OPENING A PANDORA’S BOX IN EUROPE

Saro Thiruppathy unfolds the events that took place in the aftermath of the Cold War period – which provoked the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February and much of the world (mostly the Wes tern world) was horrified that there could be an invasion of that sort in Europe.

The media went crazy and lamented about how heart breaking it is to see blue-eyed people (who are like the rest of them – meaning Europeans) dying and having to run away from their homes because of the big bad Russian bear.

So what led to the invasion of this seemingly peaceful sovereign nation without a care in the world?

Still waters do run deep and history reveals that all has not been well with Ukraine since even before World War II.

In the 1930s, extreme right-wing anti-Semite and Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera began a pogrom, and killed thousands of Jews and Poles in Ukraine – and sought favour with the Nazi Party in Germany.

He is considered a hero in Ukraine to this day; and his legacy continues in the form of the extremist neo-Nazi Azov regiment in Ukraine, which wields tremendous power in governance even though it’s not represented in parliament.

Cut to post-WWII and the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 1949 to contain the then USSR, which spanned much of Eastern Europe at the time. That was the beginning of the Cold War, which continued until 25 December1991 when the Soviet hammer and sickle flag was lowered, and replaced by the Russian tricolour.

President Mikhail Gorbachev resigned that day and Boris Yeltsin took over as the head of the new Russia.

Nevertheless, NATO continued to operate in Europe even though the USSR had been dismantled. And in spite of assuring Gorbachev and others that it would not expand into former Soviet satellites states in Eastern Europe, it broke its promise to Moscow and continued to do exactly that.

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia are some of the states that have since joined NATO in spite of Russian objections.

The straw that broke the camel’s back was the intimation by NATO that it would welcome Ukraine too. Russia objected once again, particularly since it shares a long border with Ukraine. And the two republics recently recognised by Moscow – Donetsk and Luhansk – are located in the historical Donbas region in the eastern part of the country.

Putin’s biggest fear was that if Ukraine was accepted to NATO, it would be possible for NATO’s troops from nuclear power countries to line the Ukraine border and create an existential threat to Russia. However, even though Russia made its displeasure clear, NATO refused to reassure Putin that it would not admit Ukraine as a member.

Finally, Putin began amassing his troops on the border with Ukraine, in preparation for an incursion. Yet, the US and Europe ignored the very plausible threat and instead, egged Ukraine’s novice President Volodymyr Zelensky on… to challenge Putin.

Zelensky is a former actor and comedian who won a landslide victory in 2019. But due to his inexperience, he underestimated Russia and overestimated his sup posed friends – and he believed their promises of unconditional support.

Eventually, Russia invaded; and huge numbers of Ukrainians have fled to neighbouring Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and other nations in and beyond the EU. Then Zelensky called on the promises made to him and NATO backtracked, saying it would send money and armaments but no boots on the ground nor air support.

He begged for the declaration of a no-fly zone but NATO refused, saying it could lead to a world war between nuclear powers.

Zelensky then pleaded for Ukraine to be admitted to the EU so that it may receive at least some of the protection afforded to its members. But the EU also turned its back on Ukraine and said membership would not be possible for quite some time.

So Zelensky has been reduced to welcoming mercenaries to fight alongside the Ukrainian army and many right-wing extremists have flown to the country from the West to provide their services. Zelensky, who is Jewish, is now caught between the neo-Nazi Azov regiment on the one hand and communists on the other with the West giving him standing ovations.

However, the US and EU have readily imposed strict sanctions against Russia in a bid to destroy its economy. Economic sanctions are the favoured tool used by the West to cripple other nations and this round appears to be no different.

Recently, Putin issued a list of four demands for the immediate cessation of hostilities, which include Ukraine ceasing military action, changing its constitution to enshrine neutrality, acknowledging that Crimea is a part of Russia, and recognising that Donetsk and Lugansk are independent states.

Meanwhile, Israel and then Turkey have tried to mediate – and at the time of going to press, the talks in Turkey offer a glimmer of hope at the end of the miserably dark tunnel.