2022 Russo-Ukrainian conflict: Difference between revisions

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In 1990, in a meeting between [[United States of America|United States]] secretary of state [[James Baker]] and [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], the US official guaranteed that "not an inch of NATO’s present military jurisdiction will spread in an eastern direction."<ref>{{News citation|journalist=Svetlana Savranskaya & Tom Blanton|date=2017-12-12|title=NATO expansion: what Gorbachev heard|url=https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2017-12-12/nato-expansion-what-gorbachev-heard-western-leaders-early|newspaper=National Security Archive}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|author=[[James Baker]], [[Mikhail Gorbachev|Mikhail Gorbachyov]]|year=1990|title=Memorandum of conversation between Mikhail Gorbachev and James Baker in Moscow|title-url=https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/16116-document-05-memorandum-conversation-between|page=6|quote=Baker: We understand the need for assurances to the countries in the East. If we maintain a presence in Germany that is part of NATO, there would be no extension of NATO's jurisdiction for forces of NATO one inch to the east.|pdf=https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/4325679/Document-05-Memorandum-of-conversation-between.pdf|publisher=National Security Archive}}</ref>
In 1990, in a meeting between [[United States of America|United States]] secretary of state [[James Baker]] and [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], the US official guaranteed that "not an inch of NATO’s present military jurisdiction will spread in an eastern direction."<ref>{{News citation|journalist=Svetlana Savranskaya & Tom Blanton|date=2017-12-12|title=NATO expansion: what Gorbachev heard|url=https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2017-12-12/nato-expansion-what-gorbachev-heard-western-leaders-early|newspaper=National Security Archive}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|author=[[James Baker]], [[Mikhail Gorbachev|Mikhail Gorbachyov]]|year=1990|title=Memorandum of conversation between Mikhail Gorbachev and James Baker in Moscow|title-url=https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/16116-document-05-memorandum-conversation-between|page=6|quote=Baker: We understand the need for assurances to the countries in the East. If we maintain a presence in Germany that is part of NATO, there would be no extension of NATO's jurisdiction for forces of NATO one inch to the east.|pdf=https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/4325679/Document-05-Memorandum-of-conversation-between.pdf|publisher=National Security Archive}}</ref>


While Russia was distracted with the Sochi Olympics, the US supported the Maidan coup which overthrew recently re-elected president [[Victor Yanukovych]]. In response to this coup, [[Crimea|Crimeans]] voted overwhelmingly in favor of seceding from Ukraine and joining into the Russian Federation.<ref>{{News citation|title=Crimeans vote overwhelmingly to secede from Ukraine, join Russia|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/crimeans-vote-overwhelmingly-to-secede-from-ukraine-join-russia/}}</ref>
While Russia was distracted with the Sochi Olympics, the US supported the Maidan coup which overthrew recently re-elected pro-Russian president [[Viktor Yanukovych]] and replaced him with a [[Far-right politics|far-right]], pro-[[Imperial core|Western]] government. In response to this coup, [[Crimea|Crimeans]] voted overwhelmingly in favour of seceding from Ukraine and joining into the Russian Federation.<ref>{{News citation|title=Crimeans vote overwhelmingly to secede from Ukraine, join Russia|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/crimeans-vote-overwhelmingly-to-secede-from-ukraine-join-russia/}}</ref>


Donetsk and Luhansk also seceded. These breakaway republics were locked in war with the Ukrainian army, which included outright [[National Socialism|Nazi]] regiments like the Azov battalion.
Donetsk and Luhansk also seceded. These breakaway republics were locked in war with the Ukrainian army, which included outright [[National Socialism|Nazi]] regiments like the Azov battalion.

Revision as of 02:12, 13 March 2023

This article covers a current event. The information presented may become rapidly obsolete as new developments take place.
Russian Special Military Operation
Date24 February 2022
Location
Ukraine and the Donbass
Result Ongoing
Belligerents
Russian Federation
DPR (February–September 2022)
LPR (February–September 2022)
Supported by:
Belarus
Ukraine
Supported by:
NATO
Units involved
Russian-Separatist Forces
Russian Armed Forces
Armed Forces of Ukraine
National Guard of Ukraine
Irregular Forces
Foreign Volunteers

