Why did Russia invade Ukraine

Why did Russia invade Ukraine?(Amir Khakwani)
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The most important point for us as Pakistanis is what position should the state of Pakistan take in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and what should ordinary Pakistanis think? In this regard, it is important to understand the background and various aspects of this conflict.
Ukraine is one of the unfortunate regions that has always been under attack from the vicinity, it has been under occupation for many centuries and its struggle spans many generations. Historically, the Ukrainians, despite being different from the Russians, remained part of the Russian Empire for centuries. The fate of the Ukrainian people did not change during the Tsarist period and after the Soviet Revolution, they remained under occupation. Many masterpieces of classical Russian literature revolve around the Ukrainian landscape.
Some readers may not understand the difference between the USSR and Russia. The USSR or Soviet Union refers to the “Union of Soviet Socialist Republics”, which was a collection of fifteen countries, came into being after the Soviet Revolution and lasted from 1922 to 1991, 91 years when for various reasons. The Soviet Union collapsed and the occupying powers became separate countries. Since Russia was the largest part of the Soviet Union and in fact it was the iron grip of the Russian elite and the Russian nation that held sway over the Soviet Union, many would still call the Soviet Union Russia, technically but then It was the Soviet Union.
Among the countries that seceded were Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan), Armenia, Moldova and the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and others. All of these have now become separate countries, although the Dagestan region of Chechnya is still part of Russia, despite fighting for its independence. All of these countries that seceded from the Soviet Union were deeply influenced by Russian influence and culture. The Soviet government made good use of the raw materials of these areas as planned, but refrained from setting up industries here. Russian-speaking people were also deliberately resettled here under planning. If the local medium of instruction was also in Russian, then Russian language is widely understood and spoken in all these countries.
In the first few years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the region suffered from a variety of crises. They grew up in oppression and dictatorship for fifty-five centuries, the raw form of democracy came here and many countries are still occupied by civilian dictators. Russia was economically weak then naturally some of these countries Europe and Western world. Became closer to
The turning point in Russia’s life came when Vladimir Putin, a former KGB (Soviet Union’s notorious intelligence agency) agent, became head of Russia. Putin is said to have had a profound effect on his life and psyche since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. They want Russia to rise again and become a Soviet-era power, influence and importance in the world. He also managed the Russian economy, opened new avenues of development, adopted a new aggressive foreign policy, and in practice implemented a model of controlled democracy in the country, namely, a policy of nominal political freedom, controlled media and crackdown on opposition. Adoption That is why Putin has been in power for so long. He amended the Russian constitution more than once to stay in government. He was President of Russia from 2004 to 2012. According to the Russian constitution, no one can become president more than twice. Putin then made a political move and became prime minister. He then became president for another six years, and in 2018 he became president for the fourth time. It is likely that he will continue to be the iron man of Russia for many years to come.
Under Putin, Russia sought to increase its formal, informal intervention and influence in its former states. There are many manifestations and examples of this. They hate American or Western influence in these areas. They try to resist it at all costs. Putin wants the former Soviet Union to never join the Western alliance NATO. Remember that “NATO” is the anti-Soviet alliance of the West which was established in 1949, it includes the United States and the countries of Western Europe, Turkey is also a part of NATO. The countries of Eastern Europe, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Austria, etc., were then socialist countries, and they were under the deep influence of the Soviet Union and its allies. The Soviet Union collapsed, but NATO did not, because the Western world believes that Russia is still a major power with thousands of nuclear missiles and one of the world’s three or four largest armies.
Russia’s involvement in the NATO alliance is also a factor in the recent conflict in Ukraine. Ukraine is Russia’s neighbor. Ukraine wants to join NATO, significant progress has been made, but Ukraine has not yet formally joined NATO. It is important to understand that the basic premise of the NATO alliance is that if one country is attacked, all NATO countries will fight it together, that is, an attack on one would be considered an attack on the whole of NATO. Ukraine’s leaders are concerned about Russia’s aggressive intentions and want to join NATO somehow to ensure its own security. Russia, on the other hand, thinks that if Ukraine joins NATO, NATO military bases and missiles will be installed right next to its border, thus posing serious problems to Russian security. Putin has repeatedly said this in recent times.
It should be noted that Poland, Latvia and Estonia have also joined NATO. Russia is also against them but they are not of strategic geographical importance like Ukraine, so Russia did not react so strongly there. Russian President Putin, however, does not want Ukraine and Georgia to join NATO under any circumstances. NATO’s response is that Russia has no right to put pressure on it and any independent country can join the alliance of its own free will, who is going to stop Russia?
The crisis in Ukraine is many years old. In 2013, when pro-Russian government was formed in Ukraine, public protests against Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych began, which intensified. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, to demand the removal of the president. Even then, the issue remained NATO. In Ukraine, large sections of the public were in favor of moving to the West and NATO, while pro-Russian public, political and journalistic circles were in a different position. Protests intensified, but the government tried hard to suppress them, with much bloodshed and bloody riots. When pro-Russian President Viktor Yushchenko fled Ukraine in February 2014, he sought refuge in Russia. European governments are coming. The current Ukrainian president is also a pro-Europe, pro-NATO alliance.
Some parts of Ukraine have a Russian-speaking majority population; Russia is very sensitive about these areas. Crimea is one such area, which President Putin used to secede from Ukraine using regular military force. Crimea’s local government and people were also opposed to becoming part of Ukraine, and there seems to be a strong desire to join Russia. Similarly, two more important regions of Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk, are under the control of pro-Russian Ukrainian separatists. These areas have been practically separate for many years, controlled by pro-Russian Ukrainian separatists who have full Russian support, but have not been recognized as a separate country. All of a sudden, Russia recognized these countries as an independent region and sent its troops there.
The latest attack on Ukraine has taken place mainly in the two regions. Russian troops have been sent to Donetsk and Luhansk, but there is a danger that Russia will launch a much larger attack on the whole of Ukraine, especially its capital. Don’t even take over. The situation is very serious and serious, it will have deep implications, they will talk about it in the next session.