THE UKRAINE RUSSIA ISSUE

1) WHAT CAUSED THE CONFLICT?

• The reason Russia is targeting Ukraine- Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine not to become a part of EU or NATO and demands total disassociation irrespective of the fact that Ukraine has wanted to be a part of NATO for years.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56720589 

https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/russia-ukraine-conflict-explained-1644932005-1 

• Why is NATO the centre of this conflict- (NATO i.e the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is a military alliance between the U.S., Canada, and most of Europe) Russia believes that them and Ukraine have the same origin and if Ukraine becomes a part of NATO, Russia will lose it forever as NATO aims at making Russia weak. https://www.wsj.com/podcasts/the-journal/why-nato-is-at-the-center-of-the-russia-ukraine-conflict/e02c8cbc-5357-40c2-a252-ba4d306b0ef1

• What does NATO say- NATO wants a peaceful resolution. It wants Russia to sit and discuss. NATO has relocated staff from Kyiv to western Ukraine and Brussels amid the escalating tensions and kept troops on standby. 

https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-latest-nato-chief-says-russia-planning-full-scale-attack/a-60839276

2) WHAT HAPPENED AFTER RUSSIA DEPLOYED TROOPS?

• U.S President Joe Biden warns Putin- U.S.A says that if Russia invades Ukraine, it would result in human suffering, would affect energy supply, global markets etc. USA does not plan to send troops to Ukraine yet and wishes to be diplomatic but US officials state that they are ready for other scenarios also. 

https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/world/story/joe-biden-warns-vladimir-putin-of-severe-costs-of-ukraine-invasion-322412-2022-02-13

• China supports Russia

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/20/us/politics/russia-china-ukraine-biden.html 

• Countries ask their nationals to leave Ukraine- Countries like US, UK, Germany, France and India have asked their nationals to leave Ukraine amid security issues. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60361983

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/ukraine-tense-india-asks-citizens-to-leave-101645381742851.html#:~:text=India%20on%20Sunday%20advised%20its,possible%20invasion%20by%20Russian%20forces.

• International airlines have cancelled flights to Kyiv (capital of Ukraine)- As troops unloaded fresh shipments of weapons from NATO members, international airlines have cancelled flights to Kyiv. 

https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/world/story/ukraine-crisis-reasons-behind-the-conflict-and-heres-whats-happened-so-far-322622-2022-02-15

• No Russian representative to this year’s Munich Security Conference- In the light of its conflict with Ukraine, the Russian government has decided to not send a representative to this year’s Munich Security Conference. This was confirmed by the event chair Wolfgang Ischinger.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/no-russia-this-years-munich-security-conference-event-chair-2022-02-14/

3) WHAT CAN HAPPEN IF RUSSIAN TROOPS INVADE UKRAINE?

• Can Ukraine defend itself? – Even though Ukraine is stronger now than it was in 2014 (when it lost Crimea to Russia) it is still weaker than Russia in terms of military personnel, missiles etc. It is depending upon the support of western countries like the US. 

https://www.wionews.com/photos/what-will-happen-if-russian-troops-invade-ukraine-431684#how-prepared-is-ukraine-to-defend-itself-431681

• Global economic and stock market hit- Global economic and stock market instability will grow. Energy prices will rise further. Basic food supplies in African and Asian countries that depend on Ukraine, the world’s fifth-largest wheat exporter in 2020, will be hit.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/19/analysis-what-can-the-west-expect-if-putin-gives-order-to-invade

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/21/business/economy/ukraine-russia-economy.html

4) INVASION BY RUSSIA

• Russia finally attacks Ukraine on February 24, 2022- Russian President Vladmir Putin unleashes an attack on Ukraine after asking Ukraine to lay down their weapons.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/24/timeline-after-months-tensions-russia-attacks-ukraine 

• How did Russia attack Ukraine- 

a) Russian forces attacked from three sides- https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60503037 

b) Explosions were heard in Mariupol (eastern Ukraine), the capital Kyiv, in the eastern city of Kharkiv, close to the border with Russia, and in the port city of Odessa in the south of the country as missiles were fired by Russian forces. https://www.npr.org/2022/02/23/1082510234/russia-ukraine-updates 

• UN SECURITY COUNCIL HOLDS AN EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENCY MEETING- While the UNSC was holding an emergency extraordinary meeting on february 24, 2022 to discourage Russia from sending troops into Ukraine, the Russian President announced a military operation. https://www.npr.org/2022/02/24/1082716731/emergency-u-n-meeting-is-interrupted-by-russias-invasion-of-ukraine

5) WHAT HAPPENED AFTER RUSSIA ATTACKED UKRAINE

• Ukraine declared Martial Law and called on citizens to fight- Martial law means that military officials are in charge of applying law and not civilian leaders or police

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/02/24/martial-law-ukraine-russia-attack/6925581001/ 

• Ukraine breaks all diplomatic relations with Russia https://www.india.com/news/world/ukraine-breaks-diplomatic-ties-with-russia-says-president-volodymyr-zelenskyy-5256269/ 

• Ukrainian people in Kyiv started to leave their places and took shelter in metro stations- nearly 1,20,000 Ukrainians have fled the country so far

https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/nearly-120000-ukrainians-have-fled-un-refugee-agency/article65087142.ece 

• Global financial markets disturbed and rise in global oil and gold prices- 

1. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-tops-100-gas-grains-metals-spike-russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24/

2. https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/world/russia-ukraine-news-crisis-global-markets-rocked-oil-soars-on-russia-ukraine-conflict-latest-updates-2022-02-24-761415

3. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gold-prices-pop-to-one-year-high-as-russia-invades-ukraine-111219668.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADAa4RzybYurx-xlDQ5MfPvTxPDJc4GnJg5ZIrjePuqFqHp6udtlmdNYcLA-STWNIct0OW7v6zRbRH96Dgsl59oDo6BL4nRqxzMP7nRcEGbiFy7G4FTgI-GL1te2Teg6pO546Dm1_GNy0t9zRy8cHcYNYJgVYuxK-VBfKWceQ2Qs 

• World leaders react to the invasion- 

https://www.usnews.com/news/world-report/articles/2022-02-24/world-leaders-respond-to-russian-attack-on-ukraine 

KEY TAKEAWAY

Russian president Vladimir Putin had been denying for months any step towards planning to invade Ukraine. However, he recently went against the peace treaty and deployed around 1,50,000 Russian troops to Ukraine’s borders. While Putin claims them to be peace-keeping troops, many disagree with the same. He mentions Russia and Ukraine to be ‘one nation’ and has claimed that modern Ukraine was created entirely by communist Russia. Putin had been demanding Ukraine’s disassociation with the EU and NATO. Russia states that NATO has its primary aim to make Russia weaker and if Ukraine becomes a part of it, it would create a divide amongst its own people, believing that Russians and Ukrainians have always been one. NATO, on the other hand, states that it wants Russia to sit and discuss the issue with them. NATO has put troops on standby for the time being. On february 24, 2022, Russia initiated an attack on Ukraine by targeting major cities and military bases. The reaction to this came as expected. Global financial markets shook up and oil & gold prices rose. President Putin received a lot of criticism and opposition from people, even those belonging to his own country.