The Crisis in Ukraine
It is important to mention the facts on the Ukraine crisis. This crisis came about long before the 21st century, but its events now have existed before the quarter century mark of the 21st century. Officially, Putin apologists have no credibility. These apologists say what about NATO and the NED in their actions. The truth is that 2 things can be true. It is wrong for NATO to invade Libya and conduct airstrikes worldwide (the West's Iraqi invasion was wrong as well) along with NED agitating slick actions. Yet, it is also wrong for Putin to initiate an unjust, provocative, and illegal invasion of Ukraine too. Two wrongs don't make a right. That is why I condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine which is about an inter-imperialist conflict among Russia governmental leaders and Western governmental leaders for the resources and influence of Ukraine. The vast majority of Americans, Ukrainians, and Russians reject this Putin invasion and desire a peaceful resolution. The Russian military targeting civilian buildings, killing children, and using other unwarranted tactics have been condemned worldwide.
Even in Russia, protesters in Moscow and St. Petersburg have shown their voices in opposition to the Putin regime. Putin is not a progressive hero. Vladimir Putin is a tyrant, a far-right nationalist, and an extremist (who has used policies that harmed democratic rights like the suppression of the freedom of speech and the suppression of the freedom of the press). Years ago in 2014, I wrote about the Ukraine crisis. Now, in 2022, I am better aware about the complexities and nuisance of this crisis. This following work is my official beliefs on this Ukrainian situation forever. This crisis has grown since the dissolution of the Stalinist Soviet Union in 1991. Vladimir Putin (who slams the 1917 Russian Revolution and questions the entire existence of Ukraine via his horrendously nonsensical speech. Putin called Zelensky a Nazi when Zelensky is Jewish. Zelensky's relatives are survivors of the Holocaust) follows reactionary Russian nationalism which is why many far right Americans like Trump and Tucker Carlson have praised Putin. Many far right white nationalists are praising Putin too including members of the Trump administration. Habitual lying from Vladimir Putin is typical of him. Now, it's time to show a chronological look at the Ukrainian crisis. The Ukrainian people have been courageous to fight back against Russian imperialism.
Early Ukrainian History
Ukraine is an Eastern European country with a large land. It has a population of about 45 million people. It borders on Russia to the East and other countries of Europe on the West. Russia tried to control Ukraine for centuries. During the ancient times, it was part of Scythia and home to Getae, the Cimmerians, the Dacians, including early Slavic peoples. It was one area that was a site of Indo-European expansion too. Horses were domesticated back thousands of years ago. Much of the Ukrainians came from the ancient Slave people called the Antes. By 1990, there was the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany. Putin, in his speech, said that Western leaders gave written and spoken assurances to then Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO doesn't plan to increase its territory eastwards. Putin also said that U.S. Secretary State James Baker talked about NATO back then didn't desire to spread eastward. According to Mark Karmer in the 2009 article in The Washington Quarterly, he found declassified American, German, and Soviet records. Kramer made the case that in discussions on German reunification, the Soviets never raised the question of NATO enlargement other than how it might apply in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR). The Germans, Americans, British, and French did agree in 1990 to not make any deployment of non-German NATO forces on the territory of the former GDR. The agreement of not deployment foreign troops on the territory of the former GDR was found in Article 5 to the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany, which was signed on September 12, 1990. It was signed by the two Germanys, the United States, Soviet Union, Britain, and France. Former Soviet President Gorbachev said in an interview that the topic of NATO expansion was not discussed at all. He said that the agreement didn't wanted NATO to be sent to the then GDR after German reunification.
The Prelude of the Invasion of Ukraine
Ukraine was an independent state in the modern area by December of 1991. The first Ukrainian President was Leonid Kravchuk. The economy shrank by more than 10 percent per year under his Presidency. The Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances comprises three identical political agreements signed at the OSCE conference in Budapest, Hungary on December 5, 1994 to provide security assurances by its signatories relating to the accession of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The memorandum was originally signed by three nuclear powers: the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States. China and France gave somewhat weaker individual assurances in separate documents. This agreements says that Ukraine agreed to give up nuclear weapons in exchange for Russia and other nations to respect their sovereignty. Has Putin lived up to that promise? No, so Putin violated the 1994 Budapest Memorandum agreement completely.
