By Pablo Daniel Magee
What is really happening in Ukraine, and why is Russian President Vladimir Putin currently putting at risk a relative world peace over this territory?
The first thing we should have in mind when discussing Ukraine, is that it is the cradle of Russian civilization. That cradle is better known under the name of the Kievan Rus’: a principality which existed between the ninth and the thirteenth Century. This principality, which was overthrown by the Mongol invasions in the year 1240, is the oldest common political entity of the modern states of Belarus, Russia and… Ukraine: the first beat of contemporary Russia’s heart. A part of the Russian Empire, Ukraine became the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1922, following the Russian revolution, and later reached independence in 1991, with the fall of the USSR. As journalist Sylvie Kaufmann reminds us, this explains why in July of 2021, in an article entitled On the historical unity of Russians and Ukrainians, President Putin defended the idea that “Russians and Ukrainians are one people – a single whole” and that “the wall that has emerged in recent years between Russia and Ukraine, between the parts of what is essentially the same historical and spiritual space, to my mind is our great common misfortune and tragedy.” Before coming to the conclusion that: “One fact is crystal clear: Russia was robbed (of Ukraine), indeed.” Retrospectively, such an article published seven months ago was clearly announcing the events presently taking place.
Sadly for President Putin, since the military annexation by Russia of the Ukrainian region of Crimea, in 2014, the national feeling of the Ukrainian people towards Russia is clearly not aligned with Putin’s argument. In fact, this military move by Russia even triggered Ukraine’s desire to move away from Russia and become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an organization created by the United States and some European countries at the very beginning of the Cold War, in 1949, to face the USSR. In the past twenty years, several countries formerly belonging to the USSR joined NATO, and it now seems that watching the cradle of Russia taking this leap is unacceptable for Putin, although to this day, NATO consistently stopped Ukraine from joining, by fear of endangering the Alliance’s relations with Russia. Nevertheless, far from being discouraged by such diplomatic barriers, Ukraine started implementing the rule of law with stronger determination, even fighting against a ravaging corruption inherited from the USSR, with the hope of one day joining the European Union: an absolute nightmare for Vladimir Putin’s one man show.
When conflicts lead to such absurd conclusions, one comes to wonder if the rule of law could be adapted to prevent World leaders from putting all of us, and everything else in existence, at risk over the mad occurrences of a single autocrat.
In reaction to this democratic effort led by the Ukrainian government, Russia asked for a reunion with the United States and NATO representatives in January of 2022, bringing to the table pre-written documents respectively called Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on security guarantees, and Agreement on measures to ensure the security of the Russian Federation and member States of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Had they been ratified, this treaty and agreements would have prevented NATO from expanding, particularly to Ukraine. Nonetheless, in the name of the sovereign right of countries to apply freely to any organization they might see fit, the US and NATO did not sign, converting the January reunion into a failure for Russia. As an answer, Putin immediately deployed 100.000 military troops to the border of Ukraine.
By the time French President Emmanuel Macron travelled to Russia to meet with President Putin on the 7th of February of this year, in an effort to de-escalate the crisis, President Putin had already sent tanks, medic units and even blood banks towards the Ukrainian boarders. When came the time for the joint press conference at the end of the French President’s visit, Vladimir Putin reminded the West that allowing Ukraine to join NATO would be an extremely dangerous move because of the famous Article 5. NATO’s fifth article indeed states that any aggression against one member of the Alliance is considered an aggression against the entire alliance. Based on this, Vladimir Putin tried to turn the problem around: “Imagine that you allow Ukraine to join NATO and that Ukraine tries to take back the region of Crimea by military means. You would be pulled into a conflict that does not concern you. Before you even know it, you would be enforcing the Article 5, finding yourselves in a direct conflict with Russia. (…) and I know that Russia is an atomic power, with more fire power than many of your countries”.
As I am writing these words, we just heard the news that US President Joe Biden had a one hour talk with Vladimir Putin over the weekend, which did not go well, according to the White House. On his side, following the call, President Putin moved helicopters to the border of Ukraine, reinforcing his troops on site. We are, as of yet, unable to foresee if Vladimir Putin will actually invade Ukraine, but the United States made it very clear they do not intend to let such an attack go unpunished. As we, citizens of the World, have to shake at the thought of the possible next World War, the media are already counting the number of atomic bombs in the hands of each side. According to recent reports, with about four thousand nuclear bombs, Russia has enough nuclear fire to end all life on Earth. Nonetheless, with over three thousand currently active atomic bombs, the United States are also well placed to do the same thing (aren’t we glad!).
When conflicts lead to such absurd conclusions, one comes to wonder if the rule of law could be adapted to prevent World leaders from putting all of us, and everything else in existence, at risk over the mad occurrences of a single autocrat. Maybe it’s time we really considered a sovereignty-overruling legal protection for humanity, before Vladimir Putin or the next dictator in line blows us all out of existence. Until then, good luck to all of us!
Cover illustration: CNN