By DANYAL HUSSAIN FOR MAILONLINE
After months of escalating tensions and desperate diplomacy, Russia today launched all-out war on Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin ignored international condemnation and sanctions to press ahead with the invasion with simultaneous attacks coming from the south, east and north, by both land and air.
The president gave an extraordinary address to the Russian nation this morning, in which he declared a ‘special military operation’ to ‘de-militarise’ and ‘de-Nazify’ Ukraine.
Putin also issued a chilling warning to any country thinking of coming to Ukraine’s aid, vowing ‘consequences greater than any you have faced in history’.
His words come amid anger at the Western response to Russian aggression, with a former general and German defence minister accusing the West of ignoring the looming threat of Putin over the past decade.
General Sir Richard Shirreff, ex-deputy supreme commander of Nato, said today: ‘You only have to listen to what Putin has been saying since 2014. This has been on the cards for some time – but the people who should have been listening have been ignoring it.’
Here, we look at the reasons behind Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, including some of his outlandish justifications, – and how it could affect you:
Putin has previously said that the fall of the USSR robbed Russia of its place among the world’s great powers and put it at the mercy of the West
Putin has previously said that the fall of the USSR robbed Russia of its place among the world’s great powers and put it at the mercy of the West
The attack has come to Ukraine on all fronts, with bombs and missiles striking targets across the country, ground forces rolling in from Belarus, Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk, and paratroopers dropping on Kharkiv
Why did Vladimir Putin link Ukraine to neo-Nazis when declaring war?
In a bizarre and historically inaccurate address on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed he was ‘ridding Ukraine’ of ‘neo-Nazis’ by invading.
He repeated the claims today as he announced Russian soldiers had entered Ukraine. He told the Ukrainian army: ‘Your ancestors fought the Nazis. Don’t obey the orders of the Nazi Junta in Kyiv. Lay down your arms and go home.’
The comments, which were widely panned, are an example of a common Russian media tactic, to portray a rival state as a nation that welcomes Nazism.
One example of this was posts from the Russian Foreign Ministry on social media that said Ukraine and the US had voted against a UN resolution condemning the glorification of Nazism.
Though both countries did refuse to back the resolution, they later condemned Nazism and said the resolution was driven by Russian propaganda.
The US claimed the document was a ‘thinly veiled attempt to legitimise Russian disinformation campaigns.’
There have been concerns raised about neo-Nazis and the rise of the far-right in Ukraine, with Azov, a nationalist battalion, now a unit within the nation’s military.
The issue was raised again when a great-grandmother pictured wielding an AK-47 in preparation for an invasion was revealed to have been taught how to use the weapon by the group. The Azov battalion has been accused of neo-Nazism and attacking LBTQ and Roma communities.
However, the far-right remains a minority in the country, with far-right groups failing to hit the 5% minimum needed to gain entry into parliament in the 2019 elections.
Putin seems to now be peddling a conspiracy that has spiked since last November, with pro-Kremlin social media accounts linking Ukraine to Nazism as tensions rose between the neighbours.
Keir Giles, an expert on the country, who wrote a Nato report on its information warfare, told the BBC that Russia is ‘swift to label its adversaries and victims in Europe as Nazis’.
‘We have seen this not only in Ukraine, but also in Russia’s vilification of the Baltic states,’ he said.
What are the historical and geographic reasons Russia is citing for its invasion of Ukraine?
Putin believes that controlling Ukraine would give Russia a buffer zone to protect it from invasion. In the past 500 years, Russia has been invaded several times from the west, with armies coming across a vast area of flat land called the European Plain. Poland invaded in 1605, the French came under Napoleon in 1812 and the Germans did so in both world wars.
The European Plain stretches to 2,000 miles near the Russian border and offers a straight route to Moscow. To combat these geographical constraints, Putin, like other Russian leaders before him, has attempted to set up buffer zones and areas of Russian influence around his nation through expansion.
Historically, nations like Kazakhstan, Poland and Ukraine have all been annexed by Russia for security reasons and Putin has claimed that the current invasion of Ukraine has similar motivations.
Is Putin trying to ‘recreate’ the Soviet Union?
At the end of the Second World War, Russia occupied vast swathes of Central and Eastern Europe. However, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the expansion of Nato since the war has led to security fears in Moscow.
Putin has previously said that the fall of the USSR robbed Russia of its place among the world’s great powers and put it at the mercy of the West. Restoring this power and rebuilding Russia on the world stage has been the main aim of his 22 years in power.
He has long been obsessed with returning Ukraine to Moscow’s fold, in the name of Russia’s greatness. For many Russians of his generation, who were raised on Soviet propaganda, the USSR disintegrating and its spheres of influences vanishing remains an open wound.
For Putin, a KGB officer based in East Germany at the time the Soviet Union was gradually collapsing – between 1989 and 1991 – this was a personal defeat.
