Russia’s eye is on the countries of Eastern Europe that were once part of Soviet Russia.
Russia is moving towards Eastern Europe. His eyes are on the countries of Eastern Europe that were once part of Soviet Russia. Countries like European Union and NATO are speaking against this expansionism, but fail to stop it. Ultimately what was feared, happened. Russia attacked Ukraine. Fighting continues in Ukraine’s capital Kiev and other cities. Military and residential areas are being attacked by missiles and fighter planes and tanks are raining on the streets. Civilians are being killed along with soldiers. Obviously, the situation is very serious.
The aggression of Russia has also put the Western countries in great concern. That is why Western countries including America are avoiding giving military aid to Ukraine. Ukraine hoped that in this crisis, European countries and America would stand with it by military intervention. But even after the attack by Russian troops, the US and its allies have not yet moved beyond economic sanctions against Russia. This war could usher in a new era of expansionist policies of Russia. After this attack by Russia, the morale of China also increased naturally.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed his pain. He firmly hoped that in the event of an attack by Russia, America would come out openly and stand with them. But so far Ukraine has been disappointed in terms of military aid from the US, the European Union and the UK. There are also differences among EU countries regarding economic sanctions on Russia, as more strict economic sanctions would affect the interests of European countries and the US. Until the very last, France and Germany tried to find a solution to the problem through talks with Russia.
But the question is why are NATO and the US hesitant to give military aid to Ukraine? If seen, some reasons for this are clearly visible. One of the major reasons is that France and Germany, the two big countries of Europe, do not want a military confrontation with Russia. On the other hand, America is also avoiding military intervention in Ukraine, because its own national security interests are not directly in Ukraine. The US has no military base in Ukraine.
That is why US President Joe Biden is not ready to take confrontation directly with Russia. However, many former US presidents intervened even in countries where the national security interests of America were not directly affected. In 1995, Bill Clinton intervened in Yugoslavia. In 2011, Barack Obama directly intervened in the Libyan civil war. Then these presidents had given the basis of their action to the protection of human values and human rights.
It is a fact that the annual trade turnover between Ukraine and the US is close to five billion dollars, which is not much. On the other hand, Biden is also under pressure from the American public. The American public does not want a direct military confrontation with Russia. Again, America is currently battling with problems like inflation, unemployment, crisis of the economy. For this reason, the challenges before Biden on the domestic front are no less.
Biden has also made partial changes in his foreign policy. At one time, Biden was a supporter of military intervention in Iraq and the Balkans. But now they themselves are avoiding military intervention in Ukraine. The reason for this is also that Biden has learned a lesson from the way America has burnt its hands in Afghanistan. But Ukraine did not understand all this and took a confrontation with Russia on the basis of America.
Countries like Taiwan are surprised by America’s attitude in the Russia-Ukraine dispute. Taiwan feels that the attack on Ukraine will boost the morale of China too. China can also take military action on Taiwan and include it in China. China is also giving tacit support to Russia’s expansionist policies, so that if China attacks Taiwan tomorrow, no one will come out openly.
There is no doubt that US diplomacy has been challenged by Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Many countries joining through treaties with America are troubled. India will also have to think about how far to go ahead relying on the Quad in a region like the Indo-Pacific? India’s trouble is also that Russia has been a trusted ally of India for a long time. But in the last few decades, India moved closer to America. The strengthening relations between Russia and China are also increasing India’s concern. At the same time, Russia’s proximity to Pakistan has increased India’s troubles. Recently Imran Khan went on a tour of Russia. That is why India is following the policy of neutrality regarding Ukraine. India knows that Russia can be a strong arbiter in case of dispute with China.
Once again in the world, nuclear-powered countries are carrying out expansionist policies. China is constantly threatening its neighbors in Asia. By giving the example of the pages of history, he is infiltrating the border of neighboring countries. On the other hand, Russia is moving towards Eastern Europe. His eyes are on the countries of Eastern Europe that were once part of Soviet Russia. Countries like European Union and NATO are speaking against this expansionism, but fail to stop it.
Russia’s aggressive attitude towards Ukraine is not the same. He does not want Ukraine to join NATO under any circumstances. If the US and Western countries succeed in annexing Ukraine to NATO, the way for the deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine will be cleared. This is the biggest threat to Russia. However, European countries have assured Russia that Ukraine will not become a member of NATO.
But Russia has little faith in this. Putin argues that in 1990 the US promised that NATO would not expand into Eastern Europe, but the US broke that promise. In 1997, several countries in Eastern Europe became members of NATO. At present, five thousand NATO soldiers are stationed in the Baltic countries and Poland. So Russia will no longer sit silent by attacking Ukraine, but it will try to form its own puppet government in Ukraine.
After this, Putin’s target will be those countries that became members of NATO in 1997. Russia will also demand from NATO to end their membership and restore the status quo before 1990. If NATO does not agree to this, then Russia will ask that NATO end its military deployment from these countries. But where is NATO going to readily agree on this. Clearly, Eastern Europe will become the new hotbed of global tensions.
However, the situation is not favorable for Russia either. On the domestic front, President Putin’s opponents have opened up. Russian citizens are also outraged by the war waged against Ukraine. Russia’s economy is also not strong enough to withstand the economic sanctions of countries like the European Union, America and Canada for a long time. But to what extent these sanctions will affect Russia, only time will tell.