SSB Lecturette Series: UKRAINIAN CRISIS

Critical Analysis of Ukrainian Crisis

We have been listening about Ukrane-Cremia-Russian crisis in recent news. What is this issue that is making news headlines for over two years? We are very much familiar with the territorial disputes like Kashmir, NEFA considering our nation. These types of disputes arose with the hunger of mankind to acquire more land for their nation. This philosophy was very nicely stated by Hitler as the population of a country increases its land should too. For the rulers in the previous centuries had the desire to conquer more and more land to expand their empire, it affects the lives of common people. Now getting back to the crisis which created an uproar among the giant nations of the world.

•    Ukraine has been torn between east and west since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
•    Ukrainian is the main language in western regions - where there is also a long-standing aspiration for integration with Europe. However, Russian is predominant in parts of the east and south.
•  The crisis in Ukraine began in November 2013 when pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych's government abandoned a deal with the European Union in favor of stronger ties with Russia.

PROTESTS

Outraged by the move towards Moscow, anti-government demonstrations took place in Kiev .

On 20 February, 2014, bloodshed reaches its worst since the start of the crisis. At least 88 people were killed in 48 hours in Kiev and hundreds wounded in clashes between protesters and police, including many shot by uniformed snipers.

 President Yanukovych  disappears and protesters took control of government buildings.

CRIMEA

• On 27-28 February, pro-Russian gunmen seize key buildings in the Crimean capital, Simferopol.
• The majority of Crimea's 2.3 million population identify themselves as ethnic Russians and speak Russian. Sevastopol in Crimea is also the historic base of Russia's Black Sea Fleet.
• Within days, the Crimean parliament votes to join Russia and calls a referendum. Russia later admits that its military helped the Crimea insurgents.
• On 16 March, 97% of referendum voters reportedly back the proposal to join Russia. The figure is later disputed, with leaked documents showing only 50-60% support for the move.
•  The EU and US condemn the annexation of Crimea and impose a first round of sanctions on Russian officials and high-ranking Moscow allies in Ukraine.
• For Russia , the annexation of Cremia creates a domination on the Black Sea and opens a safe route to the Mediterranean Sea.

Malaysia Airlines tragedy, 17 July 2014

 The whole crisis took a disastrous turn when on 17 July Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 from Amsterdam is shot down near the village of Grabove, in rebel-held territory close to the border with Russia.

The crash killed 298 people - everybody aboard the airliner. Western nations blame a Russian-supplied missile, believed to have been fired by rebels. Russia denies it had armed the rebels and argues instead that a Ukrainian fighter jet had flown near the airliner at the time.

INDIA’S STAND:

The Indian government has taken a relatively balanced act on the situation in Ukraine.

 India has said in its official statement that they would observe the situation in Ukraine and will respect the decisions of both sides as long as they are peaceful. 

CONCLUSION

•  India’s position with respect to this issue is very critical. We, as the largest democracy couldn’t support annexation of any territory.
•  Ethically, the annexation of Crimea by Russia is totally wrong.
•  If referendums are to be considered , then India too have high probability of losing Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as the ethnicity of people living in both these areas collide with both Pakistan and China.
•  With China’s recent declaration for Arunachal residents that they don’t require visa to visit China worsens the situation for India.
• But open criticism of the issue will degrade the much needed relations with Russia. Russia have been a great support for India since independence in terms of trade ,power and defense.
• On the other hand, India is improving its ties with the west and couldn’t completely ignore its western allies. Moreover , India wants a seat in the G7(former G8) , after the removal of Russia and a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.
• So India has taken a neutral stance on the whole crisis balancing the diplomatic ties with both Russia and US.

Above is my analysis and thought process on this issue. I would also like to hear from my peer aspirants as to what they think on this. Please post your comments below and lets have a healthy discussion over this.

About the Author: Aviral Singh is a Mechanical Engineer from AKGEC and a die heart defense aspirant. He loves dramatics, performing in street plays and doing miming. He has won many prizes through his performances at various levels. This article is a way to help defense aspirants to present his critical views on the topic, on the forum so that collective exchange of thoughts can take place.