A Simplified Guide To Russia Vs Ukraine: Putin’s Unchecked Obsessions, The Need For Control And Military Power Flex - The Sauce
Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Featured

A Simplified Guide To Russia Vs Ukraine: Putin’s Unchecked Obsessions, The Need For Control And Military Power Flex

Breakdown of what is happening between Russia and Ukraine
1. Long standing conflict between the two countries, with Russian President Vladimir Putin wanting to forcefully reunite the Soviet States.
2. February 24th, 2022, Russian troops launch an invasion in Ukraine.
3. Ukraine is standing firm against the incursion with weight of international community behind her.
4. The war has so far resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people with the rise in cost of living on the horizon.
5. Futile peace talks amid the threat of swelling up into a nuclear war.
6. Superpower Russia hit with stinging economic sanctions.

What’s President Putin beef with Ukraine?

The Ukraine invasion by Russia is a horrific tale of President Vladimir Putin’s obsession of trying to reunite the former Soviet Union states.

After amassing troops around borders with Ukraine, the Russian military started advancing inward to Ukraine most likely headed to capture the capital, Kyiv. Battalions trickled from the East, while others streamed from border with Belarus. On February 24th, 2022, Russia and Ukraine went to war after months of tension between the two countries.

Putin’s bid to tighten the leash on Ukraine has seen Russia launch a full-on assault on Ukraine, in a show of military might and with a view to destabilize the country. As Ukraine defends its territorial integrity, Russia says that it is protecting Russian speakers in Eastern Ukraine and countering Western influence. According to Putin, the purpose of the attack is to “demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine.”

International Media reports that the death toll on Ukraine is about 350 people with over 1500 casualties and upward of 500,000 refugees. Russia still lacks any credible sources on war victims. Satellite images have shown the devastation on Ukraine. Battle fronts are shifting as Russian army gets into Ukraine, the recent being Monday’s (28.02.2022) bombardment on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city about a 6-hour drive to the Capital Kyiv. With these indicators, the seizure of Kyiv is nigh.

Meanwhile, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stuck to his guns in resisting this invasion. He has joined soldiers in the battlefield, rejected evacuation to the United States, and mobilized the civilians against the invasion.

READ: Bad-Ass Beauty: Former Miss Ukraine Trades Catwalk For Battlefield As Russian Troops Invade Her Country

Ukraine and Russia’s long-standing conflict

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Sadly, this is a long-standing conflict which has gone unchecked by the international community. First, Russia seized territory in Georgia, then took over Crimea, and began to encroach upon Eastern Ukraine by supporting separatists in the region.

Most of this has happened in the full glare of the international spotlight and Russia’s excesses have gone unchecked. Sanctions, civilian protests, and threats of isolation from the world’s financial system, have done the least to deter the autocrat.

Over the last couple of years, Ukraine has morphed out of the shell of Soviet Union and forged relations with West Europe and the United States (Russia’s biggest rivals). Ukraine had been negotiating to join NATO and applying for membership in the European Union to cement this fellowship.

Futile peace talks and the cost of war

Since nothing was arrived at from Monday’s (28.02.2022) peace talks in Belarus, the war carries on. What’s more, there is the dreaded possibility of an escalation. Civilian areas have been hit by shelling and this could take a turn for the worse. As if this were not disheartening enough, a nuclear escalation became an option on Sunday (27.02.2022) when President Putin, brought up his vendetta against NATO in a menacing televised speech.

The war is weighing heavily on Europe’s energy. Russia is the biggest producer of Europe’s oil and gas. Oil prices have exceeded the $100 mark for a barrel of Brent crude, for the first time since 2014.

Food security is another implication of this war. Russia and Ukraine are among the world’s largest growers of wheat, a staple food in many countries. This could hit home since Kenya is an importer of Ukraine’s wheat.


Sanctions after sanctions

Sanctions have also come biting at Russia. Away from the routine visa bans on Russian oligarchs and big shots, Russia has been hit with economic sanctions. In a combined announcement Saturday (26.02.2022), leaders of the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Canada, and the United States agreed to remove “selected” Russian banks from the critical SWIFT messaging system.

A growing number of international companies, including Apple, Disney, and Ford, are dialing back operations in Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Social media platform Twitter has similarly announced plans to “reduce the visibility and amplification” of Russian state media content.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

YouTube, which is owned by Google, said over the weekend it had blocked Russian state media within Ukraine, including RT. The video platform also said that it would be “significantly limiting recommendations to these channels.”

Facebook also announced that it would block access to Russian news outlets RT and Sputnik across the European Union. Netflix said it will not air Russian state TV channels in the country.

READ: ‘The Batman’ Pulls Russia Release Due To Ukrainian Conflict

Various international sports organizations have imposed sanctions on the country and its athletes. FIFA and UEFA announced in a joint statement that they had suspended all Russian international and club teams from their competitions “until further notice.”

The FIA and Formula One have banned competitions held in both Russia and Belarus and the prohibition of both countries’ flags and anthems, “until further notice.”

To what extent will sanctions work? Russia has been notorious for weathering sanctions because of its fortress economy.

READ: World Taekwondo Voids Putin’s Honorary Black Belt Following Ukraine Invasion

Putin’s rationale in this war is preposterous weighed against the stakes. Putin’s intentions are either to dethrone Zelenskyy and put a puppet government in place or more ambitiously, to reunite the Soviet Union.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Some More Sauce...

Entertainment

News of the arrest of popular disc jockey Joe Mfalme in connection with the fatal assault of a senior police officer has taken the...

Entertainment

It is the eve of a new tiding for Director Trevor, as he gets hot in the heels spearheading his now rebranded news channel,...

Da Squeeze

Is there possibly one thing that Lisa Christoffersen cannot do? Seems unlikely. Having defied odds and beat stage 4 cancer 18 years ago, her...

Da Squeeze

Kenyan rap bigwig Khaligraph Jones is utterly disappointed after his much-hyped Instagram Live session with American rap star Rick Ross failed to happen. The...

Entertainment

Sofiya Nzau’s triumphant takeover of the music scene is something straight out of the history books. Her breakout hit ‘Mwaki’ has been making ripples...

Entertainment

Wizkid has requested people stop referring to him as an Afrobeats artist. The Nigerian singer – whose real name is Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun –...

Da Squeeze

The devil works hard, but Brian Chira’s friends, acquaintances and fans work harder! Within hours of launching, the departed TikToker’s funeral fundraiser has amassed...

Entertainment

Shakira thinks she “probably” won’t find love like she had with Gerard Piqué again. The 47-year-old singer split from the former soccer star –...