A major topic in the news right now is the crisis happening in Ukraine. Months of riots have leaded to Russian military intervention. The main purpose of this blog is to report the side of the news the media argues against. It’s easy to see how our country’s pro-American news can be anti-Russian. While Russia has given an official reason for invading Crimea, their actual motives are vastly more complex and surprisingly better justified. This post will not be a complete summary of the events that have happened, but rather a justification for Russia's decision to move troops into Ukraine.
For reference purposes I do want give some basic background on the conflict. There are essentially two sides to Ukraine. One side is Pro-Russian: they speak the language, are apart of the culture, and are loyal to the Superpower. The other is a progressive pro-European Union group that wishes to make Ukraine a dominant European trading and research partner. A couple months ago the President, at the time, made alarming pro-Russian agreements that further distanced the country from the rest of Europe. Along with a charge of excessive government spending on personal use, the pro-EU group revolted against the government. The President fled the country and an acting pro-EU leader was put into power. This left one major issue unaddressed: who would represent the large portion of the country that was pro-Russia?
Here in lies the “reason” Russia has given for invading Crimea. There is a large group of Ukrainians who consider themselves Russian for all practical purposes. President Putin has sent in troops to “protect” these Russian loyals. This is the reason Russia has given the world for their actions and it could not be farther from the truth. Russia has two major interests in Ukraine: the warm water naval ports and Russian owned oil pipelines.
The warm water naval ports are essential to Russia's naval security in the Mediterranean region. Russia currently has a military naval outpost located in the city of Sevastopol. Almost all other Russian owned European ports freeze over during the winter and are essentially useless for many months of the year. Previously, the Russian loyal President of Ukraine happily allowed Russia to use a port in their country. With his removal and a pro-EU leadership in his place, Russia is threatened with losing a large portion of their naval security. By invading and securing Crimea, Russia is securing their precious naval port and a large number of Russian loyal Ukrainians.
Another major threat to Russia is the security of their oil pipelines that run through the heart of Ukraine. Russia currently owns thousands of miles of oil pipelines that pump Russian owned oil to the rest of Europe. If an anti-Russian government were to take control of the pipelines Russia could potentially lose trillions. This would not only affect the Russian economy, but drastically reduce the oil supply for all of Europe. The media, especially in the United States, argues that Putin has little reason to send troops into Ukraine. This argument is completely invalid. Russia's economic and military success rely on a system already in place. All Russia is doing is fixing the imbalance caused by the revolution.
But doesn’t this military intervention put Russia at risk of attack from Ukraine's allies? The short answer is no. Many countries, including the United States, have spoken out against Russia, urging them to withdraw from the region. The problem these countries face is that Ukraine simply isn’t worth going to war over. Russia is a massive superpower and China has vowed to support them. To me this situation scream Nazi Germany pre-WWII. Hitler slowly annexed countries near Germany while the rest of the world just sat back and politely asked them to stop. Is Putin’s ultimate goal complete world domination? Probably not, but history tends to repeat itself.
-Winston Parker (3/12/14)
Sources:
http://www.politicalhighground.com/conflict-in-ukraine/#sthash.rrLPbL2E.dpbs
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2014/03/02/putin-is-losing-in-ukraine-and-thats-our-biggest-problem-right-now/
http://en.ria.ru/images/15520/63/155206369.jpg
http://www.redditcache.com/c/reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1zfz24/eli5_what_does_russia_have_to_gain_from_invading/
For reference purposes I do want give some basic background on the conflict. There are essentially two sides to Ukraine. One side is Pro-Russian: they speak the language, are apart of the culture, and are loyal to the Superpower. The other is a progressive pro-European Union group that wishes to make Ukraine a dominant European trading and research partner. A couple months ago the President, at the time, made alarming pro-Russian agreements that further distanced the country from the rest of Europe. Along with a charge of excessive government spending on personal use, the pro-EU group revolted against the government. The President fled the country and an acting pro-EU leader was put into power. This left one major issue unaddressed: who would represent the large portion of the country that was pro-Russia?
Here in lies the “reason” Russia has given for invading Crimea. There is a large group of Ukrainians who consider themselves Russian for all practical purposes. President Putin has sent in troops to “protect” these Russian loyals. This is the reason Russia has given the world for their actions and it could not be farther from the truth. Russia has two major interests in Ukraine: the warm water naval ports and Russian owned oil pipelines.
The warm water naval ports are essential to Russia's naval security in the Mediterranean region. Russia currently has a military naval outpost located in the city of Sevastopol. Almost all other Russian owned European ports freeze over during the winter and are essentially useless for many months of the year. Previously, the Russian loyal President of Ukraine happily allowed Russia to use a port in their country. With his removal and a pro-EU leadership in his place, Russia is threatened with losing a large portion of their naval security. By invading and securing Crimea, Russia is securing their precious naval port and a large number of Russian loyal Ukrainians.
Another major threat to Russia is the security of their oil pipelines that run through the heart of Ukraine. Russia currently owns thousands of miles of oil pipelines that pump Russian owned oil to the rest of Europe. If an anti-Russian government were to take control of the pipelines Russia could potentially lose trillions. This would not only affect the Russian economy, but drastically reduce the oil supply for all of Europe. The media, especially in the United States, argues that Putin has little reason to send troops into Ukraine. This argument is completely invalid. Russia's economic and military success rely on a system already in place. All Russia is doing is fixing the imbalance caused by the revolution.
But doesn’t this military intervention put Russia at risk of attack from Ukraine's allies? The short answer is no. Many countries, including the United States, have spoken out against Russia, urging them to withdraw from the region. The problem these countries face is that Ukraine simply isn’t worth going to war over. Russia is a massive superpower and China has vowed to support them. To me this situation scream Nazi Germany pre-WWII. Hitler slowly annexed countries near Germany while the rest of the world just sat back and politely asked them to stop. Is Putin’s ultimate goal complete world domination? Probably not, but history tends to repeat itself.
-Winston Parker (3/12/14)
Sources:
http://www.politicalhighground.com/conflict-in-ukraine/#sthash.rrLPbL2E.dpbs
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2014/03/02/putin-is-losing-in-ukraine-and-thats-our-biggest-problem-right-now/
http://en.ria.ru/images/15520/63/155206369.jpg
http://www.redditcache.com/c/reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1zfz24/eli5_what_does_russia_have_to_gain_from_invading/