The 2nd President of Ukraine was Leonid Kuchma (1994-2005). He has many scandals like the reduction of media freedom including the Cassette Scandal. In 1997, the Charter on a Distinctive Partnership was signed by NATO and Ukraine that Ukraine will move gradually in cooperation in NATO (and eventually be a member). The economy recovered with GDP growth at 10 percent a year during his last years in office. Kuchma said that he wasn't trying to run for re-election in 2004. So, the battle was on in Ukraine to see who the next President would be. There were 2 major candidates in the 2004 Presidential election. One Viktor Yanukoyvh, the incumbent Prime Minister, supported by Kuchma and the Russian Federation. Viktor wanted closer ties to Russia.
The main opposition candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, called for Ukraine to turn its attention westward and aim to eventually join the EU. So, much of the crisis in Ukraine deals with different factions in Ukraine disagreeing on the future of Ukraine (either being more pro-Western and the other side wanting to be more pro-Russian). In the runoff election, Yanukovych officially won by a narrow margin, but Yushchenko and his supporters alleged that vote rigging and intimidation cost him many votes, especially in eastern Ukraine. A political crisis erupted after the opposition started massive street protests in Kyiv and other cities (in the "Orange Revolution"), and the Supreme Court of Ukraine ordered the election results null and void. A second runoff found Viktor Yushchenko the winner. Five days later, Yanukovych resigned from office and his cabinet was dismissed on January 5, 2005. During the time of Yuschenko's term, Russia and Ukraine relations were strained. Yushchenko wanted better relations with the European Union and less toward Russia. There was a 2005 highly publicized dispute over natural gas prices with Russia. It caused shortages in many European countries that were reliant to Ukraine as a transit country. A compromise was established in January 2006. In 2008, Ukraine applies to initiate ties with NATO in 2008. By the time of the presidential election of 2010, Yushchenko and Yulia Tymoshenko — allies during the Orange Revolution — had become bitter enemies. Tymoshenko ran for president against both Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych, creating a three-way race. Yushchenko, whose popularity had plummeted, persisted in running, and many pro-Orange voters stayed home. In the second round of the election Yanukovych won the run-off ballot with 48% to Tymoshenko's 45%.
The Maidan Revolt
The Presidency of Yanukovych and his Party of Regions lasted from 2010 to 2014. President Yanukovych signed an agreement with Russia to have a lease on the Black Sea naval base in Crimea until at least 2042. They were accused of trying to form a "controlled democracy" in Ukraine and of trying to destroy the main opposition party Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko. Both Yanukovych and the Party of Regions deny the charges. One frequently cited example of Yanukovych's attempts to centralize power was the 2011 sentencing of Yulia Tymoshenko, which has been condemned by Western governments as potentially being politically motivated. In November 2013, President Yanukovych did not sign the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement and instead pursued closer ties with Russia. In 2013, Ukraine would change forever. Yanukovych's action caused protests in the streets of Kjiv and ultimately to the 2014 Ukranian Revolutions. By early December 2013, protesters occupied Kiev city hall and Independence Square in dramatic style. Some 800,000 people rally in Kiev. There were protesters setting up camps in Kyiv's Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square), and in December 2013 and January 2014 protesters started taking over various government buildings, first in Kyiv and, later, in Western Ukraine. Battles between protesters and police resulted in about 80 deaths in February 2014. On December 17, 2013, Vladimir Putin buys up 15 billion dollars of Ukrainian debt and rescue the price of Russian gas supplies by a third. President Yanukovych, on February 19, 2022, wants compromise and truce with the protesters in the chaos. On the next day, snipers open fire on the crowd in the Maidan Square causing over 60 deaths. Both protesters and police officers are killed in the gunfire. Negotiations continue with a plan to have a national unity government, new Presidential elections by the end of 2014, and protesters to surrender all public buildings and illegal weapons. By February 22, 2014, as the police pulled back, the protesters stormed government buildings and seized control of Kiev. Yanukovych flees to the city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine. The peace deal was over.
