Why did Putin start the Russo-Ukrainian conflict?

The long-feared invasion of Ukraine byRussiahas led the Russian leader,Vladimir Putin, to After eight years of fighting in Donbass, it irrationally declared the need to "demilitarize and de-Nazi" its neighbors.

When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky led by example from Kyiv and rallied the international community for their unwavering support, his people launched an impressive resistance. , suppressed the Russian armed forces as much as possible. More recently, efforts have been made to retake Crimea,

while the invaders continued to employ brutal siege tactics, encircling the country's cities and firing heavy artillery. Is going. This is a strategy previously seen in Chechnya and Syria.

Ukrainian cities such as Kharkov and Mariupol have been attacked by Russian missiles as they seek to gradually gain territory in the east and south of Ukraine. Meanwhile, the targeting of homes, hospitals and nurseries has led to outraged accusations that civilians are being attacked. Deliberately targeted and committed war crimes.

Mr. Zelensky first appealed to NATO to implement no-fly zones, but such actions were interpreted as provocation by Russia and ended in a draw. There has been no response because the West fears what will happen. The alliance escalated into a larger war over Eastern Europe.

But US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, European counterparts, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres While providing additional arms, hardware and defense funding to Ukraine, which all denounced Moscow's policies, the West has introduced several rounds of severe economic sanctions against Russian banks, corporations and oligarchs, calling them "

That said, the allies also sought to avoid conflicts that fled their homeland to neighboring countries such as Poland,and Hungary.SlovakiaRomania and Moldova

Rising tensions in the region, which began in December when Russian forces rallied in December, and border disputes with Ukraine led to President Putin's move to the Donetsk People's Republic in the last week of February. DPR) and the pro-Russian breakaway territories of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), which really escalated when they moved to formally recognize them as independent states.

This allowed the movement of military resources to these areas in anticipation of an upcoming attack under the guise of extending protection to the allies.

This development followed months of frenetic efforts by the likes of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, French President Emmanuel Macronand German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meant diplomatic negotiations. and British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss hoped to avert disaster, but ultimately to no avail.

But what are the key issues behind the conflict, where does it all begin and how the crisis might unfold.

how did it start?

Going back to 2014 gives us a better picture of the current situation.

Russia seized Ukraine's Crimea that year after mass protests ousted its Moscow-friendly president Viktor Yanukovych from power. Merged.

A few weeks later, Russia focused its efforts on two separatist rebel movements in Donbass, an industrial hub in eastern Ukraine, and eventually overthrew pro-Russian rebels in Donetsk and Luhansk. Government forces declared the DPR and LPR independent states, but withdrew completely. not recognized by the international community.

More than 14,000 people died in the intervening years of fighting that devastated the region.

Ukraine and the West accused Russia of sending troops and weapons to support the rebels, but Moscow denied the allegations, and Russians who joined the separatists voluntarily

The 2015 peace agreement - Minsk II Agreement - was brokered by France and Germany to end major fighting. rice field. The 13-point agreement obliged Ukraine to provide autonomy to separatist territories and grant amnesty to rebels, but gave Ukraine full control over its borders with Russia in rebel-held areas. I was able to.

However, the agreement is highly complicated as Moscow continues to insist that it is not a party to the dispute and is therefore not bound by its terms.

Point 10 of the Agreement calls for the withdrawal of all foreign armed groups and military equipment from the disputed DPR and LPR. Ukraine has said this refers to troops from Russia, but Moscow has previously denied having its own troops in those provinces. A surge in ceasefire violations and a concentration of Russian forces near Ukraine raised fears of a new war, but after April exercises, Moscow withdrew most of its troops. When I did, the tension eased.

What is your current situation?

In early December 2021, U.S. intelligence officials announced that Russia had placed as many as 175,000 of her troops near the Ukrainian border in preparation for her possible invasion in early 2022. We have decided that we are planning to deploy an army.

Kyiv similarly complained about Moscow's placement of more than 90,000 of her troops near the two countries' borders, warning in January that "massive escalation" was possible. .

Furthermore, the Ukrainian military commander-in-chief said Russia had approximately 2,100 military personnel stationed in rebel-held eastern Ukraine, and that Russian officers held all command positions within the separatist forces. He said he held office.

Moscow has previously repeatedly denied the presence of troops in eastern Ukraine, giving no details about the number and location of its troops, and saying the deployment of troops on its territory is of no concern to anyone. said it shouldn't.

Russia, on the other hand, accuses Ukraine of violating Minsk II and criticizes the West for not encouraging Ukraine to comply with its terms.

In the heat of the moment, Mr. Putin refused to hold a quadrilateral meeting with Ukraine, France and Germany, given Ukraine's refusal to abide by the 2015 agreement with him. said useless.

Moscow has also strongly criticized the United States and its ally NATO for supplying Ukraine with arms and conducting joint training, which the Ukrainian hawks have used to control the rebels. It says it will encourage attempts to take back the region by force.

Putin is known for his deep resentment of what he believes to be a gradual eastward shift in NATO since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989.

What happens next?

Putin's February 24th announcement realized the worst-case scenario.

The Kremlin had previously denied plans for an invasion, but few believed it.

Even after the Russian president's declaration of war, the Russian UN envoy denied that Moscow had any grievances with the Ukrainian people.

It has been proven completely wrong.

Western leaders united in their denunciations, making Russia a pariah on the world stage. Their sanctions promise to undermine the Russian economy and may eventually create renewed pressure at home despite Putin's best efforts. Silence critical media and early protests.

Mr Biden, meanwhile, has moved to assure the international community that Russia will be held accountable for its actions. It is responsible for the destruction, and the United States and its allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive manner," he said.

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