The 2022 Russo-Ukrainian conflict is a proxy conflict between NATO and the Russian Federation taking place in Ukraine, backed by the imperialist United States. The conflict began with Russian military operations in 24 February 2022 with an incursion on Ukrainian-administered territory.[1] The imperialist US and EU camp is sacrificing Ukraine to 'weaken Russia' according to a former NATO advisor.[2] The prominent French intellectual Emmanuel Todd has argued that the war in Ukraine is the beginning of the Third World War.[3]

In 2014, the US installed a pro-Western government through the Euromaidan coup,[4] which resulted in the rise of neo-Nazism in Ukraine.[5][6] The most prominent neo-Nazi group in Ukraine is the Azov Battalion, a former paramilitary group that terrorised the Donbass since 2014 and was officially incorporated into the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the conflict. This right-wing pro-West government maintained hostilities towards ethnic Russians in the Donbass region of Ukraine.[7] These hostilities led to the separatist movements to establish the Luhansk People's Republic and the Donetsk People's Republic, which were later annexed into the Russian Federation as of 30 September 2022.

Since the beginning of the conflict, at least 61,207 Ukrainian troops were killed and 49,368 wounded up to 21 September according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. The number of Russian troops killed amount to 5,397.[8] In addition, over 7 million refugees have fled Ukraine. Of these, over 2.8 million have fled to Russia, which has taken in more refugees than any other country.[9]

Timeline

Background

In 1990, in a meeting between United States secretary of state James Baker and Mikhail Gorbachev, the US official guaranteed that "not an inch of NATO’s present military jurisdiction will spread in an eastern direction."[10][11]

While Russia was distracted with the Sochi Olympics, the US supported the Maidan coup which overthrew recently re-elected pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych and replaced him with a far-right, pro-Western government. In response to this coup, Crimeans voted overwhelmingly in favour of seceding from Ukraine and joining into the Russian Federation.[12]

Donetsk and Luhansk also seceded. These breakaway republics were locked in war with the Ukrainian army, which included outright Nazi regiments like the Azov battalion.

Russell Bentley predicted that US president Joe Biden was seeking to reignite a dirty war in Ukraine with his support for the Nazi fanatics.[13]

Crisis

Tensions rose sharply in 2021 when the Brussels summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) reiterated that Ukraine would become aligned with NATO,[14] sparking outrage from Russian officials who considered the expansion of NATO a threat of their national security.[15] Russia began to build up troops closer to their borders, demanding that NATO stop its expansion towards Russia.[16]

The bourgeois media of the United States has been hypocritically feigning support for the citizens of Ukraine while completely disregarding the humanity of those who suffer under their own heinous wars.[17][18]

Former UN inspector Scott Ritter has said that NATO is too weak to face Russia.[19]

Germany violated its recent pattern of neutrality by sending weapons to Ukraine.[20]

During diplomatic talks, Ukraine and Russia have agreed upon humanitarian corridors to allow displaced persons to flee war zones safely.[21]

Al Qaeda, Hyatt Tahrir al-Sham, and other islamist jihadist groups are joining alongside Ukrainian neo-Nazis to fight against the Russians, eerily similar to their original task in Operation Cyclone.[22][23]

On March 7, Mikhail and Aleksander Kononovich, members of the Komsomol of Ukraine, were arrested by Ukrainian authorities and imprisoned in Kiev.[24]

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine has lost 23 thousand soldiers during the conflict,[25] however, the Ukrainian Government claims merely 10 thousand of its solders have been lost during the conflict.[26]

Reactions

Perceived reasons for U.S. support for Ukraine by country.
Perceived reasons for EU support for Ukraine by country.
Most Westerners want to prolong the war in order for Ukraine to retake all lost territory while people from Russia and the Global South want the war to end as soon as possible.
People from India, Turkey, and China believe the war made Russia look stronger while Westerners believe it made Russia look weaker.

