Russia-Ukraine War

RUSSIA'S MOTIVATION 

written by Rosalyn brady

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On February 24, 2022,  the Russian Federation launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, commencing with a barrage of missiles and airstrikes in cities including Kyiv and Kharkiv.  Unfortunately, nearly two months later, the invasion is still ongoing, leaving thousands dead, 7.1 million displaced within Ukraine, and 4.2 million displaced outside of Ukraine. 

Some questions are yet to be answered: what were the root causes of this conflict? And what was it that caused Russia to make this move?

It can be said that the causes of this conflict are deeply rooted, dating back to the era of the Soviet Union and the Cold War. 

After the Second World War, most of Europe was forced to undergo the long road to economic recovery after its devastating effects. The United States and the Soviet Union were left as the world’s only two great powers, and, therefore, as rivals - meaning that the United States wanted to do its best to curb Soviet expansion. America viewed an economically strong and independent Europe as the best way to keep communist influence at bay, so it began to supply aid to Western Europe and, when communism seemed to be gaining traction, to negotiate a security treaty in which if one country were to be attacked, the others were to aid in its defense, which provided these countries a ‘safety net’ against tensions such as the civil war in Greece, communist expansion, or a blockade against West Berlin, the U.S-, British-, and French-controlled part of Germany surrounded by the Soviet-controlled part of Germany, as well as reassurance that a global superpower such as the United States would intervene in case of conflict, providing these countries a great deal of aid and protection. This treaty was called the North Atlantic Treaty, and the signatories are a part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO. 

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO has expanded to include Eastern European countries, some of them historically part of the Soviet Union, such as Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Romania, and Poland. Since 2008, there have also been discussions regarding Ukraine’s membership in NATO. However, each time this is discussed, Russia has demanded that it be 100% guaranteed that Ukraine will not join NATO, or host any foreign military operations; this has continually been vetoed by the NATO Secretary General on the grounds that nations must move past expansionism and spheres of influence, and that Ukraine and other NATO countries are the ones who have a say in Ukraine’s membership. Due to this, these discussions have stagnated, making no progress. 

In late 2021, discussions regarding Ukraine’s membership in NATO resumed, which Russia again attempted to refute. On December 17, Russia unveiled a draft proposal it had for the United States, proposing that NATO renounce Ukraine’s admission and that the United States not build any military bases within Ukraine, which was refuted by NATO out of respect for Ukraine’s integrity.

After weeks of stagnated discussions and renouncement of these demands that Ukraine not join NATO, Russia grew displeased with the constant refusal, seeing Ukrainian membership of NATO as a national security issue as Russia would have a member of an organization meant to curb its influence right on its borders. Angered by this perceived threat, Russia continually threatened an attack on Ukraine if its demands were not met, going so far as to deploy 100,000 military troops. 

With Russia’s demands not met, Moscow launched an invasion of Ukraine, under the guise of eliminating ‘militarism’ and ‘extremism’ in Ukraine and ‘protecting Russian-speaking Ukrainians from Kyiv’s oppression’. Thus, on February 24, 2022, the Russian federation launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, commencing with a barrage of missiles and airstrikes in cities including Kyiv and Kharkiv.  Unfortunately, nearly two months later, the invasion is still ongoing, and it is hoped that it will soon finish.