Putin, a KGB officer based in East Germany at the time the Soviet Union was gradually collapsing – between 1989 and 1991, has always wished to restore his nation to its former glory
Putin, a KGB officer based in East Germany at the time the Soviet Union was gradually collapsing – between 1989 and 1991, has always wished to restore his nation to its former glory
Putin has long been obsessed with returning Ukraine to Moscow’s fold, in the name of Russia’s greatness, and has repeatedly claimed Ukraine ‘isn’t a real country’
Putin has long been obsessed with returning Ukraine to Moscow’s fold, in the name of Russia’s greatness, and has repeatedly claimed Ukraine ‘isn’t a real country’
The Russian leader has said many times that he suffered the same misery as his compatriots when the Soviet empire crumbled, recently claiming he was forced to drive a taxi to make ends meet when he returned to his homeland.
Putin has claimed that the end of the Soviet Union was the ‘greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century’ – despite Russia living through two world wars.
He has called Nato’s expansion ‘menacing’ and claimed that the prospect of Ukraine joining the body is an existential threat to his country.
Since 1997, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania and Bulgaria have all joined Nato. To Putin and his supporters, this is proof of the West inching closer to Russia.
However, General Sir Richard Shirreff, ex-deputy supreme commander of Nato, warned today that the invasion of Ukraine proves Putin is determined to restore the Soviet Union.
Sir Richard said that Putin will look to occupy Ukraine – and potentially look to other countries in the region.
‘During the recent Direct Line, when I was asked about Russian-Ukrainian relations, I said that Russians and Ukrainians were one people – a single whole.
‘These words were not driven by some short-term considerations or prompted by the current political context. It is what I have said on numerous occasions and what I firmly believe. I therefore feel it necessary to explain my position in detail and share my assessments of today’s situation.’
True sovereignty of Ukraine is possible only in partnership with Russia
‘I am confident that true sovereignty of Ukraine is possible only in partnership with Russia.
‘Our spiritual, human and civilizational ties formed for centuries and have their origins in the same sources, they have been hardened by common trials, achievements and victories. Our kinship has been transmitted from generation to generation.
‘It is in the hearts and the memory of people living in modern Russia and Ukraine, in the blood ties that unite millions of our families. Together we have always been and will be many times stronger and more successful. For we are one people.
‘Today, these words may be perceived by some people with hostility. They can be interpreted in many possible ways. Yet, many people will hear me. And I will say one thing – Russia has never been and will never be ‘anti-Ukraine’. And what Ukraine will be – it is up to its citizens to decide.’
The two nations are descendants of Ancient Rus
‘Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians are all descendants of Ancient Rus, which was the largest state in Europe. Slavic and other tribes across the vast territory – from Ladoga, Novgorod, and Pskov to Kiev and Chernigov – were bound together by one language (which we now refer to as Old Russian), economic ties, the rule of the princes of the Rurik dynasty, and – after the baptism of Rus – the Orthodox faith.
‘The spiritual choice made by St. Vladimir, who was both Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Kiev, still largely determines our affinity today.
‘The throne of Kiev held a dominant position in Ancient Rus. This had been the custom since the late 9th century. The Tale of Bygone Years captured for posterity the words of Oleg the Prophet about Kiev, ‘Let it be the mother of all Russian cities.’
The name ‘Ukraine’ is an old Russian word
‘The name ‘Ukraine’ was used more often in the meaning of the Old Russian word ‘okraina’ (periphery), which is found in written sources from the 12th century, referring to various border territories.
‘And the word ‘Ukrainian’, judging by archival documents, originally referred to frontier guards who protected the external borders.’
The bill on indigenous people will sow ‘seeds of discord’
‘Lastly, as early as May of this year, the current president introduced a bill on ‘indigenous peoples’ to the Rada. Only those who constitute an ethnic minority and do not have their own state entity outside Ukraine are recognized as indigenous. The law has been passed. New seeds of discord have been sown.
‘And this is happening in a country, as I have already noted, that is very complex in terms of its territorial, national and linguistic composition, and its history of formation.
‘There may be an argument: if you are talking about a single large nation, a triune nation, then what difference does it make who people consider themselves to be – Russians, Ukrainians, or Belarusians. I completely agree with this. Especially since the determination of nationality, particularly in mixed families, is the right of every individual, free to make his or her own choice.
‘But the fact is that the situation in Ukraine today is completely different because it involves a forced change of identity. And the most despicable thing is that the Russians in Ukraine are being forced not only to deny their roots, generations of their ancestors but also to believe that Russia is their enemy.
‘It would not be an exaggeration to say that the path of forced assimilation, the formation of an ethnically pure Ukrainian state, aggressive towards Russia, is comparable in its consequences to the use of weapons of mass destruction against us.
‘As a result of such a harsh and artificial division of Russians and Ukrainians, the Russian people in all may decrease by hundreds of thousands or even millions.’
He said: ‘The Russians don’t hang around. They’ll look to establish overwhelming force so we have to assume the worst. There will be multiple attacks from different axes. This is a full blown military offensive to occupy Ukraine.’
Why did Putin describe Ukraine as ‘not even a country’ – and why do Russians believe the nations should be one?
Russia’s origins date back to a collection of ninth century tribes known as Kievan Rus, which made its home in Kiev and other towns now in Ukraine. Because of this, many Russians see Ukraine as being an important part of their own nation.
