Ukraine vs Russia war

Ukraine - Russia War

• Background
• Armed conflict in eastern Ukraine erupted in early 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The previous year, protests in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv against Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to reject a deal for greater economic integration with the European Union (EU) were met with a violent crackdown by state security forces. The protests widened, escalating the conflict, and President Yanukovych fled the country in February 2014.
• One month later, in March 2014, Russian troops took control of Ukraine’s Crimea region. Russian President Vladimir Putin cited the need to protect the rights of Russian citizens and Russian speakers in Crimea and southeast Ukraine. Russia then formally annexed the peninsula after Crimeans voted to join the Russian Federation in a disputed local referendum. The crisis heightened ethnic divisions, and two months later pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine held a referendum to declare independence from Ukraine.
• Armed conflict in the region quickly broke out between Russian-backed forces and the Ukrainian military. Moscow denied military involvement, though both Ukraine and NATO reported the buildup of Russian troops and military equipment near Donetsk and Russian cross-border shelling immediately after Russia annexed Crimea. The conflict transitioned to an active stalemate, with regular shelling and skirmishes occurring along the front line that separated Russian- and Ukrainian-controlled border regions in the east.
• Beginning in February 2015, France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine attempted to kickstart negotiations and broker a cessation in violence through the Minsk Accords. The agreement framework included provisions for a cease-fire, withdrawal of heavy weaponry, and full Ukrainian government control throughout the conflict zone. However, efforts to reach a diplomatic settlement and satisfactory resolution were largely unsuccessful.
• In April 2016, NATO announced that the alliance would deploy four battalions to Eastern Europe, rotating troops through Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland to deter possible future Russian aggression elsewhere in Europe, particularly in the Baltics. In September 2017, the United States also deployed two U.S. Army tank brigades to Poland to further bolster NATO’s presence in the region.
• In January 2018, the United States imposed new sanctions on twenty-one individuals–including a number of Russian officials–and nine companies linked to the conflict in eastern Ukraine. In March 2018, the State Department approved the sale of anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, the first sale of lethal weaponry since the conflict began. In October 2018, Ukraine joined the United States and seven other NATO countries in a series of large-scale air exercises in western Ukraine. The exercises came after Russia held its annual military exercises in September 2018, the largest since the fall of the Soviet Union.
• Ukraine has been the target of thousands of cyberattacks. In December 2015, more than 225,000 people lost power across Ukraine in an attack on power generation firms, and in December 2016 parts of Kyiv experienced another power blackout following a similar attack targeting a Ukrainian utility company. In June 2017, government and business computer systems in Ukraine were hit by the NotPetya cyberattack, which was attributed to Russia; the attack spread to computer systems worldwide and caused billions of dollars in damages. In February 2022, Ukrainian government websites, including the defense and interior ministries, banking sites, and other affiliated organizations were targeted by distributed-denial-of-service attacks alongside the Russian invasion.

• Concerns
• The current conflict has severely strained U.S.-Russia relations and increased the risk of a wider European conflict. Tensions are likely to increase between Russia and neighboring NATO member countries that would likely involve the United States, due to alliance security commitments. Additionally, the conflict in Ukraine will have broader ramifications for future cooperation on critical issues like arms control, cybersecurity, nuclear nonproliferation, energy security, counter-terrorism, and political solutions in Syria, Libya, and elsewhere.

• Recent Developments
• Since Russia launched a full-scale military invasion into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, fighting has caused nearly three thousand civilian deaths and internally displaced more than seven million people, according to the United Nations. The conflict has forced another five million Ukrainians to flee to neighboring countries—the majority of whom have arrived in Poland, a NATO country where the United States and other allies are helping to accommodate the influx of refugees.
• In October 2021, Russia began moving troops and military equipment near its border with Ukraine, reigniting concerns over a potential invasion. Commercial satellite imagery, social media posts, and publicly released intelligence from November and December 2021 showed armor, missiles, and other heavy weaponry moving toward Ukraine with no official explanation.
• By December, more than one hundred thousand Russian troops were in place near the Russia-Ukraine border and U.S. intelligence officials warned that Russia may be planning an invasion for early 2022. In mid-December 2021, Russia’s foreign ministry issued a set of demands calling for the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to cease any military activity in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, to commit against further NATO expansion toward Russia, and to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO in the future. The United States and other NATO allies rejected these demands and warned Russia they would impose severe economic sanctions if Russia invaded Ukraine. The United States sent additional military assistance to Ukraine, including ammunition, small arms, and other defensive weaponry.

