By Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan
The disputes and rivalry between Russia and Ukraine go back to ancient times and have seen many ups and downs in history. But the latest crisis started in 2013 when the United States supported a coup d’état in Ukraine (Euromaidan events) to bring a pro-western government to power with the main aim to weaken Russia.
In the spring of 2014, protests against Euromaidan began in southeastern Ukraine. Dissenters demanded a solution to the issue of the status of the Russian language and the decentralization of power in the regions. Protesters seized administrative buildings in Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Lugansk.
Russia tried to resolve the situation peacefully and through diplomatic channels for 8 years, without positive answers from the West.
The Second Minsk Agreement is a document aimed at resolving the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. It was agreed on February 11-12, 2015 at a summit in Minsk by the leaders of Germany, France, Ukraine, and Russia in the Normandy Four format and signed by the Contact Group for the Peaceful Settlement of the Situation in Eastern Ukraine, consisting of representatives of Ukraine, Russia, the OSCE and the unrecognized Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Later, the Minsk agreements were approved by a special resolution of the UN Security Council.
Since the signing of the Minsk agreements, not one of their points has been implemented from the Ukrainian side.
In the spring of 2021, active hostilities resumed in the southeast of Ukraine. The armed forces of Ukraine alongside with para militar organizations with nazi ideology, made an attempt to take control of part of the neutral zone. Russia began to increase the number of troops on the border. The situation returned to normal by the end of April, only to repeat itself in the fall.
In mid-December 2021, Russia put forward a number of demands to the United States and other NATO countries, including NATO’s refusal to further expand to the east, the withdrawal of American forces and weapons from Eastern Europe, and the refusal to deploy strike weapons in Europe (including Ukraine) capable of threatening Russia.
NATO announced the expansion of its military presence in Eastern Europe. The United States has begun additional military aid to Ukraine and has begun redeploying several thousand troops to Poland and Romania. Other NATO countries have also announced arms supplies to Ukraine.
Para military troops began shelling the DNR and LNR with heavy artillery. As a response, Russia started a military operation to “demilitarize and denazify Ukraine”.
The problems were created by the USA, Great Britain, and other Western countries willing to establish a hot spot near the borders of Russia.
After the start of the Russian military operation, the West began an aggressive information war against Russia, meanwhile irresponsible actions and statements by the West have forced Russia to put its Nukes on high alert. If the West consistently exerts pressure on Russia, we are afraid of a Third World War and use of nuclear weapons.
It appealed to the UN, and all peace-loving nations and individuals to convince all relevant parties to calm down and defuse tension. They must resolve all disputes through diplomatic and political means under the Charter of the UN. Human lives must be rescued, and respected at all costs.
Author: Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan – Sinologist (ex-Diplomat), Editor, Analyst, Non-Resident Fellow of CCG (Center for China and Globalization), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan.
(The views and opinions expressed in this article are only of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinion or position of World Geostrategic Insights).