Dr Björn Alexander Düben, Assistant Professor at the School of International and Public Affairs at the London School of Economics, explained: ‘Ukraine’s sentimental and spiritual appeal to many Russians derives from the fact that the Kievan Rus’ – a medieval state that came into existence in the 9th century and was centred around present-day Kiev – is regarded as a joint ancestral homeland that laid the foundations for both modern Russia and Ukraine.’
As far back as 2008, according to Russian and US media, Putin told his then US counterpart George W. Bush that ‘Ukraine is not even a country.’
During his end-of-year press conference in December, Putin again raised eyebrows by saying Ukraine was ‘created’ by Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Union.
Months earlier, in a long article called ‘On the historical unity of Russians and Ukrainians,’ he said that Kyiv’s decisions are driven by a Western ‘anti-Russia’ plot.
Analyst Stanovaya said that Putin has always believed that the Ukrainian people are themselves pro-Russians that have been ‘the subject of manipulation’.
She said that in the Kremlin’s ‘understanding, war would not be an attack on Ukraine, but a liberation of the Ukrainian people from a foreign occupier.’
As a former Soviet republic, modern-day Ukraine has deep social and cultural ties with Russia. In cities like Odessa, Russian is the dominant language, while Russians are the majority ethnic group in nearly all of Ukraine’s major cities.
However, Kiev existed before Moscow and Ukrainian nationalism predates the Soviet Union by 100 years. In fact, some elements of Ukrainian history even go back to the Middle Ages.
Timothy Snyder, a history professor at Yale University, reacted to Putin’s bizarre claims on Monday. He said: ‘It’s very strange when you’re surrounded by the reality of Ukrainian history, to hear a distant tyrant declare that the thing doesn’t exist. Obviously he’s wrong.’
How did the current tensions between Russia and Ukraine and the West start?
The current difficulties date back to the overthrow in 2014 of the pro-Moscow Ukrainian government of Viktor Yanukovych, prompting fears in the Kremlin that the country was moving into the orbit of the West.
Putin now claims Ukraine is a puppet of the West and says that it was never a proper state.
In 2014, he responded by sending in troops to annex Crimea while Russian-backed separatist rebels seized territory in eastern Ukraine in bloody fighting with the Ukrainian military.
The history of Crimea, part of Ukraine that was annexed by Russia in 2014, has been marked by fighting and conquest.
From the 5th century BC and for almost 2,000 years Crimea was a Greek settlement. It later became part of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire and the Empire of Trebizond.
It was acquired by the Kievan Rus, becoming part of what is modern-day Ukraine in the medieval period. However, it was then conquered by the Golden Horde, the Khanata and the Ottoman Empire.
In 1774 the Ottomans were defeated by Russia and traded Crimea to Catherine the Great. Crimea was annexed into Russia in 1783.
Eventually, this led to the Crimean War, a conflict between 1853 and 1856 in which Russia fought an alliance of the UK, France, the Ottoman Empire and Sardinia.
Crimea was an independent Soviet state from 1921 to 1945, then a province of Russia from 1945 to 1954 and then a province of Ukraine – until it was annexed by Russia in 2014.
In January last year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged US President Joe Biden to let Ukraine join Nato.
An angered Russia responded by sending troops near the Ukrainian border for training exercises, with the size of the deployment steadily increasing. The US threatened sanctions if Russia invaded Ukraine.
Is Putin taking advantage of ‘weak’ Western leaders in Joe Biden and Boris Johnson?
Some, particularly Republicans in the US, believe that Putin is taking advantage of the ‘weakness’ of US President Joe Biden by launching his invasion.
Biden was slammed on January 19 when he referred to Russian troops potentially entering Ukraine as a ‘minor incursion’ and has been criticised since for moving slowly on sanctions.
As Russia escalated troop presence on the border, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley said the Biden administration had failed to deliver on a promise of swift and severe sanctions.
She said: ‘Ukraine is a test of western resolve. It’s not just about Putin. The Chinese communists and Iranian jihadists are watching too. It’s a major leadership moment for Biden. So far, he’s failing.’
Dr. Mark Shanahan, an associate professor at the Department of Politics and International Relations at Reading University, said: ‘The sense in Europe at the moment- much closer to the action – is that the president is still too indecisive.’
Former President Trump claimed that Putin never would have invaded Ukraine if he were still president, and said that Russia has become ‘very very rich’ under Biden.
‘If properly handled, there was absolutely no reason that the situation currently happening in Ukraine should have happened at all,’ Trump said in a statement Tuesday. ‘I know Vladimir Putin very well, and he would have never done during the Trump Administration what he is doing now, no way!’
Trump also hit out against Biden’s ‘weak sanctions’. The Biden administration has faced sharp criticism for so far only sanctioning five Russian figures in Putin’s inner circle and hitting only two Russian banks. Senator Ted Cruz describes the sanctions as ‘appeasement that only increases the chances of military conflict.’
As Russian forces invaded Ukraine today, Biden was again slammed for showing ‘weakness’ by failing to publicly address the situation.
New York Times.