• In early February 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden ordered around three thousand U.S. troops to deploy to Poland and Romania—NATO countries that border Ukraine—to counter Russian troops stationed near its border with Ukraine and reassure NATO allies. Satellite imagery showed the largest deployment of Russian troops to its border with Belarus since the end of the Cold War. Negotiations between the United States, Russia, and European powers—including France and Germany—did not result in a resolution. While Russia released a statement claiming to draw down a certain number of troops, reports emerged of an increasing Russian troop presence at the border with Ukraine.
• In late February 2022, the United States warned that Russia intended to invade Ukraine, citing Russia’s growing military presence at the Russia-Ukraine border. Russian President Vladimir Putin then ordered troops to Luhansk and Donetsk, separatist regions in Eastern Ukraine partly controlled by Russian-backed separatists, claiming the troops served a “peacekeeping” function. The United States responded by imposing sanctions on the Luhansk and Donetsk regions and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline a few days later.
• On February 24, during a United Nations Security Council meeting to dissuade Russia from attacking Ukraine, Putin announced the beginning of a full-scale land, sea, and air invasion of Ukraine targeting Ukrainian military assets and cities across the country. Biden declared this attack “unprovoked and unjustified” and has since issued severe sanctions in coordination with European allies, including sanctions that target four of Russia’s largest banks, its oil and gas industry , and the financial assets of Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The U.S. continues to commit military assistance to Ukraine; following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s address to the U.S. Congress on March 16, Biden announced an additional $800 million in military assistance. Since Russia’s invasion, the United States has committed $3.4 billion in security assistance, including heavy weapons and artillery. The United States has also dramatically increased the numbers of U.S. troops in Europe, bringing the total to more than one hundred thousand. The United Nations, G7, EU, and other countries continue to condemn Russian actions and support Ukrainian forces. In an emergency United Nations session on March 2, 141 of 193 member states voted to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and demanded that Russia immediately cease its use of force in Ukraine.
• In late March 2022, Russia announced that it would “reduce military activity” near Kyiv and Chernihiv. As the initial Russian invasion slowed, long-range missile strikes caused significant damage to Ukrainian military assets, urban residential areas, and communication and transportation infrastructure. Hospitals and residential complexes also sustained shelling and bombing attacks. By April 6, Russia had withdrawn all troops from Ukraine’s capital region. In the aftermath of the Russian withdrawal from Kyiv’s surrounding areas, Ukrainian civilians described apparent war crimes committed by Russian forces including accounts of summary executions, torture, and rape.
• Meanwhile, civilians in Mariupol–a port city in southeastern Ukraine–have been facing an ongoing humanitarian crisis with acute shortages of food, water, and heat. By late March, observers estimated that the Russian bombardment of Mariupol damaged or destroyed more than 90 percent of the city. Ukrainian officials have put the number of civilians killed during the Russian siege of Mariupol at twenty thousand, and satellite images show a mass grave located near Mariupol. Russian forces have surrounded the city for weeks with aerial bombardments that have killed hundreds of civilians. On April 18, Russia launched a new major offensive in eastern Ukraine following its failed attempt to seize Kyiv.

Orange representing Ukraine.

Green representing Russia

What are the some main reasons of this war?

• Ukraine has become the bone of contention between Washington and Moscow.
• Russia wants the West to keep Ukraine and other former Soviet nations out of NATO, halt weapons deployments near Russian borders and rollback forces from Eastern Europe.
• Ukraine wants to join NATO which has not gone well with Russia.
• Russia thinks if Ukraine is allowed to join NATO, the group would move closer to Russia's borders.
• If Ukraine joins NATO, it is eligible to get support from the group's members in case of external attacks.
• So, Russia believes Ukraine could attempt to take back Crimea if it joins NATO. Putin too expressed his concerns in this regard recently.
• Hence, Russia demands the West to stay out of Ukraine as Putin wants to restore Moscow's influence throughout the post-Soviet space.
• Moreover, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia lost control of 14 former republics including Ukraine.
• Putin considers this as tragic as both countries shared a single "historic and spiritual space".
• The Russian President demands guarantees from the West and Ukraine that it will not join and that Ukraine demilitarise and become a neutral state.

How people and different countries are affected due to this war

The Ukraine crisis has both magnified threat and complicated the potential solutions of several economic factors.

Many European countries are heavily dependent on Russian energy, particularly gas through several vital pipelines. Even if the conflict comes to an end, there is a possibility that the harsh economic sanctions on Russia would make it very difficult for these countries to be able to import gas.

