FEATURES
Peace, Not War:
Ukraine, and Hopes of a Future World without Conflict
George Boulton
We live in a world full of chaos and trouble marked by conflicts. Wars may be different today compared to centuries past, but they are no less devastating. We are reminded of how fragile peace is when we see “breaking news” bulletins about major wars, skirmishes and clashes. Ongoing military action—with no end in sight—make us all extremely anxious. We are living in a time that requires peace, not violence. What is happening in Ukraine? On 24th February 2022, Russia attacked Ukraine, starting the largest military action on European soil since the Second World War. Questioning Ukraine’s ahistory and right to statehood, Russian President Vladimir Putin broadcasted false propaganda that the state is run by “drug addicts and neo-Nazis” and is “committing genocide against Russian-speaking minorities”. Recognising Donetsk’s and Luhansk’s independence, he announced an “Anti-Terrorism Operation” to “de-nazify” Ukraine, launching an invasion from the North, East and South by land, air and sea. The four main theatres with major offensives are in Kyiv, the Northeast, the East and the South. Russian has since widened the assault with airstrikes targeting cities away from the main offensive like Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk in Western Ukraine. From 2021-February 2022, Russia amassed a military build-up along its border and conducted joint military drills with Belarus on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border, leading to an international crisis between the West and Russia over fears of an invasion, with Russia accusing NATO of threatening its security through eastwards expansion. Despite Russia’s denial of plans to attack, Putin’s mobilisation of troops intensified existing tensions that began in February 2014 with the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, located on the northern coast of the Black Sea. Russia seized Crimea following the Euromaidan Uprisings in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) and the Revolution of Dignity between November 2013-February 2014. The wave of demonstrations and deadly clashes between protestors and security forces in Kyiv were demanding the removal of the then pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his government from office. Illustrations by Saif UI Alim Ahmed
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