Inderjeet Sambyal
The attack on Ukraine by Russia is potentially the onset of war in Europe on top of Russia’s behest for an end to NATO’s eastward expansion.
On Feb 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine. The tensions on Ukraine’s border with Russia are at their highest in years. Fearing a potential invasion by Russia, the US and NATO are stepping up support for Ukraine. In this article, we explain the reason for tensions between Russia and Ukraine, the latest developments, the stand of various stakeholders in the region. Ukraine was a member of the Soviet Union until 1991 when it disintegrated, and Russia has tried to maintain the country in its orbit since then.In 2014, a separatist insurgency started in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, Donetsk Basin. As a result, both the US and the EU have pledged to safeguard the integrity of Ukraine’s borders. Ukraine and Russia have shared cultural and linguistic ties for hundreds of years.Ukraine was the most powerful country in the Soviet Union after Russia.Ukraine has been a hub for commercial industries, factories and defence manufacturing
“War is a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal”.
It may seem that the Russian President has everything to do with the bloodshed and such instability across the world, but it is not only one side that is responsible for such invasions and conflict. There are always two sides to the coin. We see the mainstream media, the Western media, and all other news channels reporting on Ukraine and how its President is handling the situation and how we need to stop this Injustice….Here is the Russian side of the story. Find out where exactly the conflict began and when the situation went out of control!As World War II was ending, the Cold War began. This was to be a long lasting and continuing confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States, lasting from 1945 to 1989. In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. Ukraine and Russia, which both had been part of the Soviet Union, became independent countries but the issue with Western Countries didn’t went off. Going back to 1949, Western Countries and allies together formed NATO, an alliance against the Soviet Union i.e. Russia. In 1990, the West led the Soviets i.e. Russians to believe NATO would not expand further eastward across Europe, Western Countries assured this with the famous slogan, “not one inch eastward”. These assurances were not honored, and NATO has expanded eastward over the years to include many more countries, all the way up to Russia’s borders. Around 15 countries have joined NATO from 1999. For decades the Russians objected to NATO expansion and “warned that if this went as far as taking in Georgia and Ukraine, then there would be confrontation and strong likelihood of war.” NATO declared that Ukraine and Georgia will become members” of NATO in 2008 which was the starting of the conflict! What’s the real cause for escalation of the conflict? At the June 2021 Brussels Summit, NATO leaders reiterated the decision taken at the 2008 Bucharest Summit that Ukraine would become a member of the Alliance with the Membership Action Plan (MAP).Western countries approached Ukraine to join NATO, 14 years ago which led to beginning of the destruction era. Why Russia has an problem with Ukraine joining NATO? Expansion of NATO is a serious threat to Russia. Western countries approached countries, many countries and asked them to join NATO,
All the NATO countries now have missile system, military bases and strike weapon system on bilateral basis. Russia fears that if Ukraine also joins NATO, It’s security would be comprised and corresponding missile system would be installed in Ukraine just like Poland and Romania.
What does the West and Russians wants?? The Truth! NATO/WEST has no interest in going to war with Russia over Ukraine where Russia has meddled and backed armed conflict for years, but by dangling the possibility of Ukraine’s NATO membership for years but never fulfilling it, NATO created a scenario that emboldened Ukraine to act tough and back Russia, without any intention of directly defending Ukraine with its firepower if Moscow decided Ukraine had gone too far. Poor Ukraine, trapped between a conflict ongoing from at least 70 years between the Russian’s and the WEST! Russia doesn’t want any War, neither with Ukraine nor with the WEST.
Russia clearly quoted, “We don’t want to divide Ukraine, we just want a constitutional guarantee of Neutral status of Ukraine”. For their own security, Russia had actually started an operation just to “DEMILITARIZE” Ukraine. Their aim is not to eliminate the Civilians, they don’t want any sort of Human causality but when the Ukrainian President Zelenski itself is using the Civilians as a Human Shield, Russian Armed Forces would consider them as a direct threat. Russia is blamed for the destruction, but the WEST is never blamed for all the actions they have taken in the past that affected many other countries. For example, Iraq War 2002, Invasion of Afghanistan, etc. It is important to understand that all things happening in the present have a history which shows a direct interference by the WEST, which is actually wrong, because they are dominant and they consider it a right to interfere in matter.
(The author is State Spokesperson BJP JK UT)
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