News related to the Russo-Ukrainian war is still for public consumption and scholar nowdays. As chess game, Russia-Ukraine are in a difficult to stop. Maybe the saying “starting a war is easy, but it’s hard to stop it” is true. Since the first time Vladmir Putin declared war on Ukraine until 4 regions of Ukraine (Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson) have been controlled and the referendum on joining Russia, President Putin does not seem to play with his words. If we look at the opposite side, Ukraine is no less interesting. President Zelensky kept trying to defend Ukrainian territory and seeking international support, even on October 1 this month, social media was filled with the news “Ukraine Joins NATO”. This situation will obviously exacerbate the situation, not only in every war zone but will also invite other countries to be involved in the dynamics of Russia-Ukraine relations and give new chapter to the world political stage in this century.
What concern today is that the threat of a third world war is becoming more and more real. If we remaind when the war started, some scholars related to politics and war analyze underestimated the issue of nuclear involvement in the Rusia-Ukraine conflict, but now it needs to be reconsidered. Not only that, the crisis of natural gas and oil and wheat flour has also been felt more and more because of the Russia-Ukraine war consequence. If Covid 19 last year was able to weaken the economies of the world’s countries, then the Russia-Ukraine war could trigger a bigger disaster.
If Ukraine with NATO signifies that the beginning of the war has begun and will worsen the times ahead. The annexation of 4 regions of Ukraine to become part of Russia, worried many parties. In response to this, the United Nations (UN) held an emergency meeting on 2 October. Russia vetoed UN Security Council resolutions proposed by the United States and Albania condemning Moscow’s annexation of parts of Ukraine. US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas Greenfield introduced a resolution asking member states not to recognize Ukraine’s change in status and obliging Russia to withdraw its troops, as Russia’s annexation efforts contradict UN principles. At least 10 countries voted in favor of the resolution, while China, Gabon, India and Brazil still abstained. China has firmly criticized Western sanctions against Russia, but neither has it supported or assisted Russia in its military campaign. Meanwhile, regarding the submission of Ukraine to join NATO, it is not entirely certain that it will go well. Nancy Polesi as a spokeswoman for the US president argued that “NATO remains in principle, wide open to any country. However, Ukraine’s desire to join NATO now needs to be carefully considered.”
Russia-Ukrainian War Timeline
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been carried out since last February. The following is timeline of the Russia-Ukraine conflict that became an important moment
In February, Russian troops attacked the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, from the north in an attempt to overthrow the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky. With Ukrainian forces outgunned and outnumbered, many military experts expect the offensive to be successful quickly. But after weeks of fighting, the Russians withdrew, stymied by Ukrainian resistance.
March, Russian troops attacking from the south take Kherson province. The advances are part of efforts to secure Ukraine’s Black Sea coast and form a land bridge between the territory of Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, and the breakaway republic established with Moscow’s support that year in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
In April, a Russian missile attack on a train station in Kramatorsk, a city in Donetsk, killed more than 50 civilians. The attack came at the start of the Russian offensive to seize all of Donetsk and Luhansk, collectively known as the Donbas.
May,The last Ukrainian fighters surrendered to Russian forces in Mariupol, a port city and industrial center on the Sea of Azov. Russian troops destroyed the city during weeks of bombing that killed thousands of civilians. The battle ended with the siege of the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works factory, which became symbol of the Ukrainian resistance.
In June, Ukrainian troops raise flag over Snake Island, a strip of land in the Black Sea off the Ukrainian city of Odesa. Russian forces had seized the island early in the conflict, exposing the Ukrainian coast to missile attacks and a potential ground invasion. By expelling Russian troops from the island — two months after sinking the main ship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, Moscow is reducing the threat to Odesa that has further undermined the aura of Moscow’s naval power.
July, after weeks of artillery bombardment and street fighting, the last city under Ukrainian control in Luhansk, Lysychansk, fell to the Russians. However, in the weeks that followed, Moscow made little headway in its bid to secure the rest of the Donbas.
In August, Ukraine said it had launched a counter-offensive in the southern Kherson region. The build-up took weeks, during which Ukraine deployed newly arrived missile systems supplied by the United States and other Western countries to destroy Russian ammunition dumps and other military infrastructure. Ukraine also attacked a Russian air base in Crimea.
In September, in swift offensive, Ukraine retook most of northeastern Kharkiv, including the city of Izium, which had become Russia’s main logistics hub. Progress, which continued, allowed Kyiv to seize momentum in the war.
October, on October 1 Russia managed to annex 15% of the territory of Ukraine. Meanwhile, responding to Russia’s treatment, Ukraine immediately submitted an application form to join the NATO alliance in the region. This is what is being reconsidered regarding the opportunity for a bigger war.
Listen to the Comments
Regarding Ukraine’s efforts to hasten its efforts to join NATO, Dmitry Medvedev as Deputy Chair of the Russian Security Council said that “Ukraine joining NATO is the same as accelerating the occurrence of world war 3”. Furthermore, Henry Kissinger, who is a former US Secretary of State who also serves as a scientist, diplomat, politician, geopolitical consultant, and veteran has also commented on what is happening between Russia and Ukraine at the moment. According to Kissinger “Ukraine must cede territory to Russia if it wants peace”. He further said that “it would be unwise for the United States to include Ukraine in NATO”. Henry Kissinger, dubbed the “Prophet of the Modern Century,” argues that Washington tried indiscriminately to include all former members of the Soviet bloc under its umbrella after the Berlin wall fell. So that the entire territory between Russia’s borders became open to restructuring. When viewed from Russia’s point of view, the United States then attempted to integrate all of Ukraine’s territory without exception, into the American-led strategic system, this development essentially removing Russia’s historic “safety belt”. According to Kissinger, sooner or later the West and Russia will engage in formal or informal dialogue, perhaps in a very important way of exploration in the nuclear circle.
Back to Think
Basically, the main reason for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is Ukraine’s desire to join NATO, while NATO according to Russia is a threat to its territory and power. However, Ukraine’s desire to join NATO was not the only reason for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. From February to October 2022, the Russian-Ukrainian invasion seems to be progressing, although it is too early to predict and analyze the Russian-Ukrainian invasion, but it does not seem wrong to prepare for the worst in the future. The Russian invasion of Ukraine not only involved Russia and Ukraine, but also dragged other countries and had an impact in many ways in international life, especially the involvement of the United States, which is still considered a world leader today. We still cannot provide an in-depth analysis and take into account what will happen in the near future, because the war is not over yet and the human life are dynamic. Regardless of any views, be realists, liberals or constructivists, the people who will suffer will suffer.
