INVESTIGATION INTO THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF THE RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1`      Background of the study

The war between Russia and Ukraine, according to Lakomy (2022), arose over a number of concerns. The foreign watchers of the war are concerned about a complicated interaction of ethnic, religious, political, and economic interests. Lakomy (2022), Mearsheimer (2021), and Zwolski (2018) all stressed the European Union's participation in the dispute . It will be required to analyze the conflict concerns, which may be divided into five categories: (1) Russian preservation of post-Soviet states, (2) Ukraine's sovereignty, (3) the status of Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk, (4) Ukraine's sense of national identity, and (5) international alliances (with Ukraine being at the center of conflicting ideologies). The Russian Federation has a lengthy  history of imperial rule. Much of its society is pervaded by a feeling of superiority and the urge to prove it. The importance of Ukraine for Putin was highlighted by Kriesberg (2022), who noted that it led to "largely manufactured, yet nonetheless widespread collective agreement within large parts of Russia's population about the rightfulness, justice, and legitimacy of Moscow's various territorial, political, cultural, and economic claims toward Ukraine." He went on to say that Russian imperial expansion is "essential to the Putinist regime's support, cohesiveness, and durability." Putin's sadness over the USSR's demise, which he voiced in 2018 at the Truth and Justice media event, mirrors the Russian public's attitude (TASS, 2018). According to a study performed by the Yuri Levada Analytical Center in 2017, 58 percent of the questioned population regrets the fall of the Soviet Union (Levada Center, 2017). Surprisingly, the number of individuals who lament the Soviet Union's demise has dropped just 8 percentage points since 1992. Furthermore, during the last two decades, it has been suggested that the breakdown of the unified economic system and the fact that people no longer feel like they are part of a global superpower are what the Russians have felt most nostalgic about (Levada Center, 2017). It seems that the Russians have been deprived of what the Western Europeans have enjoyed for years. As a result, the Russian government's attempts to retain spheres of influence in post-Soviet republics seem to be an attempt to compensate for this nostalgia by exerting control over these areas(Lakomy,2022). As a result, Putin's actions should be seen as a reflection of Russian society's requirements. However, the degree to which he molds it to fit his own personal goals will be further examined . Nonetheless, it is worth noting that Russia's preservation of post-Soviet republics, such as Ukraine, is an attempt to bring the country together (Lakomy,2022). More so, it is a reaction to Western European powers' eastward expansion. Since 1991, Russia has been repeatedly interfering with Ukraine's sovereignty(Kriesberg,2022). The reasons for the Orange Revolution outlined above, as well as the underlying causes of Euromaidan, are only a few instances of Russian meddling in its satellite state. President Putin would rather have control of a person in charge of the Ukrainian government than have to navigate the complexities of international law or economic ties(Mearsheimer,2021). During Yanukovych's president, the lease on Russia's naval station in Sevastopol (the Crimean Peninsula) was extended until 2042, despite president Yushchenko's prior attempts to seize this strategically and economically important port. The agreement was reached in return for price reductions on Russian gas imported into Ukraine(Mearsheimer, 2021). Hence, many of the oligarchs who dominate Ukraine's economy (it was stated that the wealth of the wealthiest hundred Ukrainians was comparable to 23 percent of the country's GDP (Datskevych, 2019) and have economic ties with the Russian government, banks, corporations, and so on. However, their impact on the current battle will be examined later.  The question to be raised now is why is Ukraine's sovereignty under jeopardy now more than ever? Putin ensures that his foreign policy acts are in accordance with international law, or seem to be in accordance with international law(Zwolski,2020). Despite the fact that the majority of UN members do not recognize Crimea as Russian, the peninsula is effectively administered by Russia. The conflict in Donbass is more difficult; yet, the precedent created by Russia's annexation of Crimea calls into doubt Putin's future foreign policy actions in relation to Ukraine and its sovereignty. Hence the need to peruse into the  causes and effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

