The Ukrainian Crisis refers to the series of events such as the Euromaidan and the Ukrainian Revolution in 2014 that ultimately led to a confrontation between Ukraine and Russia.
The escalation of conflict continues to this day and reached a boiling point when Russian forces carried out a military exercise in the Azov Sea in April 2021, with a mass number of troops massing at the Russian-Ukrainain border. Although the troops were subsequently withdrawn, tensions between the two nations continue to this day
This article will give details about the Ukrainian Crisis within the context of the UPSC Exams.
The Ukrainian Crisis is part of the International Relations segment of the Civil Services Examination. To know more about this segment, visit the UPSC Syllabus page.
Ukrainian Crisis – UPSC Notes:- Download PDF Here
Origin of the Ukrainian Crisis
In a nutshell, the Ukrainian crisis is a power struggle between the various political factions in the Ukraine. Chief among these factions are the ones who seek to cultivate closer ties with the European Union while the other seeks better relations with Russia.
Ukraine was one of the founding states of the Soviet Union, its farmlands contributing immensely to the Union’s economic output from 1920 to 1991.
The crisis reached a boiling point when on November 21, 2013, Victor Yanukovych, the Ukrainian President, suspended an agreement with the European Union. It led to a series of protests from those who supported the agreement with the European Union. The subsequent Ukrainian Revolution unseated Yanukovych from his presidential post in February 2014.
This in turn led to a series of unrest in the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine, whose denizens were more supportive of Yanukovych and his pro-Russian policies. Soon a political crisis plunged Ukraine into chaos, with the Pro-European Union and Pro-Russian factions fighting it out against each other for control of Ukraine.
It was against this backdrop that Russia sent its army to annex the Crimean region of Ukraine in March 2014. Russia’s casus belli (an act or situation that provokes or justifies a war) was that it was protecting its port access on the Black Sea in case the political crisis in Ukraine caused disruption in its trade in the region.
Russia’s invasion further bolstered the pro-Russian forces in Ukraine, turning the simmering unrest into a full-blown war against the post-revolutionary Ukrainian government.
Between 2014–2018, the military conflict between Ukrainian soldiers and Russian-backed separatists continued in eastern Ukraine. More than 10,000 people were killed.
What was the reason for the Russian Invasion of Ukraine?
To understand the reason for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we must look back to the time of the Cold War.
During the reign of Josef Stalin, the Soviet Union sent ethnic Russians to the eastern portion of Ukraine. This was to solidify Soviet control in Ukraine and seriously undermine any prospects of an indigenous freedom movement if they ever took place.
As a consequence, Russia’s President got the reason he needed to send his army to the Ukraine, because he was sure he would find support for his actions in the country. The pro-Russian faction was bolstered by this incursion, which also allowed Yanukovych to return to Kiev.
Ukraine’s desire to open its markets to the EU and to collude with U.S. companies to develop its natural gas reserves were perceived by Russia as huge threats to its economy.
Since then, relations between the United States and Russia have continued to deteriorate with the ongoing Ukraine conflict. Efforts to reach a diplomatic settlement have failed.
The conflict is still ongoing with regular clashes between the two Ukrainian factions as well as Russian armed forces.
Effects of the Ukrainian Crisis
The events in Ukraine had both domestic and international consequences. As per the estimate by the World Bank in October 2014, the economy of Ukraine contracted by 8% the same year. In turn, a slew of sanctions imposed by the United States and the EU crippled the Russian Rouble, resulting in the Russian financial crisis.
The war in the region had caused a shortage in coal for Ukrainian power stations, leading to blackouts in many parts of the country in December 2014.
Before the Euromaidan protest and the subsequent crisis, corruption had plagued the Ukrainian government from time to time. Post the revolution, however, the pace of reforms are slow. A BBC report in 2016 indicated that corruption was still prevalent, while efforts to improve the economy have met with little progress.
Internationally, the relations between the United States and Russia have continued on a downward spiral ever since the beginning of the crisis. Geopolitical experts believe that the ever-increasing rivalry between the two nations is the foundation of a new Cold War.
The 2020 Ukrainian local elections took place on Sunday 25 October 2020. In the election deputies of oblast and municipality councils were elected and elections for city and town mayors were held. No elections were held in the currently occupied territories of Ukraine.
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