Author: Manasvini Tammineedi
Date: February 27, 2022
Source: By Пресс-служба Президента Российской Федерации (Source: http://en.kremlin.ru/), via Wikipedia Commons under Creative Commons 4.0
Caption: Vladimir Putin, President of Russia
Russia has officially invaded Ukraine. Although the event was sudden and seemed to be abrupt, the history between these two countries goes back decades. Let’s start from the beginning. Ukraine gained independence when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991; Ukraine then had Russia sign an agreement in 1994, essentially approving of Ukraine’s independence and ensuring the country's safety from Russia. This document however, was not legally binding. It is also at this time in which Ukraine gave up their nuclear weapons to Russia (National World and The Conversation).
It is also notable that Russia has and continues to oppose the idea of Ukraine joining or interacting with NATO (The North Atlantic Treaty Organization), although Ukraine wants to and has been attempting to. The country has already applied to become a member, however the unstable economy and condition of the country reduces the chances of NATO accepting their application and them becoming a member anytime soon (inews). Conflict between these two countries arose in 2014, when the then Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovych, was removed from office for rejecting a deal, and then proceeding to suppress protesters in a violent manner. The protesters were supported by Europe and the United States while Russia, on the other hand, backed Viktor Yanukovych. The protesters were able to drive Yanukovych out of the country, which led to the thirst for power and dominance in Ukraine by Russia. Russian rebels then started to take Ukrainian territory, and once they began to weaken due to the Ukrainian military, the Russian army stepped in. It was at this time that Russia invaded the Ukrainian peninsula, Crimea. What started as a small conflict has since escalated into an undeclared war between the two countries (Vox). More recently, tensions between the two countries had been rising; beginning in late 2021, Russian forces surrounding Ukraine had significantly increased (US News). On February 24, 2022, Putin declared a “special military operation” on Ukraine, which has since been implied to be an invasion of Ukraine. One the same day, missiles have been showering over Ukraine, petrifying the citizens of the country; reportedly, there have also been many cyber attacks on Ukraine. That brings us to where we are today: Russia has officially invaded Ukraine.
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