After the violence in the Ukrainian Parliament on February 22, 2014, the Parliament voted to remove Yanukovych from power (on the grounds that his whereabouts were unknown, and he couldn't fulfill his duties). Neo conservatives like Victoria Nuland and John McCain actively supported the protests to expand Western hegemony in the region not for the purpose of democratic reasons completely alone (as the protesters have the right to voice their views). That is why Nuland was opposed to a compromise government in Ukraine by saying "F___ the EU!" During the infamous call on which Nuland and Pyatt appeared to be plotting to replace or undermine elected Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych, Nuland expressed her not-so-diplomatic disgust with the European Union for favoring former heavyweight boxer and austerity champ Vitali Klitschko to take over as prime minister, instead of the U.S. first choice, Artseniy Yatsenyuk, who indeed took power after Yanukovych was ousted about three weeks later. John McCain is photographed being united with far-right Svoboda party leader Oleh Tyahnybok (Oleh wants to require Ukrainians to pass a Ukrainian language test to work in the civil service. He even wants Ukraine to be a nuclear power). Also, the Right Sector and the Azov Battalion in Ukraine are filled with Neo-Nazis and far right racists. That is true, and those groups are abhorrent.
Yet, the vast majority of Ukrainian people aren't Neo-Nazis. A Neo-Nazi, white racist far right movement is found in Russia too. That is why nationalist politician Vladimir Shirionvsky (the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia in the State Duma) said that America should go into racial segregation. Russian leader Anton Morozov said that he wanted black people in America to go into reservations. The racist Donald Trump has praised Putin multiple times. Why isn't Russia Today (who are under orders to not refer to the Ukraine crisis as an invasion now) or other hypocritical leftists not reporting on these facts? The reason is that they want to minimize the far-right nature of Putin and his supporters while seeking to hypocritically claim to be against imperialism. You can't support Putin and be anti-imperialist.
The Parliament voted to free Yulia Tymoshenko from prison too. The same day Yanukovych supporter Volodymyr Rybak resigned as speaker of the Parliament, and was replaced by Tymoshenko loyalist Oleksandr Turchynov, who was subsequently installed as interim President. Yanukovych had fled Kyiv, and subsequently gave a press conference in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. By March 2014, evidence proves that the snipers shooting at the crowds in Kiev were not employed by the Ukrainian government but were shooting at both sides to stoke chaos.
Crimea, Donetsk, and Lugansk
The March 18, 2014 controversial annexation of Crimea existed by Russia. Crimea had its referendum on reunification with Russia. A large majority favored the proposition. The vote was organized under Russian military occupation. Russia stands by the referendum. The European Union and the United States government view the vote as illegal, because it was created under Russian military occupation. The Crimean crisis was followed by the unrest in eastern and southern Ukraine. On March 4, 2014, America pledged $1 billion in aid to Ukraine. By April of 2014, Ukrainian separatists self-proclaimed themself as the Donetsk Peoples' Republic and Lugansk People's Republic held referendums on May 11, 2014. The separatists claimed nearly 90 percent in favor of independence. Later by April 2014, massive fighting exists between the Ukrainian army and pro-Ukrainian volunteer battalions on one side, and forces supporting the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics on the other side, escalated into the War in Donbass. July 17, 2014 was the date when Malysia Airline Flight MH17 from Amsterdam is shot down near the village of Grabove in rebel held territory. 298 lives were killed. The West accused Russia of doing it, and of course Putin denies this. Investigators say that the weapon used in the attack is traced back to Russia.
On September 5, 2014, the Ukranian President Petro Poroshenko and local armed groups in eastern Ukraine signed a ceasefire protocol in Mink. Both sides as well as Russia including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe held talks for a possible political solution to the crisis. Yet, the crisis continued. October 21, 2014 was when Human Rights Watch said that it has strong evidence that Ukraine attacked populated areas of Donetsk with cluster bombs, banned by many other states. November 2012 was when NATO Commander General Philip Breedlove said that Russian military equipment and Russian combat troops have been seen entering Ukraine in columns over several days. By December 23, 2014, the Ukrainian Parliament renounced Ukraine's "non-aligned" status with the aim of deepening cooperation with NATO.
