*Putin - Why did he Invade Ukraine?
Published by Campbell M Gold in Political · Thursday 22 Feb 2024
Tags: Putin, Ukraine, Invasion, Reasons
Tags: Putin, Ukraine, Invasion, Reasons
Why did Putin invade Ukraine?
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On 24 February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the deployment of approximately 200,000 soldiers into Ukraine, marking what has been referred to as the most significant European invasion since the end of WW2. So, why did Putin invade Ukraine?
The Russian government has labelled this large-scale military action a "special military operation." Tragically, this operation has resulted in the bombing of civilian areas across Ukraine, leading to a humanitarian crisis with over 13 million people becoming refugees in other countries or internally displaced within Ukraine.
On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a statement in which he expressed his intention to "demilitarise and denazify" Ukraine without resorting to forceful occupation. He reiterated his support for the independence of the eastern Ukrainian territories, which have been under the control of Russian-backed separatist forces since 2014.
Putin emphasised the need to protect the people of these territories from what he described as eight years of bullying and genocide by Ukraine. Additionally, he voiced concerns about preventing NATO from establishing a presence in Ukraine and emphasised the objective of ensuring Ukraine's neutral status.
The Russian state-run news agency "Ria Novosti" stated that the process of "denazification" in Ukraine would result in the elimination of Ukrainian national identity and culture, essentially erasing the existing modern state of Ukraine.
Was Nato to blame for the war?
The situation in Ukraine has prompted NATO member states to bolster the country's defences by providing air defence systems, missile systems, artillery, and drones. These assets have been instrumental in thwarting Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
It's important to note that NATO does not have troops on the ground in Ukraine and is not directly responsible for the conflict. The perceived Russian threat has driven NATO's response, including its expansion. Sweden and Finland sought to join NATO as a direct consequence of the invasion.
There has been some traction in Europe around Russia's concerns regarding NATO's eastward expansion. President Putin had previously demanded the rollback of NATO forces and military infrastructure from Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Baltics to the 1997 levels. From Russia's perspective, the West had pledged in 1990 that NATO would not expand "an inch to the east," but this was mainly about East Germany within the context of a reunified Germany, not the broader eastern expansion.
NATO's stance is that it never had plans to deploy combat troops on its eastern flank until Russia's illicit annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The dissolution of the Soviet Union occurred between 16 November 1988 and 26 December 1991. On the 26th of December, Declaration № 142-Н of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union formally dissolved the USSR as a sovereign state.
The hammer and sickle flag was lowered over the Kremlin for the last time and replaced by the Russian tricolour. This marked the end of the Cold War era and the establishment of 15 independent states, including Russia, within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
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