1.2       Statement of the problem

Russia has launched a large-scale military offensive on Ukraine, after declaring Donetsk and Luhansk to be independent nations (Allison,2022). It hardly needs to be said that Russia is breaking international law  defying the UN Charter's ban on the use of force, the need to respect other nations' sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the prohibition on involvement (Allison,2022). Russia, on the other hand, is defending its conduct with legalese. Some efforts at legal reasoning may be found in President Vladimir Putin's recent statements, but they do not hold up to examination (TASS. 2022). The war itself may be seen as a confrontation between two opposed ideologies represented by the West (EU, UN, NATO) on one side and Russia on the other. The European Union, together with NATO, the United Nations, several nonprofit organizations, and the United States, reflect a liberal democratic posture that Russia sees as a danger to its survival and global power standing (Allison,2022). However, the two separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk is believed to being suppressed by the Ukrainian government, and even genocide is being perpetrated against them, as well as the claimed Ukrainian participation in NATO, are some of the perceived causes of this invasion(Allison,2022).  hence, the investigation into the causes and effect of Russia's invasion of Ukraine will be conducted in this context.

1.3       Objective of the study

The objective of the study is the causes and effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The specific objectives is as follows:

i.          To examine the causes of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

ii.        To examine the effect of the Russian invasion on the sovereignty of Ukraine.

iii.      To evaluate the position of NATO and the U.N on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

1.4       Research Questions

The following questions have been prepared for the study

i.          What are the causes of the Russian invasion of Ukraine?

ii.        What are the effect of the Russian invasion on the sovereignty of Ukraine?

iii.      What is the position of NATO and the U.N on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia?

1.5       Significance of the study

This study will be significant to the government ,policy makers and the citizens, as they will be privy to the reason for the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and also learn from it. This study will be significant to the academic community and history student who may want to carry out a further research on the cause and effect of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

1.6       Scope of the study

This study will examine the causes of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The study will also examine the effect of the Russian invasion on the sovereignty of Ukraine. Lastly, the study will evaluate the position of NATO and the U.N on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

1.7       Limitation of the study

This study was constrained by a number of factors which are as follows:

Just like any other research, ranging from unavailability of needed accurate materials on the topic under study, inability to get data

Financial constraint , was faced by  the researcher ,in getting relevant materials  and  in printing and collation of questionnaires

Time factor: time factor pose another constraint since having to shuttle between writing of the research and also engaging in other academic work making it uneasy for the researcher

1.8       Research Methodology

Research methodology deals with the different ways or methods the researcher applied in order to carry out the research as well as the instrument used for gathering the data. There are several research methodologies appropriate for answering the research questions. The type of research methodology used in this research to gather data and relevant information is the historical research and the study will adopt descriptive method of data collection. This will involve the collection of materials from secondary sources, such as books, journal articles, magazines, internet sources, international and national conference proceedings, published and unpublished articles.

1.9       Organization of the study

The study consisted of five chapters. Chapter one comprised background of the study  and a general introduction to the work. It included statement of problem of the study, highlighted the objectives of the study, the scope within which the research was conducted is also highlighted. An outline of how the work is organized is also detailed in the chapter one. The chapter two of the study reviewed the  examine the causes of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Chapter three discussed the effect of the Russian invasion on the sovereignty of Ukraine. Chapter four  evaluate the position of NATO and the U.N on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the chapter five is a summary of the major findings with recommendations and conclusion to the study.

REFERENCES

Allison, Roy,(2022) ‘Russian ‘deniable’ intervention in Ukraine: how and why Russia broke the rules’, International Affairs, vol.90, no.6 (Jan, 2022), pp.1255–1297.

Datskevych, Natalia. (2019). “New Ranking, Same Oligarchs: Meet Ukraine’s Richest People.”Kiev Post, October 31. Accessed March 2, 2020..

Kriesberg, Louis and Dayton, Bruce, W. (2022). “Mediation in Conflicts.”In Constructive Conflicts: From Escalation to Resolution, edited by L. Kriesberg and B. Dayton, 217-247. Rowman & Littlefield

Lakomy, Miron. (2022). “The Game of Ukraine: Conflict in  Donbass as an Outcome of the Multilayered Rivalry.” Politeja 6 (45): 280-315.

Levada Center. (2017). “Nostalgia for the USSR.” Levada Center, December 25.Accessed March 2, 2020.

Mearsheimer, John. (2021). “Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West’s Fault: The Liberal Delusions That Provoked Putin.” Foreign Affairs 93 (5): 77-89. JSTOR.

TASS. 2018. “Putin Confesses He Would Have Liked to Prevent USSR Breakup if He Could.”TASS, March 2. Accessed March 2, 2020.

Zwolski, Kamil (2020). European Security in Integration Theory. Palgrave MacMillan.

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