By December 2014 more than 6,400 people had died in this conflict and according to United Nations figures it led to over half a million people becoming internally displaced within Ukraine and two hundred thousand refugees to flee to (mostly) Russia and other neighboring countries. During the same period, political (including adoption of the law on lustration and the law on decommunization) and economic reforms started. On May 25, 2014, Petro Poroshenko was elected president in the first round of the presidential election. In 2015, reforms in Ukraine slowed down, the economy in Ukraine suffered, and corruption was a real problem.
On February 12, 2015, the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France announced a peace deal in the Belarusian capital of Minsk. This deal deals with another ceasefire between Ukrainian government troops and local armed groups in eastern Ukraine. By December of 2015, more than 9,100 had died (mostly civilians), in the War in Donbass, according to the United Nations figures. On October 2015, the Washington Post reported "elite units" of the Russian army in Ukraine. By 2017, Ukraine had closer ties with the EU with Ukranian citizens giving visa free travel to the Schengen Ara for up to 90 days during any 180 day period on June 11, 2017. On May 19, 2018, Poroshenko signed a Decree, which put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council on the final termination of Ukraine's participation in the statutory bodies of the Commonwealth of Independent States. It is clear that both Minsk Agreements came about in 2014 and in 2015.
The Kerch Strait incident occurred on 25 November 2018 when the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) coast guard fired upon and captured three Ukrainian Navy vessels attempting to pass from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait on their way to the port of Mariupol. February 7, 2019 when the Ukrainian parliament passed a constitutional amendment stating Ukraine's commitment to join NATO.
On February 21, 2019, the Constitution of Ukraine was amended, the norms on the strategic course of Ukraine for membership in the European Union and NATO are enshrined in the preamble of the Basic Law, three articles and transitional provisions. On 21 April 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky was elected president in the second round of the presidential election. Early parliamentary elections on July 21 allowed the newly formed pro-presidential Servant of the People party to win an absolute majority of seats for the first time in the history of independent Ukraine (248). Dmytro Razumkov, the party's chairman, was elected speaker of parliament. The majority was able to form a government on August 29 on its own, without forming coalitions, and approve Oleksii Honcharuk as prime minister. On July 28, 2020, in Lublin, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine created the Lublin Triangle initiative, which aims to create further cooperation between the three historical countries of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and further Ukraine's integration and accession to the EU and NATO. Ukraine banned TV broadcasting of pro-Russian TV channels on February 2, 2021. The decision of the National Security and Defense Council and the Presidential Decree of February 19, 2021 imposed sanctions on 8 individuals and 19 legal entities, including Putin's pro-Russian politician and Putin`s godfather Viktor Medvedchuk and his wife Oksana Marchenko.
Peace Talks Fail
As the year of 2021 continued, Ukraine works with the EU planning for a possible Ukraine membership in the European Union by the 2030s. On December 7, 2021, Joe Biden Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation for 2 hours. Biden told Putin that he would put sanctions on Russia if the Kremlin allowed his military forces to enter Ukraine. By December 2021, Russia made 2 draft treaties that wanted Ukraine to not join NATO and reduce NATO troops and military hardware stationed in Eastern Europe. Russia threatened a military response if their demands were met. The United States rejected such demands. Biden talked with Putin about his goals. Biden said that he disagreed with Putin on many things. January 10-13, 2022 was when the latest rounds of talks between Russia and the West failed (within the framework of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe). Both sides warned of political escalation. The Geneva talks on January 10, 2022 failed to have a resolution between Washington and Moscow. January 22, 2022 was then the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said that the first shipment of military aid from the United States arrived in Kiev. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the USA has delivered a written letter to Russia addressing Moscow's concerns. America deployed additional troops to Europe including 1,000 troops to Romania and another 2,000 troops to Germany and Poland on February 2, 2022. America predicted that Russia is preparing for an imminent invasion of Ukraine with almost 200,000 Russian troops on the Ukrainian border. On February 17, 2022 the Ukrainian military and local armed groups in eastern Ukraine accuse each other of firing weapons in eastern Ukraine first. On February 21, 2022, Russia officially recognized the two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, as independent states, and deployed troops to Donbas, in a move interpreted as Russia's effective withdrawal from the Minsk Protocol. The breakaway republics were recognized in the boundaries of their respective Ukrainian oblasts, which extend far beyond the line of contact. Ironically, China isn't so hawkish on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On February 22, 2022, Putin said that the Minsk agreements were no longer valid. On the same day, the Federation Council unanimously authorized the use of military force in the territories. So, the deal is that Russia refused to send its troops away from the Ukrainian border, and Biden refused to disengage military associations in Eastern Europe.