From the West

All major imperialist countries, such as United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, and most European Union countries sanctioned since Russia began their military operations on February 24,[27] and as a result, it became the most sanctioned economy in the world.[28] In March 7th, twenty Russian capitalists were also sanctioned by Japan.[29] The Russian government compiled a list of countries who have taken hostile actions against the country.[30]

From communist movements

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation has expressed support for Putin's aims to denazify and demilitarize Ukraine, while also calling for the strengthening of local self-government.[31]

The Party for Socialism and Liberation in the United States has made a statement describing how the intervention was the result of NATO provocations against Russia.[32]

The Communist Party of Cuba released a statement calling for a solution that guarantees security and sovereignty for all, describing NATO's progressive expansion as a military siege.[33]

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea backed Russia's actions in Ukraine and claimed that US provocations and military aggression are entirely to blame for the present situation.[34]

The Communist Party of Britain, while opposing NATO expansion, called Russia's military offensive unjustified and demanded a withdrawal of troops. It also pointed out that the unilateral Russian recognition of the DPR and LPR undermines the founding principles of the UN and gives imperialist powers an excuse to abuse such methods against other nations.[35][36] It supported the Stop the War Coalition's call for the withdrawal of Russian troops.[37]

The Socialist Labour Party said the conflict can be resolved quickly, but only with a neutral Ukraine. It criticized the Communist Party of Britain's Morning Star in its recent coverage of Ukraine.[38]

The Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist–Leninist), on the basis that NATO has been conducting a three decade long slow-motion war against Russia, welcomed Russia's military challenge to NATO. It called denazification the surest way to peace.[39] The party criticized Stop the War's platforming of activists calling for imperialist escalation, as well as its call for a Russian withdrawal.[40] It welcomes Russia's recognition of the DPR and LPR.[39]

Information warfare

Censorship

In response to the crisis, Western governments and corporations have been actively censoring voices that promote alternative narratives, notably those emerging from Russia or Russia-aligned states. Reddit has banned links to Russian media.[41] The previously uncensored search engine DuckDuckGo began censoring Russian news outlets because of the war.[42]

In an effort to help netizens circumvent Western propaganda about the situation, ProleWiki has collected information about alternative social media sites.

Propaganda

The US government has been briefing TikTok influencers to promote the NATO/US narrative.[43][44]

References

  1. "Russia invades Ukraine: Political, military leaders' reactions" (2022-02-24). Reuters. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  2. Aaron Mate (2022-04-15). "US, EU sacrificing Ukraine to ‘weaken Russia’: fmr. NATO adviser" The Grayzone.
  3. Ben Norton (2023-01-14). "‘World War 3 has already started’ between US and Russia/China, argues French scholar" Geopolitical Economy Report. Archived from the original on 2023-01-18. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
  4. "How and Why the US Government Perpetrated the 2014 Coup in Ukraine".
  5. "Commentary: Ukraine’s neo-Nazi problem" (2018-03-19).
  6. “Our government encourages glorification of Nazi collaborators, mass-murderers, and murderers of Jews. Literally, there are hundreds of monuments, streets, named after killers of Jews. [...] We have anti-Semitic incidents every day. There is vandalism of mass graves - Holocaust mass graves. Vandalism on Jewish monuments. Sholem Aleichem latest - was vandalised with swastikas in Kiev, central Kiev.”

    "Ukrainian Jewish Committee: Our government encourages the glorification of Nazi collaborators" (2022-03-14). Archived from the original on 2022-03-23.
  7. "Ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine say attacked by govt. forces" (2022-02-17).
  8. “"Initially, the Armed Forces of Ukraine amounted to between 201,000 and 202,000 people, and since then they have suffered losses of around 100,000, with 61,207 killed and 49,368 others wounded," [Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu] said.”

    "Russia reveals military losses in Ukraine" (2022-09-21). RT. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
  9. "Ukraine Refugee Situation" (2022-11-17). UN Refugee Agency. Archived from the original on 2022-11-17. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  10. Svetlana Savranskaya & Tom Blanton (2017-12-12). "NATO expansion: what Gorbachev heard" National Security Archive.
  11. “Baker: We understand the need for assurances to the countries in the East. If we maintain a presence in Germany that is part of NATO, there would be no extension of NATO's jurisdiction for forces of NATO one inch to the east.”

    James Baker, Mikhail Gorbachyov (1990). Memorandum of conversation between Mikhail Gorbachev and James Baker in Moscow (p. 6). [PDF] National Security Archive.
  12. "Crimeans vote overwhelmingly to secede from Ukraine, join Russia".
  13. Russell Bentley (2021-10-12). "Is Biden Looking to Reignite a Dirty War in Ukraine? Recent Visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Raises Concerns" CovertAction Magazine.
  14. “We reiterate the decision made at the 2008 Bucharest Summit that Ukraine will become a member of the Alliance with the Membership Action Plan (MAP) as an integral part of the process; we reaffirm all elements of that decision, as well as subsequent decisions, including that each partner will be judged on its own merits.”

