Ukraine Conflict

 

 

Every country has regions, and people in the different parts behave in a special way, and that is part of the beauty of the world, that there is so much difference and diversity in cultures and people. However, there are times when the intolerance and rivalries between people of different regions can turn into a huge problem even for the world. Ever since it became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine has been divided culturally and ideologically, with the west highly influenced by Europe and the east by Russia. Since then, these two tendencies have had discussions and put pressure on the government to sign treaties and either be a part of the European Union or continue to be out of it and be instead Russia’s unconditional ally. In 2013, the President of Ukraine at the time refused to honor his promise of becoming a part of the EU, which angered the people in the west who wanted to become economically independent from Russia and receive the benefits that a membership to this Union would provide them with. Because of this, young people mostly in Kiev started to protest against the government’s actions, and soon the protests were also addressing the corruption and demanding a regime change. These protests forced President Yanukovich out of the country and into Russia, which protected him and gave him asylum.

 

Later, Russia responded to these protests and decided to invade a part of Ukraine and claim it as its own. The world did not react well to this action, so Russia tried to justify its actions by claiming that a referendum had been held in those territories and that the people had decided to become a part of Russia. However, these elections generated a lot of suspicion, but the Russian government was not willing to let them happen again with an international oversight. All of these actions sparked a response by Ukraine, which decided to answer militarily, bringing its forces to the border and fighting the groups of separatists that were defending it. The Russian government often said that the separatists were only Ukrainians fighting for their rights and not Russian men at arms, but uniforms, weapons and supplies have been found in their hands that came from Russia. There have since been several attempts to make deals and cease fire, but none of these have worked until now, so the question remains. What should be done?

This situation has been going on for a long time now and has claimed many lives, so more efforts by the international community must be made to solve this. Even if the past treaties have not worked and have all been violated by both parts of the conflict, there must be more talks o a solution can come, and the solution must come from peaceful ways. The Russian government must take control and lead the rebels, so that they are no longer a group of separatists who are not willing to negotiate but a group with real purposes and intentions to stop the bloodshed. There must not be a military intervention by any other country, because this could be perceived as a threat to the Russian government and could spark a war. Something that could help keep the peace if it is made would be the presence If there are going to be outside troops present for peacekeeping and for preventing the conflict to keep escalating, the decision to deploy them must be taken with Russia present and voting, and the troops should not come from a country or a western alliance, but from a neutral alliance like the United Nations where Russia has a vote.

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It is very important for the entire world that this conflict reaches a peaceful resolution to prevent an escalation and even a war between the US and Russia, which would probably end up destroying the world because of the usage of nuclear weapons. Russia should agree to another vote with international oversight and transparency, because it is true that if Ukrainians want to join Russia they should be entitled to do it, but they must take this decision freely and without any kind of pressure by Putin or his administration. It is very worrying that the conflict keeps on going even after many attempts at making peace and many talks that have already happened, but the world must keep trying and both parties must keep an open mind so that bloodshed can be stopped and peace can finally be reached.

Sources:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28969784

http://www.summer.harvard.edu/blog-news-events/conflict-ukraine-historical-perspective

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27308526