Russian troops in Eastern Europe

Introduction

Lately, a lot of rumors and news have been circulating about the offensive of Russian troops in Eastern Europe (including Romania, Ukraine, and the Republic of Moldova, because they have been in the Soviet sphere of influence for several decades). But, what are the causes of these unexpected offensive actions? Why now and...what’s the thing with Ukraine? Well, we are so lucky to be here today, because we will find out together everything we have to know!

The Cold War

The Cold War, starting in 1947, is basically ‘’the pilot’’ of our story and also a very important background for it is about to come: The Warsaw Pact. But, until we get there, let’s get a little bit into the subject of The Cold War. You all may know that The Cold War wasn’t a war at all, but a continuous voltage state between two influential political blocks: U.S.S.R. and the U.S.

In my opinion, this war marked the beginning of a new era: the one where our most powerful weapon is the word. Why would I say that? Because this war consisted of ideological and geopolitical misunderstandings between those countries. They managed to get allies from ‘’their neighborhood’’, so the Soviets had contact with Eastern Europe (including Ukraine and even Romania).

The Warsaw Pact

So...the Warsaw Pact! The point that I wanted to tackle a little bit more. Through this pact, U.R.S.S. accomplished occupying six countries. Although it seemed to be a military alliance, the Warsaw Pact was used as an instrument to keep communist regimes in power in those countries. Such a clever move, right? Romania, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Albania were under the control of the Soviet Union without actually knowing that because they were guided (or ’’forced’’ may be a better word) to adopt a hardline communist government modeled after the Soviet system.

But, how about Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, the regions we talked about in our introduction? Well, when the Warsaw Pact occurred, they were already under Soviet occupation.

All in all, such as all the European countries situated in the east of the continent, Ukraine celebrated the leaving of the soviet troops in 1989, at the end of The Cold War. Although it was a happy end for these countries, a lot of communist ideologies remained imprinted in their culture and society.

Back to the 21st century, but not in 2021: What was Euromaidan, and why Crimea went through a crisis?

Despite the fact that The Cold War was over, Ukraine has never interrupted her connections with the Soviet people. It would seem to you that there is a strong bond between these two nations…In fact, it may be, but we have to admit that is a strange one, considering the consequences of the Ukrainian government's attempt to suspend the signing of an association agreement with the European Union, instead choosing closer ties to Russia.

So, starting with some protests led by students, under the name of Euromaidan, all these accusations started to be heard by more and Ukrainian people. This way, the nation found stable reasons to set off the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution.

How did the Russian people react? For sure, they didn’t expect such a response from the Ukrainian nation, but they managed to impose themself by force, through operations such as "Wave" and "Boomerang’’. These two dispersed the crowds and captured the protesters' headquarters. Unwanted consequences? Plenty! This conflict has claimed more than 13,000 lives and the fresh fighting that intensified at the beginning of the year shredded hopes that a ceasefire brokered in July might wind down the fighting completely.

Before some police officers defected, the plans included the deployment of 22,000 combined security troops in Kyiv.

But, the interesting move happened in the middle of the revolution, on the 20th of February more exactly. The Crimean Peninsula was annexed by the Soviets and Russian military intervention is attested there. It was easy for President Vladimir Putin to get what he wanted from Viktor Yanukovych because he had already convinced him to do something in the favour of Russia. All this time, Putin knew that he must start working on returning Crimea to Russia.

In theory, Crimea was an independent territory according to the declaration of Crimea’s Independence on 16 March 2014. But...why did Russia want so eagerly to turn Crimea into a free state? Well, the answers came by themselves in July 2015, when the Russian Prime Minister said that Crimea had been fully integrated into Russia.

Russo-Ukrainian War

As you may know from the news, in the spring of 2021 the Russian military moved large quantities of arms and equipment into occupied Crimea. The masses of soldiers increased in a short time and by 9 April, it is said that 85,000 Russian soldiers were already in Crimea or nearby.

Because Russia’s actions have raised lots of concerns about its intentions in Eastern Europe, it is clear that such an incursion into a NATO country would solicit a response from the United States as a NATO ally. Therefore, the Ukrainian president managed to speak to Joe Biden to speed up Ukraine’s adherence to the European Union. There is a sure thing: the conflict in Ukraine risks further deterioration of the U.S.-Russia relations.

Foreign interests and international relations nowadays

After the XXth century both the U.S. and Russia, important political powers, have different interests when it comes to defending or conquering Ukraine.

As for the U.S., Ukraine was a weapon against the Soviets after the Cold War, because Ukraine has always represented a bridge to success for the Russian troops.

In 2014 and 2015 an accord was signed by France and Germany, calling for Ukrainian control over its border with Russia, and local elections, and a special political status for certain areas of the region.

Besides that, Ukraine also received a lot of U.S. foreign aid, which consisted of more than $200 million per year, military help with training and equipment, including sniper rifles, grenade launchers, night-vision gear, radars, and Javelin anti-tank missiles. NATO allies offered to help and take retaliatory actions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine although Ukraine remains a nonmember. also taken retaliatory actions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine.

Another relevant detail that must be mentioned is the fact that Americans started doing some investigations between January 2018 and April 2019 by private satellite imaging company Planet Labs. Thus, they succeeded in discovering out more details about Russia’s recent activity in Crimea. After all these, it was found out that Moscow had no near-term intention of returning the Ukrainian territory it seized in 2014, which the United States has said is required before it will resume normalized relations.

Conclusion

Nowadays, all we can expect is the unexpected, in particular here, in Eastern Europe, a few steps away from the soviets. In a world where being a superpower with a flourishing economy is way more important than integrity, you must be prepared for anything. As you can see, it’s all about the interests and strategy, and no aid you get is a realistic one.