The reasons behind the outbreak of war

Why did Russia invade Ukraine on February 24, 2022?

Published

31.10.2024

Russia invaded Ukraine because it needs our resources – territorial, natural, human. It needs to maintain influence, demonstrate its own power and prevent us from developing following the example of successful European states. However, this is a practical dimension and, let’s say, Putin’s short-term plans. In fact, he continues Russia’s century-old imperial policy. Speaking more globally and from a historical point of view, Russia’s ultimate goal has remained unchanged for centuries – the complete destruction of Ukraine, the subjugation of Ukrainians and their erasure as a separate nation, and the seizure of all Ukraine’s resources. In addition, Russia is trying to appropriate the history and heritage of Kyivan Rus.

Russia’s primary goal was the political occupation of Ukraine, and the time of Yanukovych’s presidency was quite successful in this sense. But after the Revolution of Dignity and Yanukovych’s escape from the country, the Kremlin saw that it was “losing Ukraine.” Russia occupied the Ukrainian Crimea, deployed its fighters in Luhansk and Donetsk regions, and organized quasi-state entities on the occupied territories – the so-called “LPR and DPR” (“Luhansk People’s Republic and Donetsk People’s Republic”). During all these years, Russia tried to impose its terms on us in the Minsk negotiation process and thus bring representatives of these territories to the Verkhovna Rada in order to influence Ukrainian politics from the inside. In other words, it was supposed to be a kind of Trojan horse.

However, Russia failed to achieve this goal. Meanwhile, Ukraine distanced itself from Russia even further and escaped from its domination. Pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine were increasingly marginalized year after year, pro-Russian Medvedchuk’s channels were sanctioned and could no longer influence Ukrainian society.

The combination of all these factors led to the fact that Putin decided to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On February 24, 2024, Russia began implementing this scenario and was confident of a quick victory. The initial plan to capture Kyiv was projected for an operation lasting three to five days. A similar plan was implemented by the Soviet Union in Hungary in 1956, in Czechoslovakia in 1968, and in Afghanistan in 1979. The Kremlin expected that “Ukrainians would welcome the Russian army with flowers”, so the Russian military carried with them ceremonial military uniforms and medals, expecting a quick victory parade in the center of Kyiv.

The Russians called their attack on Ukraine an “operation” aimed at “demilitarization” and “denazification” of Ukraine. However, the blitzkrieg was unsuccessful and Ukraine continues to fight, repelling their aggression. The Russians commit war crimes on the territory of Ukraine massively and systematically every day. They indiscriminately and absolutely brutally kill Ukrainians, kidnap and completely re-educate Ukrainian children, teaching them to hate Ukraine, looting Ukrainian resources from the occupied territories. But all these are only intermediate “achievements” of the Russians. The ultimate goal of Russia as an imperial state is the final destruction of Ukraine and its subjugation, the genocide of the Ukrainian people. And Russia has always dreamed of taking our history from us and pretending to be the successor of Kyivan Rus.

Did Russia really come to protect the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine?

Published

15.04.2024

Russia invaded Ukraine with a war of conquest. The phrase “protection of the Russian-speaking population” is a propaganda technique of artificial dividing of Ukrainians into groups mostly designed to mislead foreigners. In fact, Ukraine has a high level of tolerance to different cultures, religions, and languages, including Russian. And the Russian-speaking population never suffered significant restrictions and especially oppression.

Most of Ukrainians believe that there are no problems with the Russian language in Ukraine. As many as 84% of Ukrainians think there are no problems with speaking Russian in the country and Russian-speaking citizens are free to speak and express their opinion.

All major publications in Ukraine translate their texts into English and Russian.

In 2023, Ukraine ranked 79th in the World Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders. Russia ranked 164th in the same rating.

“The Russian-speaking population” is just a propaganda term used to justify the war in Ukraine.

It is the Russian-speaking population who suffers from Russia most. According to a survey conducted by Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, the vast majority of the population of Ukraine’s southern and eastern regions speak Russian in everyday life.

