Russia and Ukraine, A new paradigm

This article is written by Manna Elza John who is currently doing LL.B in Govt. Law College, Thiruvananthapuram. She did her Graduation from Christ Deemed to be University in English Honours. Her areas of interests are international affairs, politics, law and debates.

CONTENTS

1. Introduction
2. Geographical Importance
3. United Nations and International Laws
4. References

Introduction

International relations have become more important than ever before. We see how the failure of the League of Nations during the 20th Century led to the rise of the formation of the United Nations in the year 1945. The world leaders wanted to make certain that there would not be another world war in the future. For the same reason, we observe how several International Laws have emerged, and how a nation’s sovereignty is likewise honored.

The burning issue of the day is the war that is going on in Ukraine. It is important to look into the history of the Soviet Union to understand the present scenario better. Ukraine has always been seen as a sister to Russia, which was once a part of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union had 15 republics which also included present-day Russia. From the fall of the Berlin Wall to the economic crisis, there are a few reasons why the Soviet Union fell apart. The fall of the Soviet Union, in some sense or the other, also brought the Cold war to an end in 1991. After the Second World War, the Soviet Union had a completely devastated economy. Following the disintegration of the Soviet Union, nations such as Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania joined NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in 2004. This demonstrated how the West was growing as a whole, and in 2008, both Ukraine and Georgia were offered NATO membership. On the other hand, this was a red flag for the Russian Government.

From the early 2000s, Vladimir Putin’s leadership slowly but steadily built up the Russian state in all domains, lowering unemployment rates, increasing GDP, and general development, but some argue that this came at the expense of democracy, which is a topic for another day. The West as well as Russia have constantly tried to keep their power in the regions, and in 2014, Russia invaded Crimea, which became a turning point for the things that would unfold later on.

Geographical Importance

Russia has openly declared war and it is important to know the geographical importance of Ukraine as well as Georgia. The Black Sea provides a lot of advantages both politically as well as geographically for Russia. When one looks into the geographical map, if Ukraine and Georgia also join NATO, then it would inherently affect not just the power position of Russia but also the transits of Russia. This is also seen as one major reason why Russia has taken a particular stance.

The present crisis in Ukraine did not happen overnight. The first step towards it was the annexation of Crimea back in 2014, which created unrest in Ukraine. This subsequently gave a boost of confidence and upper hand for the Putin Government. Dr. Stanly Johny, the International Affairs Editor of ‘The Hindu’ in a talk also points out how the withdrawal of the USA from Afghanistan, in some sense or the other showed a “fatigue” from the side of the USA. Russia saw this as the ideal time to launch the next attack. Economic sanctions, which the US went ahead and implemented, are one repercussion for such stances under international law, but that did not deter Putin from launching a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine.

United Nations and International Laws

After the failure of the League of Nations, the United Nations was formed to prevent another World War. The United Nations according to the Charter is: “to prevent disputes from escalating into war, or to help restore peace following the outbreak of armed conflict, and to promote lasting peace in societies emerging from wars.”

The United Nations also lists a number of War Crimes, which are mentioned in Article 8 and the Court would have jurisdiction over such crimes. A few laws from the official website of the UN are listed below:

1. Extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly;

2. Intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects, that is, objects which are not military objectives;

3. Intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects or widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated;

These are a few regulations that, if broken, should be deemed a war crime, but one has to wonder how the UN is unable to give the necessary assistance and justice for Ukraine at this time. Mr. Antonio Guterres did plead to Russia in the name of humanity, but there was no heed. The larger question is whether the United Nations have failed to provide justice, has the UN been able to do justice to the ideals that it stands for? Has the UN stood up according to what the Charter has provided? One would have to wonder. But nonetheless, it is high time to act and defend the sovereignty and integrity of one country.

The coming days would determine a lot of paradigm shifts in international policies and power politics. The only way to find a solution is to come up with a new Minsk Agreement, which can only happen if both countries can negotiate. Rather than continuing with a full-fledged war, where even civilians are harmed, a new accord should be established.

References