Prices of the products touching sky

1. Transport 🠞With global transport already severely disrupted in the aftermath of the pandemic, the war is likely to create further problems. The transport modes likely to be affected are ocean shipping and rail freight. While rail carries only a small proportion of the total freight between Asia and Europe, it has played a vital role during recent transport disruptions and is growing steadily. Countries like Lithuania are expecting to see their rail traffic severely affected by sanctions against Russia.
2. Supply chain 🠞The world’s unexpectedly robust recovery from the pandemic recession left companies scrambling to find enough raw materials and components to produce goods to meet surging customer demand. Overwhelmed factories, ports and freight yards have meant shortages, shipping delays and higher prices. Disruptions to Russian and Ukrainian industries could delay any return to normal conditions.
3. Edible oil 🠞Ukraine alone makes up almost half of exports of sunflower oil. If harvesting and processing is hindered in a war-torn Ukraine, or exports are blocked, importers will struggle to replace supplies.In India, with the severe threat of supply disruptions, companies are left with not many options but to consider hiking prices of daily-consumed edible oils within weeks. According to leading edible oil makers in the country, over 70 per cent of India's crude edible oil demand is met through imports. For sunflower oil, the share is even higher.
4. Food supplies 🠞Ukraine and Russia account for 30 per cent of the world’s exports of wheat, 19 per cent of corn and 80 per cent of sunflower oil, which is used in food processing. Much of the Russian and Ukrainian bounty goes to poor, unstable countries like Yemen and Libya, reported Associated Press.The threat to farms in eastern Ukraine and a cutoff of exports through Black Sea ports could reduce food supplies just when prices are at their highest levels since 2011 and some countries are suffering from food shortages.
5. Rising prices 🠞The Ukraine war coincides with a high-risk moment for the Federal Reserve and other central banks. They were caught off-guard by the surge in inflation over the past year — the consequence, mostly, of the economy’s unexpectedly strong recovery.
6. Auto Sector 🠞The automobile sector is expected to be hit hard by the war. Rise in oil prices, continued shortage of semiconductors and chips and other rare earth metals is likely to add to the industry's woes. Besides, Ukraine is also home to many companies which manufacture car components for automakers.As per a report in The Wall Street Journal, Leoni AG, which supplies wire systems made in Ukraine to European auto companies, has shut its two factories in the country. Consequently,  Volkswagen AG had to shut one of its plants in Germany.

How can we and our country help in this ongoing war?

• Watching the bloodshed on the streets of Kyiv, Odessa, Kharkiv, and throughout Ukraine, as well as the streams of millions of Ukrainian refugees escaping to safety in countries to the west, many Americans wonder what regular folks can do to help. According to Channell-Justice, there is a lot we can do from afar—for both people who are staying in Ukraine and those who are fleeing the country.
• She recommends contacting your representatives in Congress to let them know your concerns, donating money to reputable relief organizations providing assistance to Ukraine as well as refugees, and fighting misinformation and not spreading it. She also recommends participating in public shows of support and letting your voice be heard. “This may not seem important, but Ukrainians have messaged me to say it’s very heartening to see big crowds across the world come out in their name,” she says.
• For their part, tens of thousands of Russians have taken to the streets, at great personal risk, to protest against the war. At least 3,000 have been arrested. Despite being fed a steady diet of pro-Kremlin advocacy and faked videos by state-owned and Putin-affiliated media, they have lent their names to the peace movement. More than 4,000 scientists and journalists signed a public letter calling for an immediate end to the violence against Ukraine, as have thousands of Russian tech workers, while celebrities, public figures, media companies, and activist organizations have joined the public cry condemning the war.
• “I think it is worthwhile to praise those Russian people who have been brave enough to protest the invasion. Thousands have been arrested, and not gently,” Horrell says, adding that if the wider Russian population can be weaned from propaganda, “even more will speak out, hopefully find safety in greater numbers, and even effect change.”

What are wars? What are the main causes of war?

• War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, aggression, destruction, and mortality, using regular or irregular military forces or it is a conflict between political groups involving hostilities of considerable duration and magnitude.War is when nations, countries, or large groups of people fight against each other. War is the mass fighting of people to protect the things they love and to get the things they desire. Wars can take many lives and lead to millions of people dead. Any war should be not more than for serving justice for the people, assuming a rightful justice. No other war should be.

• These are 8 main causes of war:-
1. Economic Gain
2. Territorial Gain
3. Religion
4. Nationalism
5. Revenge
6. Civil War
7. Revolutionary War
8. Defensive War

Effects of any war

➤The effects of war are widely spread and can be long-term or short-term. Effects of war also include mass destruction of cities and have long lasting effects on a country's economy. Armed conflict has important indirect negative consequences on infrastructure, public health provision, and social order. These indirect consequences are often overlooked and unappreciated.

Advantages and Disadvantages of war

The cycle of war will never end because it always leads to the same thing. One side winning, the other side losing. One side with pride and rewards, the other side with loss. Both sides however have devastating consequences that follow war. Death, debt, and poverty; some of the most major consequences that follow war. The rewards can be great, but the loss is too great. War should be avoided in any way possible.There are many effects of war. Some of them are pride, money, land, and nationalism. Those are the advantages of the effects of war. A disadvantage though is trauma. There are many kinds of trauma that can scar you in a physical or mental way that will never you make you the same as you were before. Each kind of trauma transform the complete, basic human being into someone else, someone having parts missing from their psyche.

