WHY DID RUSSIA INVADE?
Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
According to Putin, who announced his “intentions” for Ukraine on Feb. 23, the invasion was a “special military operation.”
“Its goal is to protect people who have been abused by the genocide of the Kyiv regime for eight years,” Putin said. “And to this end, we will strive for the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, as well as bringing to justice those who committed numerous bloody crimes.”
However, Vox.com has a different theory on Putin’s motivations.
“The word ‘demilitarization’ hints at the real reasons he’s (Putin) willing to do this: that he wishes to end Ukraine’s status as an independent sovereign state,” Vox.com said. “The existence of an anti-Russian regime in what he views as rightfully Russian territory populated by rightfully Russian people is unacceptable to him — so unacceptable that he is willing to wage a costly and bloody war over it.”
According to Vox.com, Putin’s perspective stems from Ukranians who sided against the Soviets in World War II, leading to Russia’s modern narrative of neo-Nazi’s ruling the Ukraine government.
Ukraine’s large ethnic Russian population is another factor, according to Vox.com.
“In Putin’s paranoid telling, these people are not merely rightful Russian citizens wrongfully separated from the motherland; they are potential victims of an ethnic cleansing campaign by the neo-Nazi Ukrainian government,” Vox.com said.
Putin promised decommunization for Ukraine.
“You want decommunization? Very well, this suits us just fine,” Putin said. “But why stop halfway? We are ready to show what real decommunization would mean for Ukraine.”
WHAT HAPPENED?
At least 40 people have been killed and dozens injured according to Oleksii Arestovich, an advisor to Ukraine’s president.
The New York Times featured a map of the invasion and said Russia has destroyed dozens of military targets in Ukraine, including airfields, command points and a naval base.
“Russia said its forces had disabled all of Ukraine’s air defenses while Ukraine’s military said it had shot down six Russian planes and one helicopter,” New York Times wrote.
According to USA Today, a senior U.S. military official, unauthorized to speak publicly, said the attack began with heavy weaponry and is the largest invasion in Europe since World War II.
“(It began) with a barrage of over 100 ballistic, cruise and surface-to-air missiles and included 75 medium and heavy bombers,” the official said.
Numerous videos of the invasion have surfaced online, some coming with warnings of graphic content. This video shows missile strikes, explosions, panic and military vehicles arriving in Ukraine.
HOW WILL AMERICA RESPOND?
U.S. President Joe Biden addressed the nation on Feb. 24, responding to Russia with new sanctions and export limitations.
“This is going to impose severe costs on the Russian economy both immediately and over time,” Biden said. “We have purposely designed these sanctions to maximize long-term impact on Russia and to minimize the impact on the United States and our allies.”
Biden also clarified his reasons for deploying troops to Europe.
“Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our NATO allies and reassure those allies in the East,” Biden said. “As I made crystal clear, the United States will defend every inch of NATO territory with the full force of American power.”
WHY WON’T AMERICA DEFEND UKRAINE?
According to Peter Hartcher of the Sydney Morning Herald, one reason America will not defend Ukraine is because they are war-weary. Another reason is U.S. v. China economic concerns.
Although China’s economy is currently smaller, they may surpass America’s according to Elbridge Colby, lead author of the U.S. National Defense Strategy of 2018.
“If China gets to the same per capita income level of Japan, they will be something like three times the size of our (U.S.) economy,” Colby said. “And many Chinese are well below middle-income level at the moment, so they have plenty of catch-up growth opportunity.”
According to the main China adviser to the Biden White House, Rush Doshi, and his 2021 book, The Long Game: China’s Grand Strategy to Displace American Order, the U.S. is on the economic defensive.
“The U.S. cannot compete with China symmetrically – that is, dollar-for-dollar, ship-for-ship, or loan-for-loan – in part because of China’s sheer relative size,” Doshi wrote.
Russia is not America’s primary concern according to Colby.
“China is by far the most powerful other state in the international system,” Colby said.
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