thousand individuals between 2014 and 2021 (Tarnavska 41). The wars signaled the end of the United States unipolar period of world supremacy and the commencement of a new age of global influence rivalry.
Factors that Sparked the War
The 2022 Russian attack on Ukraine resulted from the Kremlin’s mounting anger against the north Atlantic treaty organization’s post-military conflict enlargement into the historic Soviet zone of supremacy. President Putin and other top Russian representatives blamed America and the North Atlantic treaty organization of routinely breaching their early 1990s contracts, preventing the association’s expansion into the previous Soviet Union (Tarnavska 39). The leaders perceived NATO’s development during the turbulent time for Russia as a distressing constraint over which they had nothing to do but perceive.
In 2008, Russian President Putin spoke to Unites States executives during the days before the North Atlantic agreement organization conference that determinations to include Ukraine in the union would be an aggressive move against Russia. When Russia invaded Georgia a few months back, Putin demonstrated the determination to use power to safeguard their nation’s concerns. Prior to the 2022 attack, Ukraine continued to strengthen its networks with NATO, although it was not a participant (Tarnavska 42). In addition to contributing in yearly army maneuvers with the coalition, Ukraine was the only one among the six advanced prospect collaborators in 2020, a privileged position kept for the group’s nearest to nonmember countries. Furthermore, Kyiv also confirmed its aim to become a full NATO participant.
The main driving force behind Putin’s actions was the concern that as Ukraine continued to advance toward a contemporary, western practice of freedom; Russia’s autocratic rule could ultimately be under threat. The Russian president feared losing any chance of reestablishing a Russian zone of control in Eastern Europe. According to anthropologist Anne, Putin intended to undermine, terrorize, and desire the downfall of Ukrainian sovereignty (Tarnavska 37). Putin wanted the demise of the Ukrainian financial system and the international stakeholders to leave. The president needed Ukraine’s neighboring countries, such as Belarus, Poland, Romania, and Hungary, to doubt their long-term viability of democracy.
How Could War in Ukraine be Avoided
The option that could have stopped and mitigated the conflict was through the deal in which Ukraine pledged to maintain neutrality. Additionally, the implementation of the Minsk agreements could prevent Putin’s aggression. There were two contracts in the Minsk packs; the initial was in 2014, and the other was in 2015 (Tarnavska 40). The latter Minsk accord demanded that all international armed groups, army hardware, and mercenaries leave Ukrainian jurisdiction. The treaties intended to conclude the conflict between the Ukrainian military and the Russian separatists in the Donbas area. In addition to other promises, the settlements gave the Donbas self-governance and parts of the territory that the separatist had initially controlled. However, the 2014 deal collapsed and could not end the conflict, and the 2015 deal was ineffective, and both parties proceeded to violate the truce.
In exchange for impartiality, a comprehensive peace deal might have enabled Ukraine to consider joining the European Union. Nevertheless, EU integration was among the main demands of the Western-supported revolt that toppled Kyiv’s pro-Russian administration in 2014 (Tarnavska 43). In response to the bloody revolt and its consequences, Russia annexed Crimea the following year. There was minimal chance of Ukraine officially entering the North Atlantic treaty organization prior to Putin’s attack. Ukrainian president Zelenskky had an opportunity to make a peace talk with the Russian president to find a solution. However, the western states could have rejected the move because they were using Ukraine as a front in its conflict with Russia. Rather than pursuing a peaceful settlement, Canada and its partners worsened the dispute, and NATO’s activities were the key contributor to the threat of a Ukraine war.
Effects of Ukraine War on Other Countries
Ukraine has always been significant because of its grain exports. In 2021, Ukrainian cereal provided food for approximately four hundred million individuals worldwide (Tarnavska 38). However, for the first five months of the battle, Ukraine could not export its grain via its main sea lanes across the Black Sea. As a result, countries that banked on the crops from Ukraine suffered. Violence and global warming have already triggered food shortages in several grain-importing nations of the Arab world and Africa. The food shortages grew worse because of the conflict in Ukraine.
East Africa is going through impending hunger due to severe drought and the interruption in food availability brought on by the conflict in Ukraine. Around fourteen million individuals, the majority of whom are children, live in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia and are currently at risk of hunger. Unless the world acts swiftly, that figure might increase to 20 million. Since 2014, the rate of extreme food shortages in the Sahel area in Africa has been at its closest peak (Tarnavska 36). The conflict in Ukraine has driven up the cost of petroleum and wheat regions such as the Middle East. The Syrian fugitives are some of the most severely impacted since they lacked the wages necessary to cope with the rising cost of living.
Work Cited
Tarnavska, I. “The New York Times about Contemporary Ukraine: Conceptualization Attempt.” (2019): 35-44.