Russia-Ukraine War
If you have stumbled upon this blog, chances are, you have been following the news related to Russia Ukraine War where Russia has invaded Ukraine with the mission to curb genocide, illegal activities etc.
Coming to the point, why Russia is doing this in a small country like Ukraine which not even is as competitive as massive giant like Russia.
The story starts with the fall of Soviet Union(1991) when Ukraine declared themselves as democratic. Things were fine till 2013 when massive protest broke out in Ukraine capital because President Yanukovych did not sign the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement and instead pursued closer ties with Russia which resulted in removal of his presidency from Ukraine. March 2014 saw annexation of Crimea by Russia, then Russia declared two more regions as republic in Ukraine i.e., Donetsk and Lugansk. With this move, Russia gained more control over Ukraine.
Ukraine being a less powerful country, with no nuclear power and not very strong defense machinery has always aspired to be a part of NATO(group of countries which has expanded eastward in EU, some prominent countries that are part of NATO are UK, Brazil, Germany, Poland, Italy etc.).If Ukraine succeeds in becoming part of NATO, its members will help Ukraine in defense and will send their army to fight any intruder. But Ukraine is not yet part of NATO.
But what is that Russia scared of, if Ukraine becomes part of NATO?
First, if Ukraine by any means becomes part of NATO, then its members who are rivals of Russia will move very closer to its border which will eventually lead to unrest and security threats in Russia.
Second, which no one talks about is Black Sea. As a maritime waterway, the Dardanelles connects various seas along the Eastern Mediterranean, the Balkans, the Near East, and Western Eurasia, and specifically connects the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. The Marmara further connects to the Black Sea via the Bosphorus, while the Aegean further links to the Mediterranean. Thus, the Dardanelles allows maritime connections from the Black Sea all the way to the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean via Gibraltar, and the Indian Ocean through the Suez Canal, making it a crucial international waterway, in particular for the passage of goods coming in from Russia.(source : Wikipedia)
Moscow sees the Black Sea region as vital to its geo-economic strategy: to project Russian power and influence in the Mediterranean, protect its economic and trade links with key European markets, and make southern Europe more dependent on Russian oil and gas.
If Ukraine joins NATO, then this region will be capture by NATO allies and hence Russia might have to move back from Black Sea making a huge loss, economically as well as politically for Russia.
What can be the India’s take?
If you know history, you already know that Russia is very good friend of India, our ties has always been good. Russia (Soviet Union at that time) has helped India a lot after Independence, even during liberalization of Bangladesh from Pakistan, Russia had helped India. During Nuclear test, Moscow also refrained from criticizing India for her peaceful nuclear test in 1974. The Soviet Union consistently showed understanding for India’s nuclear position.
India has in the past abstained from talking or voting against Russia in security council. Recently during Crimea invasion, India refrained from condemning Russia.
I will end this piece here, its up to reader’s thought to decide whether India’s move is good or not.
Will see you in my next post, till then, keep Ukraine in your prayers :)