• Advantages
• The alternative to NOT go to war, might be worse … example: if you must fight or face extinction of your country or freedom, it is perhaps better to fight today with an Ally or fight tomorrow alone.
• Small lopsided wars, can be a form of entertainment for TV and a sort of twisted team building - through sports can largely do the same.
• If you are part of the military industrial complex you can make an obscene amount from governments eager to not loose.
• creates allies
• can rule out dictatorship, monarchy, etc and can become an independent country.

• Disadvantages
• kills innocent people
• huge loss of economy
• create enemies
• Wars kill people, thereby not only wasting lives but also the future productivity of those people
• Wars kill people, thereby not only wasting lives but also the future productivity of those people
• Wars are a huge material waste as the more immediate dire the situation the more short term the planning … or in economic terms the risk premium and interest rate goes up!
• Not only can there be a material waste, but wars often leave existing infrastructure / capital investments destroyed
• There is a fallacy that wars accelerate technology, but that's mainly due to some tech being rushed into service, but tends to sacrifice more fundamental & long term research.

What is difference between wars in early and modern period?

If we were to have a war, then we could look at old battle strategies, maps from the old times showing us the lay of the land, and it could also show us something that could help us win a war.New Wars are the wars of the era of globalisation. Typically, they take place in areas where authoritarian states have been greatly weakened as a consequence of opening up to the rest of the world. In such contexts, the distinction between state and non-state, public and private, external and internal, economic and political, and even war and peace are breaking down. Moreover the break down of these binary distinctions is both a cause and a consequence of violence.

On the basis of 5 differences we have compared old and new wars which are:-

1. Actors:-Old wars were fought by the regular armed forces of states. New wars are fought by varying combinations of networks of state and non-state actors – regular armed forces, private security contractors, mercenaries, jihadists, warlords, paramilitaries, etc.
2. Goals:-Old wars were fought for geo-political interests or for ideology (democracy or socialism). New wars are fought in the name of identity (ethnic, religious or tribal). Identity politics has a different logic from geo-politics or ideology. The aim is to gain access to the state for particular groups (that may be both local and transnational) rather than to carry out particular policies or programmes in the broader public interest. The rise of identity politics is associated with new communications technologies, with migration both from country to town and across the world, and the erosion of more inclusive (often state-based) political ideologies like socialism or post-colonial nationalism. Perhaps most importantly, identity politics is constructed through war. Thus political mobilisation around identity is the aim of war rather than an instrument of war, as was the case in ‘old wars’.
3. Methods:-In old wars, battle was the decisive encounter. The method of waging war consisted of capturing territory through military means. In new wars, battles are rare and territory is captured through political means, through control of the population. A typical technique is population displacement – the forcible removal of those with a different identity or different opinions. Violence is largely directed against civilians as a way of controlling territory rather than against enemy forces.
4. Forms of finance:-Old wars were largely financed by states (taxation or by outside patrons). In weak states, tax revenue is falling and new forms of predatory private finance include loot and pillage, ‘taxation’ of humanitarian aid, Diaspora support, kidnapping, or smuggling in oil, diamonds, drugs, people, etc. It is sometimes argued that new wars are motivated by economic gain, but it is difficult to distinguish between those who use the cover of political violence for economic reasons and those who engage in predatory economic activities to finance their political cause. Whereas old war economies were typically centralising, autarchic and mobilised the population, new wars are part of an open globalised decentralised economy in which participation is low and revenue depends on continued violence.
5. Aim of war:-Old wars tended to extremes as each side tried to win, new wars tend to spread and to persist or recur as each side gains in political or economic ways from violence itself rather than 'winning'. Whereas old wars were associated with state building, new wars are the opposite; they tend to contribute to the dismantling of the state.

Major wars held in history(By conflicts)

• Viking Invasions (793–1066)
• Crusades (1096–1291)
• Mongol Conquests (1205–1312)
• Hundred Years' War (1337–1453)
• Italian Wars (1494-1559)
• Seven Years' War (1756–1763)
• American Revolutionary War (1775–1782)
• Napoleonic Wars (1799–1815)
• American Civil War (1861–1865)
• World War I (1914–1918)
• World War II (1939–1945)
• List of engagements during the 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan (2001–2021)
• 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022)

People wonder why we should learn about war and why its so important as it going on today(Russia-Ukraine War). The reason because is so that we don't make the same mistakes that previous generations of men made before us. If we made the same mistakes again, that would mean we as humans can't learn from our past mistakes which would stop us from advancing ourselves as a whole. So, always try to go for a peace treaty which helps both sides equally and also increase bonds among those countries so that they can get more profit.