Russia-Ukraine War

The Russian Federation on the 24th of February launched a special military operation into Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on the 24 th announced on Television that the invasion into
Ukrainian mainland was a special military operation, addressing the citizens and armed forces of
Ukraine. Referring to Article 51 of the UN Charter, the Russian president called Ukraine a “Neo Nazi
State” to justify the special military operation.

Ukraine however does not want to be a part of Russia, with 94% of the population approving
President Zelensky. 80% of the population wants to be more affiliated with the west, while 14% of
the population that wanted to join Eurasian Customs Trade Union with Russia dropped to 2% after
the special military operation. 86% said they would like to see Ukraine join NATO, and 69% said they
would continue fighting against Russia to join NATO. President Zelensky is requesting NATO and
western countries to support Ukraine by sending military equipment and supplies to help its armed
forces and civilians. While most Ukrainians are happy to fight against Russia, many families are
migrating to Poland. (Source 1).

After NATO’s expansion has put Putin in a state of panic. Ukraine’s strong opinion towards joining
NATO has further increased this. Ukraine becoming a NATO base would mean a close-range base to
which military equipment could be stored at, which makes Russia completely vulnerable. The special
military operation would either mean Ukraine is completely in Russian hands or Ukraine doesn’t join
NATO. The Kremlin as claimed that it has “generally accomplished” it’s goal at reducing Ukraine’s
combat ability. Meanwhile Ukraine accuses that if Russia manages to take full control of its eastern
and southern provinces, they will hold a sham vote and annex the area for themselves, as done with
Crimea in 2014. (Source 2).

Despite India’s discomfort with the war, it has chosen to remain neutral and abstain from successive
votes at the UN. India’s neutrality has “disappointed” the United States. As India and the US stand
shoulder-to-shoulder against the People’s Republic of China, President Biden has called India’s
neutrality against Russia “disappointing”. India’s past relations with the USSR have also affected
India’s position and neutrality during the invasion. India is geographically isolated from its allies,
surrounded by Pakistan and China, which makes sending any help to India in a wartime situation
difficult, hence Russia is the only country that can help India the quickest in a wartime scenario.
Another factor is India’s trade relations with Russia. India has been trading with Russia since it was
the Soviet Union, and plans to continue trading goods and oil with Russia. (Source 3 & 4).

I personally don’t condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine. NATO had agreed with former Soviet Premier
Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO wouldn’t expand beyond Germany. NATO is now, however denying
that an agreement like this was ever made. NATO was created with its sole purpose being to defend
and protect Europe from the Soviet Union. Ukraine joining NATO poses a serious threat to Russia, as
having an enemy base in a neighbouring country would mean that a ground offensive is inevitable.
This puts Russia in an almost similar situation as India, having an enemy country border you.
Source 1: What Ukrainians Think About the War With Russia - WSJ

Source 2: Why has Russia invaded Ukraine and what does Putin want? - BBC News

Source 3: Russia-Ukraine war: An Indian perspective - The Sunday Guardian Live

Source 4: India's position is clear on Russia-Ukraine crisis: Jaishankar | India News - Times of India