In general, Russia “is protecting” Russian-speaking Ukrainians by daily shelling and this has resulted into people’s voluntary switching to Ukrainian in everyday life. In 2004, the share of the Russian-speaking population in the eastern regions reached 93%. However, in 2023, only 23% of local people spoke Russian in everyday life. The Kremlin’s policy of aggression led to a voluntary refusal from the Russian language even among the once loyal population.

Why is the war in Ukraine not NATO’s war against Russia?

Published

29.05.2024

The war in Ukraine is not NATO’s war against Russia, no matter how actively Russian propaganda tries to manipulate it. The war in Ukraine is an unprovoked aggression by Russia, which has not yet given up its imperialist encroachments on its neighbors and particularly on Ukraine.

Russia started its aggression against Ukraine long before Ukraine had real aspirations to join the North Atlantic Alliance. In 2014, when Russia occupied Ukraine’s Crimea, and the Russian proxy forces supported by it launched an armed conflict in the Donbas, Ukraine’s non-aligned status was enshrined in the legislation. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine abolished it only on December 23, 2014, when Russian troops had already violated the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Russian propaganda tries to make everything look like Russia had to send its troops to Ukraine in order to protect itself against NATO. In fact, at that time, NATO countries did not consider Ukraine’s accession to the Alliance at all. However, the Alliance is the only effective collective security tool. Proof of this is the recent joining of Finland and Sweden. If Russia was really threatened by NATO, according to this logic, it would have to attack Finland, with which Russia also shares a common border. But no, Russia is simply using fiction about NATO’s alleged aggressive actions to justify its invasion of the territory of independent and sovereign Ukraine.

In 2014, when Russia violated the territorial integrity of Ukraine, NATO countries – the United States, the UK, Germany, France – decided to support Ukraine by providing it with non-lethal weapons and imposing certain sanctions against Russia. But such limited aid was not enough to force Russia to give up its plans and, in fact, only increased the appetite of aggressive Russia, which decided that it could keep this up and it would go unpunished. However, in 2022, NATO allies began to provide real military and financial assistance to Ukraine. And Russia constantly threatened that this would be a reason to believe that NATO had entered the conflict. With each new type of weapons that the allies transferred to Ukraine, we heard the same threats, which turned out to be a bluff.

Russia is already taking aggressive actions against NATO states: cyberattacks, interference in elections, information and psychological operations, influence operations, support for extremist and destructive movements, espionage, etc. These are components of hybrid warfare. That is why Russia must be stopped now – Ukraine itself, all NATO members, and the entire civilized democratic world are interested in this.

Why is Ukraine NOT an aggressor in the war against Russia?

Published

26.06.2024

Ukraine is definitely not an aggressor in the war against Russia as long as it did not assault Russia and did not commit any actions that could pose a threat to Russia’s statehood, national security, and sovereignty.

According to international law, an aggressor is a country or a group of countries united by a military cooperation agreement which uses armed force against another country first, thus applying aggression. An aggressor state is a country that has declared war on another state; entered the territory of another state with armed forces, even without declaring war; bombards the ground facilities of another country with the help of ground forces, from the air or from the sea; applies a naval blockade of the coast or ports of another state; provides support to armed groups that were organized on the territory of the country and carry out attacks on the territory of another state.

It is Russia who is an aggressor state although it has not declared a war on Ukraine. It announced the so-called “SVO” [the abbreviation from Russian “Special Military Operation”], a legal hybrid invented specifically for the full-scale aggression, sent its troops to the territories of Ukraine and occupied them, bombards and shells Ukrainian cities and villages – the military, administrative, and civilian infrastructure, blockades our ports and coasts, and it is exactly Russia and its agents who created and support illegal armed groups on the territory of Ukraine.

In no way can Ukraine be considered an aggressor, and on the contrary, it is a victim of the unprovoked Russian aggression inspired exclusively by its imperialistic aspirations. Thus, Ukraine is forced to inflict strikes on Russian military targets only because Ukraine has to defend itself.