Russian invasion of Ukraine should not be seen as imperialist expansion but as Russia’s gesture to defend its borders
If we look at the Ukraine crisis objectively, it appearsas an attack on a sovereign country. But if we look at it from Russian perspective, then we see that since the days of Cold War and till now there has been a constant tension between Russia and the United States and its Nato allies. No doubt that if Ukraine joinsNato, it will extend the grouping’s presence at Russia’s borders. Russia would never want Ukraine to become a member of NATO under any circumstance. This is not the first time that Russia and Ukraine have been at loggerheads over this issue. Whenever Ukraine attempted to expand its ties with Nato, Russia had retaliated.
Some international analysts believe that in the coming times, the President of Russia can also subjugate the newly born countries after the disintegration of the Soviet Union for the restoration of the USSR. But there does not appear to be any basis for this idea. First of all, Russia itself has stated that it has no intention of occupying Ukraine. Simultaneously, some time ago when the Russian President was asked this question, he said that there is only one superpower in the world, and that is the US and there is no reason and ambition to make Russia a superpower again. He said that Russia has suffered a huge financial loss in the race to remain a superpower since the days of Cold War. In the days of the Soviet Union, due to the Cold War, a large part of Russia’s treasury went into military expenditure, due to which the Russian standard of living remained low and Russia lagged behind in the race for human development too.
Significantly, the US too has suffered a lot in its endeavour to retain its tag of superpower. In general, it has been making military interventions in several countries as per its strategy to demonstrate its economic and military might. The Americans have incurred huge economic losses in such endeavours. That is why former US President Donald Trump called for avoiding such endeavours in future. Recently, despite global criticism, the US withdrew its troops from Afghanistan. This decision was taken for economic reasons only.
Russian invasion of Ukraineshould not be seen as imperialist expansion, but as a Russia’s gesture to defend its borders. Russia’s reaction to the developments in Ukraine in this regard is not the first of its kind. Russia had intervened in Ukraine politically as well as militarily in the past as well. It does not want any vulnerability on its borders due to Nato.
If we go into the history of Russia’s retaliation, re-elections were held in the 2004 elections in Ukraine, following allegations of rigging in the election of pro-Russian candidate Viktor Yanukovych, and after Viktor Yushchenko assumed power in the 2005 election, he promised to take Ukraine out of Russian domination to join Nato and the European Community. In 2008, Nato promised to take Ukraine into its fold. But in 2010, the pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych once again won the presidency and extended the lease of the Black Sea port of Ukraine to the Russian Navy.
In 2017, Ukraine’s economic ties with the European Community began to grow once again. After many ups and downs, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, elected in 2019, appealed to US President Joe Biden in January 2021 to allow Ukraine to become a member of Nato. Russian forces reached the borders of Ukraine in mid-2021, but Ukraine nevertheless continued to act against the wishes of Russia. On December 7, 2021, Biden threatened to impose economic sanctions on Russia. Since then, Nato and the US have continued to adopt an aggressive approach against Russia. Russia was constantly threatened by the countries of the European Community, England and America.Ignoring these threats, Russia saw victory for itself in this war, not only militarily but also diplomatically.
It is noteworthy that for some time, mutual cooperation between Russia and China has increased. The US knows that the understanding between Russia and China, so far, is limited to diplomatic and economic issues. America would never want it to ignite this to move any further towards military cooperation. Therefore, America’s non-cooperation towards Ukraine shows its apprehension. As far as the economic sanctions on Ukraine by the US, the European Community and the UK are concerned, it is not going to make much difference to Russia; rather, it is possible that it will have adverse impact on the countries that imposed the sanctions.
(The writer is a Professor in PGDAV College, University of Delhi. The views expressed are personal.)