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The Evil, Unjust Russian Invasion of Ukraine
On the morning of 24 February 24, 2022, Putin announced that Russia was initiating a "special military operation" in the Donbas and launched a full-scale invasion into Ukraine. Putin's action was a total attempt to conquer Ukraine and try to make it a puppet pro-Russian state. Putin's actions was against international law blatantly. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is unjust and evil. It has been condemned in the world. This is the largest invasion of Ukrainian territory since World War II. Missiles rain down on Ukraine's cities. Russian troops from Belarus and from Crimea go and attack Ukraine. Many Ukrainians forces held back the Russians in many cities. Putin has become more bellicose by threatening Finland Sweden if they join NATO. He also said that American intervention in Ukraine will be met with consequences greater than anything in history (implying usage of nuclear weapons). Putin putting his nuclear deterrent forces on alert is militarist and provocative. There are stories of black people (and other people of color) being refused to go into Poland from the Ukraine border, and that is wrong. Racism and discrimination have no place in the world period. The Ukrainian have shown stiff resistance to Russian imperialism. Germany and even Sweden plan to send weapons to Ukraine to help them defeat Russian forces. As the fighting continues, talks are underway between Ukrainian leaders and Russian leaders. Russia's ruble crashes as many nations cut funds sent to Russia.
There are Harvard students creating an app to help Ukrainian refugees to find shelter. The United States have rejected multiple calls to impose a no fly zone in Ukraine, because doing that action would risk causing WWIII for real. Putin has placed his nuclear forces on high alert. More black Africans and Indians report racism as they flee Ukraine. That is wrong as racism and discrimination have no place anywhere on this Earth. Ukraine police flashed guns on African people as shown in video tape footage. Both African and Indians students report being left stranded at checkpoints in Ukraine. 16,000 Africans live in Ukraine, and 20,000 Indians live in Ukraine too. Many of them are denied seats on buses and taxis. A woman from Zimbabwe report on how she was assaulted by a civilian. More than 3 million Ukrainians have fled Ukraine. Vice President Kamala Harris was on a diplomatic assignment in Poland.
Now, people know of the truth about Putin. Putin is a murderer and a war criminal for his actions in Ukraine. Russian forces have destroyed a Ukrainian theater where men, women, and children have died. Many Russian troops have attacked civilians indiscriminately, even at a food storage location in Kyiv. ON March 18, 2022, Russia attacked Lviv for the first time. Lviv is in Western Ukraine near Poland. Civilians are being targeted after leaving cities. There were people killed in a bread line and markets where people are going to get food. Putin is definitely a hypocrite, a liar, and an evil tyrant. That is why many Russians are going to jail for peacefully protesting Putin. Putin is no progressive person. He is a far right ethnonationist dictator of Russia. We have many Ukrainians seeking foods and water. Many people say why care? We care because we deal with increasing oil prices, we care for human life, and we are opposed to far-right dictators like Putin who want to ruin democracy in the war. Therefore, the actions of a tyrant like Putin are not representative of all Russians. Tons of Russians are protesting Putin's war. We know that the racist, far right Azo Battalion is not representative of all Ukrainians. We know many Ukrainians who oppose racism and oppose the unjust, racist treatment of black Ukrainians (including Middle Eastern people and Indians) at the Ukrainian border. We know that Ukraine is right to say that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is illegal, unjust, and morally reprehensible.
Now, anyone supporting Putin is a traitor to democracy and humanity period. Putin doesn't care about the humanitarian crisis in Eastern Europe or the people struggling to survive bombs. Putin cares about power. That is why even China's Xi have said that a peaceful resolution is necessary in this conflict. This is a war, the first war of this magnitude in Europe since the days of World War II. Russian military morale is low, and more than 7,000 Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine. That's a larger number that the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. Ukrainian residents have been around to defend themselves against an invading force. The Ukranian crisis continues in March of 2022.
By Timothy
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