James Lu Week 9 - Russia and Ukraine: A Dance of Death
Russia and Ukraine: A Dance of Death
In 2014, following the Ukrainian Revolution where the Pro-Russian government was overthrown, Russia invaded and annexed Crimea. Unmarked Russian soldiers (no insignia, no rank, no names) entered the region, established a new government by holding the previous ministers "hostage." To this day, Crimea belongs to Russia: they follow the laws of the Russian government and pay taxes to Russia rather than Ukraine.
However, a new conflict is at hand. Kyiv, and consequently Ukraine, has been growing closer and closer to NATO and there have been rumors of Ukraine joining the NATO military alliance for the past decade. This is a massive problem for Russia, as having a country bordering you be part of NATO would mean that any invasion of Russia would be streamlined, NATO forces could now use Ukraine as a staging ground for anything Russia related, and the mere presence of Western military bases so close to major Russian cities would inspire fear.
The United States has had a long history of working both with and against insurgents, from the mujahedeen in Afghanistan to prevent the Soviet invasion to the counterinsurgency measures invented by General Petraeus in Iraq. “The level of military support” for a Ukrainian insurgence, Admiral Stavridis said, “would make our efforts in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union look puny by comparison.” The United States supplied Afghanistan so well that even when the U.S. military deployed during Operation Enduring Freedom that they could not even take over the country.
Something is brewing in Ukraine, and it will not be good. Perhaps Europe will be plunged into an axis of darkness once more.
Quote of Demands from
Quote from Admiral Stavridis from
NATO logo from
Stinger Missile from
Hi James! I zoned out last year near the end of AP Euro, especially after World War I, so I only remember NATO by name and that it has something to do with nuclear alliances. I have even less knowledge about Ukraine and Russia and insurgents in Afghanistan so your blog was kind of confusing to me. I'm not very sure what the first image is supposed to represent. Hopefully whatever happens between these countries does not break into another world war as it seems that many countries are involved. I remember doing SAT practice and reading an article on the Cuban missile crisis and how everyone was very fearful and miserable so hopefully something of that nature doesn't happen again.
ReplyDeleteHi James, this is a great topic to cover for the new topic of language and power because it represents Russia's long struggle for power, specifically Putin's desire for power. He still believes that the Soviet Union collapse was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century, and that's scary to think about. It's scary because we don't know whether Russia is trying again to become a major global power, and we also don't know how America will react this time. I can only hope that we don't repeat our actions, but we seem to be going down that track, like you pointed out.
ReplyDeleteHi James! It seems so fascinating to realize and find out how the United States puts in so much effort into ensuring that we are safe from any danger with the military bases and alliances that we are surrounded with. By wanting to limit Ukraine and NATO involvement, I found the American approach of creating fear within their eyes by placing all their military resources near the Russian cities, so they would never dare to come to that area. Russia is utilizing many of their personal demands as a method to try our diplomacy and its respective methods in a proper way before sending in the military to come in. The mobilization of the armor units and their respective artillery is important to consider in terms of ensuring that fleets in the Black Sea will be gone. Although I do believe that Russia has grown better in making missiles in spades and putting together troops that are well-armed. Thank you for your blog as it was very descriptive in terms of describing how our country has its own tactics for attack versus other countries.
ReplyDeleteHi James! A while back, I vaguely remember hearing about the US supplying Afghanistan insurgents with weapons prior to the war in Afghanistan. The entire series of events before the war seems ironic now in hindsight, and it’s quite strange to see something similar potentially taking place again. Although, the information about Russia wanting to protect itself strategically was very interesting, and it’s cool to see the extent that countries are willing to go to with their military power in order to obtain certain regions or territories.
ReplyDeleteHey James, your blog this week was very interesting to me as I had no idea about these events happening in Europe, and had little knowledge of America's involvement in Ukraine. I find it surprising how Russia managed to simply take over the Ukraine government by entering with unmarked soldiers and initiating a new government by holding the previous one hostage. This simple takeover is even appalling considering how easy you made it sound. In addition, the amount of military support that would need to go into a conflict with Ukraine and Russia would be devastating, considering the vast amount of munitions and funds that went into the conflict in Afghanistan. If the support necessary for a Ukrainian insurrection would dwarf the Afghanistan supplies and munitions, conflict in Europe revolving around Ukraine could trigger tensions and potentially start a war.
ReplyDeleteHi James. Your blog was very educational and it seems like you did a lot of research about this topic, as at some points, it felt as if I was reading a Britannica article. I certainly learned a lot from reading your blog. I do not really actively follow the news, but even I had definitely heard a little bit about the tense situation between Ukraine and Russia. I did not, however, know any of the details of exactly what was happening between Russia, Ukraine, or how the US and NATO were involved. It was also great to learn a little bit about the history behind this conflict. With the insanely high number of Russian troops on the border and the increasingly harsh demands Russia is placing on NATO, it definitely feels like something major is brewing. I truly hope that things are resolved diplomatically and soon, because as we have seen time and time again, no one really wins a war. War is so costly and painful for everyone involved, and especially in today's age, where many countries also have nuclear weapons, war would be terrifying. It is so sad that so many poor soldiers and even innocent civilians have to die because of a war that is often started by rich politicians. I seriously wish that all countries could just keep their peace rather than start deadly wars, but I guess that is too idealistic. Hopefully, Russia and NATO will come to a diplomatic solution soon, and both sides will remove their troops.
ReplyDeleteHey James! I liked reading this blog, it was certainly very informational and provided context on current world events. News that President Biden had deployed U.S. troops to the Ukrainian Border has me quite worried that the situation could worsen. The possibility of another global war is very frightening to me especially the thought of a mandatory draft. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for many years and it looks like it could only escalate from here. The U.S. does have a history of interfering in many international wars and whatever it is it shouldn't reach the U.S. mainland anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteHey James, I like your blog post. I always find it really interesting when a government gets overthrown. A lot of the times it happens from groups that are just randomly formed like the Taliban. When such groups manage to overthrow the government, it reminds me of the abstract nature of the government. The government is not as rigid as we think it is, and it only sustains as long as we believe it does.
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