    "Brussels Summit Communiqué" (2021-04-14). NATO.
  15. “"After the collapse of the USSR, the security situation in Europe deteriorated sharply. Five ‘waves’ of NATO expansion have brought the Alliance States forces closer to our borders," [the Russian ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov] stated.

    "NATO is constantly building up its offensive potential, demonstrating military force along the perimeter of the Russian territory. [...]”

    "NATO expansion one of main threats to Russia’s national security - ambassador" (2022-01-16). Russian News Agency TASS. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  16. "West promised not to expand NATO" (2022-02-18). RT.
  17. Richard Medhurst. "Hypocrisy of the West Is Unbelievable" | Richard Medhurst on Ukraine"
  18. Daniel McAdams (2022-02-25). "Washington's Crocodile Tears Over Ukraine's Destruction" Ron Paul Institute.
  19. Richard Medhurst (2022-02-24). "NATO Too Weak to Face Russia: Scott Ritter on Russian Offensive"
  20. Richard Medhurst (2022-03-02). "Germany Sends Weapons to Ukraine, Breaks with Neutrality" Rokfin.
  21. "Ukraine says talks with Russia agreed on humanitarian corridors". Reuters.
  22. "450 Arab and foreign extremists from Idlib arrive in Ukraine" (2022-03-08).
  23. "Al Qaeda Fighters Join Ukraine" (2022-03-13).
  24. "Ukraine: Communist Youth Union members beaten badly, remain detained in Kiev" (2022-03-13). In Defense of Communism. Archived from the original on 2022-03-13. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
  25. "Russian Defense Ministry to publish data on military deaths from Ukrainian documents" (2022-4-16). RUSSIAN NEWS AGENCY.
  26. Claire Heald (2022-6-11). "10,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed, Kyiv says" BBC.
  27. Al Jazeera Staff (2022-03-03). "List of sanctions against Russia after it invaded Ukraine" Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  28. Nick Wadhams (2022-03-07). "Russia is now the world's most-sanctioned nation" Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  29. "Japan sanctions 20 more Russian businessmen, officials — MFA" (2022-03-07). Russian News Agency TASS. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  30. "Russian government approves list of unfriendly countries and territories" (2022-03-07). Russian News Agency TASS.
  31. "The Response to External Pressure Must Be a Radical Change of International Policy" (2022-03-02). Archived from the original on 2022-03-02.
  32. Party for Socialism and Liberation (2022-02-24). "PSL Statement on Russia’s Military Intervention in Ukraine" Liberation News.
  33. "“Cuba advocates a solution that guarantees the security and sovereignty of all”" (2022-02-28). Granma. Archived from the original on 2022-02-28.
  34. "The U.S. Should Not Shake International Peace and Stability at the Basis" (2022-02-26). Archived from the original on 2022-02-27.
  35. "Stop the war - start the peace". Morning Star. Archived from the original on 2022-02-28.
  36. "For peace and a just solution to the conflict in Ukraine". Archived from the original on 2022-03-01.
  37. "Yes, Russia should pull out — but Nato's warlike manoeuvres must end too". Morning Star. Archived from the original on 2022-02-22.
  38. Arthur Scargill. "Scargill's reply to the Morning Star" Archived from the original on 2022-03-07.
  39. 39.0 39.1 "Kiev junta facing defeat as Russia roots out fascist militias from Ukraine" (2022-03-01). Proletarian. Archived from the original on 2022-03-01.
  40. "Renegacy of Stop the War on display once again at ‘antiwar’ events" (2022-03-08). Proletarian. Archived from the original on 2022-03-08.
  41. Todd Spangler (2022-03-03). "Reddit Bans Links to Russian State Media Across Entire Site" Variety.
  42. "Alternative Search Engine DuckDuckGo Will Censor Sites ‘Associated With Russian Disinformation’". Vision Times.
  43. Sara Cook (2022-03-11). "White House briefs social media influencers on Ukraine crisis" CBS News.
  44. Richard Medhurst (2022-03-12). "CRINGE! White House Hires TikTokers to Spread Anti-Russian Propaganda"