Ukraine crisis: Reasons behind the conflict and here's what's happened so far

The crisis between Russia and Ukraine has taken the world economy, politics, diplomacy as well as global markets by storm. The crisis prompted the finance ministers of the G7 nations to issue a joint statement underlining “massive” economic and financial consequences for Russia if it plans to attack Ukraine. “We are prepared to collectively impose economic and financial sanctions which will have massive and immediate consequences on the Russian economy,” the G7 joint statement read.
 
So, what is the Russia-Ukraine conflict all about?  

Ukraine gained independence 30 years back with the fall of the Soviet Union. Since independence, the country has struggled to combat corruption and bridge internal divisions. Ukraine’s western region generally supported integration with Western Europe while the country’s eastern side favoured closer ties with Russia.
 
Tensions between Russia and Ukraine peaked in 2014 when protestors ousted Ukraine’s pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych in the Revolution of Dignity. It is around the same period that Russia forcibly annexed Crimea, rendering Ukraine in a vulnerable position for self-defence coupled with a temporary government and unprepared military.
 
Following this, Russian premier Vladimir Putin immediately moved to strike Donbas, which is located in eastern Ukraine and the subsequent armed conflict between the Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists have killed over 14,000 people. Russia, however, continues to officially deny its involvement in the Donbas conflict.
 
The Ukrainian government, on the other hand, has been drawing closer to the West. It openly said that it will apply for European Union membership in 2024 and also has NATO ambitions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to power in 2019 on the promises of peace in the Donbas region, anti-corruption and economic renewal.
 
Also read: Joe Biden warns Vladimir Putin of 'severe costs' of Ukraine invasion

How do the Ukrainians feel about the Russian premier? 

According to the Ukrainian news site RBC-Ukraine, as of September 2021, 81 percent of Ukrainians stated that they have a negative attitude about Putin while only 15 percent reported a positive attitude towards Putin.
 
Putin, on the other hand, views Ukraine as part of Russia’s “sphere of influence” – a territory rather than an independent state. It is this sense of ownership that has driven Moscow to try to block Kyiv from joining the EU and the NATO. He is also using Ukraine as leverage for Western powers to lift their sanctions against Russia.
 
Putin’s decision to engage in a military buildup along Ukraine is also connected to a sense of impunity as he has experience dealing with western politicians who champion Russian interests and become engaged with Russian companies once they leave office.
 
But what makes the US so interested in this conflict? With its annexation of Crimea and support for the Donbas conflict, Russia has violated the Budapest Memorandum Security Assurances for Ukraine. The Budapest Memorandum Security Assurances for Ukraine is a 1994 multilateral agreement between the US, the UK and Russia that aims to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty in exchange for its commitment to give up its nuclear arsenal.
 
TOP DEVELOPMENTS SO FAR IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT
 

• Russian mercenaries with ties to Moscow’s spies have increased their presence in Ukraine in recent weeks, stoking fears among some NATO members that Russia could try to engineer a pretext for an invasion.
• The US and Europe has warned that Russia may create a pretext to attack Ukraine while reaffirming its pledge to “defend every inch of NATO territory”. US President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said an invasion could begin “any day now”.
• Sullivan further said Washington would continue sharing what it learned with the world in order to deny Moscow the chance to stage a surprise “false flag” operation that could be a pretext for an attack.
• International airlines have cancelled flights to Kyiv—capital city of Ukraine -- as troops unloaded fresh shipments of weapons from NATO members.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the world leaders to steer away from fearmongering as this could impact Ukraine’s economy.
• The finance ministers of the G7 nations to issue a joint statement underlining “massive” economic and financial consequences for Russia if it plans to attack Ukraine.
• Russian Foreign Ministry has declined to accept a collective response from the European Union and NATO and has insisted on an individual response from each of these countries.
• Citing NATO’s argument of every nation being free to choose alliances, Moscow claims that NATO has violated its own principle and jeopardised Russia’s security by expanding eastwards.
• Russia has concentrated more than 130,000 troops near the Ukraine border but it claims that no invasion has been planned. Russia also wants guarantees from the West that NATO will not allow Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations to join the Western military alliance.
• In the light of its conflict with Ukraine, Russian government has decided to not send a representative to this year’s Munich Security Conference. The development was confirmed by the event chair Wolfgang Ischinger.

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