When describing Russia’s pursuits to reclaim Ukraine, international leaders have used the words “imperialism” and “war crimes.” In these trying times, Ukraine vies for more aid from superpowers, especially the U.S., in order to remain independent.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict began after the Soviet Union’s collapse. According to Reuters, after Ukraine declared independence from Moscow in 1991, Russia became apprehensive of growing ties between Ukraine and Western institutions such as NATO and the European Union. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to NATO to allow Ukraine to join, and though Ukraine and NATO held good relations, officials believed it would be too risky because it would upset Russia. Russian President Putin believed that the more westernized Ukraine became, the less control Russia would have over the region. Although Ukraine’s closer to joining NATO than ever, they are still not a member today.
The Kremlin, Russia’s government, believes they have a historical claim over Ukraine. The territory was once in their sphere of influence, and some areas were given as gifts from previous Soviet leaders. In a 2022 speech, Putin explained Russia’s ties to Ukraine.
“So, I will start with the fact that modern Ukraine was fully and completely created by Russia, more precisely, Bolshevik and Communist Russia,” Putin said.
Aside from perceived “belonging,” The Wall Street Journal reports that Russia desires Ukraine’s strategic resources: their rich soil and vast fields yield 10% of global wheat exports, 14% of corn exports and 47% of sunflower oil exports. Major untapped oil and gas reserves potentially worth trillions of dollars reside in their borders.
These reasons pushed Russia to invade the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Their main goal was to strengthen Russian influence over the new Ukrainian government; Ukraine was invaded only days after their former president, Viktor Yanukovich, was removed from power.
Russia later annexed Crimea, which allowed Putin to gain control of an area of the Black Sea and some of the largest known gas reserves in Europe. Putin declared that it was seized by a local paramilitary self-defense force, but it was really taken by heavily armed Russian troops. The U.S. Department of State released a press statement, asserting: “Crimea is Ukraine,” and that this violation of international law should have global attention.
The war garnered media attention when Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. According to Reuters, Putin said he ordered “a special operation” to protect Russian citizens subjected to “genocide” in Ukraine in his televised address that day. It was the biggest attack on a European state since World War II, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. President Biden told White House reporters that Putin was the aggressor and that the U.S. will work on demilitarizing and denazifying Ukraine.
Currently, Russian forces are focusing their attacks in Eastern Ukraine on the country’s energy facilities. Ukrainian military spokesperson Oleksander Shtupen said that Russia has dropped about 450 bombs on the town of Avdiivka. Though Ukraine has repelled 32 attacks, Russian forces continue pressing on the defensive line around the town amidst freezing weather conditions.
Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenča commented on current life in Ukraine: citizens are facing drone attacks, explosive remnants of the war, sexual violence, increased poverty rates and damaged infrastructure.
“Ten million people have been forced to flee their homes, including 3.7 million internally displaced, and over 6.3 million refugees recorded globally,” Jenča said on Dec. 6 to the UN’s Security Council.
The same day, U.S. senators denied a bill that would have provided Ukraine with $61 billion in aid. This was to pressure U.S. President Joe Biden into changing border policy, according to Reuters. White House Budget Director Shalanda Young wrote to many congressional leaders that halting funds would be detrimental to Ukraine.
“Cutting off the flow of U.S. weapons and equipment will kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield, not only putting at risk the gains Ukraine has made, but increasing the likelihood of Russian military victories,” Young wrote.
In a BBC interview on Dec. 9, Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska worried about diminishing financial and moral support.
“We really need the help. In simple words, we cannot get tired of this situation, because if we do, we die,” Zelenska said.
Some groups have taken matters into their own hands. In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against Putin for the following war crimes: unlawful deportation of a population and unlawful transfer of a population from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, according to the ICC website. Behind these charges are nonprofit organizations such as The Reckoning Project, one of the first groups to report on Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children. Founder and independent journalist Peter Pomerantsev believes that America must provide more aid, and that their response to this conflict will not only affect Ukraine; it will decide America’s future.
“Is America still a country that sees its own interests in supporting a world where aggressive countries like Russia and China have some limits, or does it want to retreat from the world? It’s just a choice that America has to make,” Pomerantsev said.
Why should people care? Pomerantsev claims that Russia’s real target is the West.
“Ukraine is a battlefront but the aim is to destroy American power,” Pomerantsev said. “The more America retreats from the world, the less access we will have to resources, the easier it’ll be to blackmail America. Their aim is to secure a world where they’re in charge, where
America’s no longer setting the rules, and to throw America off its position of dominance. That includes its security space, military space, and very soon after that, economic space.”
Pomerantsev doesn’t foresee victory against Russia without America’s help.
“It’s up to all the democracies to act together. Even if all of them link together, without America, they aren’t really going to win,” Pomerantsev said.
