Dr. A. Motalab Makki
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is not a protracted case as it began on November 21 of 2013. The then-president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych suspended preparations for the implementation of the Association Agreement with the European Union.
The decision sparked mass protests from supporters of the agreement. The protests sequentially led to a revolution that overthrew the then-president in February 2014. Thereafter, unrest swept through some of the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine that were inhabited by majority of Russian speaking citizens, from whom Yanukovych drew most of his support.
Later, another political dispute arose after Russia’s ‘alleged’ invasion of the mentioned regions (in February 2014) which annexed the Ukrainian autonomous region of Crimea in March 2014. The Russian invasion encouraged the Russian speaking citizens into turmoil, turning in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts into a quasi-national war (from April 2014) against the post-revolutionary Ukrainian government. As the conflict progressed, the Ukrainian-Russian opposition turned into a pro-Russian insurgency, often supported and aided by the Russian military and its special forces.
Since 1991, the United States has funded pro-European political groups in Ukraine through non-governmental organizations such as the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The representative of the Office of European and Eurasian Affairs in Washington, DC, and the American Dr. Victoria Nuland, indicated that the funding exceeded $5 billion between 1991, the date of Ukraine’s independence, and 2013.
The reality is that Russia likely views Ukraine as its back garden and represents a step towards the establishment of a new Russia. While the European Union countries see Ukraine as a claw that helps put pressure on Russia and a foothold that helps limit Russian influence in the countries affiliated with the old Soviet system.
In addition to “supporting the territorial integrity and unity of Ukraine”, observers believe that the undisclosed reason of the American interest in the Ukrainian crisis file, and the interest in Kiev’s billions of dollars support in confronting Moscow, lies in American interests and goals that may turn into sparks of war, which include subduing the Russian government, and discouraging Russia from allying with China, the main adversary of Washington.
Ukraine continues to demand “allies” to provide with qualitative military support and lethal weapons, and has already acquired American Javelin anti-armor missiles, developed Neptune anti-ship missiles, and bought Bayraktar aircraft from Turkey. Russia considers that these weapons threaten its security and the safety of its citizens, and that their widespread use may ignite international crises, and possibly spark war.
Obstructing the Russian-European rapprochement after years of relative hostility and obstructing the “Nord Stream 2” project to transport gas, as a major geopolitical danger to European allies.
Among the current and most severe predicaments are the energy crisis, the rise in gas prices, and Russia’s insistence on launching the “Nord Stream 2” project and continuous probing with Ukrainian transmission lines, which has not happened yet, as a result of European-American fears and pressures. The severity of this crisis increases as the winter gets colder, and inflation rates rise exponentially on the European continent.
All things considered, the challenges represented by American and European influence and the growing Russian ambitions, in addition to the energy crisis, will ultimately remain a continuous fuel for this conflict unless the two parties reach truce and resolve hostility with solutions that both sides find appealing.
Ideally, both governments need to agree to a moratorium on NATO expansion and enforce restrictions along the NATO/Russian borders. Eventually breaking down military operations.
Dr. A. Motalab Makki is Assistant Professor of Media at the Department of Mass Communication, QU, and former managing editor of Al Sharq Newspaper
Dr. A. Motalab Makki is Assistant Professor of Media at the Department of Mass Communication, QU, and former managing editor of Al Sharq Newspaper
