Abstract
Russia–Ukraine relations are the bilateral ties between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Following the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity in 2014, Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula was occupied by unmarked Russian forces, and later annexed by Russia, while pro-Russia separatists simultaneously engaged the Ukrainian military in an armed conflict for control over eastern Ukraine; these events marked the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War. In a major escalation of the conflict on 24 February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of the Ukrainian mainland across a broad front, causing Ukraine to sever all formal diplomatic ties with Russia. Throughout 2021 and 2022, a Russian military buildup on the border of Ukraine escalated tensions between the two countries and strained their bilateral relations. Ukraine broke diplomatic relations with Moscow in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Streets bearing the names of Russian figures and monuments symbolising Russian and Ukrainian friendship were removed from various locations across Ukraine.
TopIntroduction
Geopolitics is a liquid-wise concept that shapes shifts following the socio-political and economic changes made within or in neighboring states. Usually, the popularity in geopolitics is motivated by the victory in the war, that binds the nation, revives the national culture, and promotes the spiritual and territorial expansion into neighboring states. However, the defeat in the war can be motivating too, the defeat catalyzes the creation and dissemination of geopolitical theories. For instance, Germany’s defeat in the First and Second World Wars. Therefore, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, is of particular geopolitical importance that consolidated the whole world into one body, as Joe Biden has submitted “NATO and EU are more united than ever amid Russia's ongoing invasion” (Deutche Welle, 2022). The war as a humanitarian crisis upholds emergencies in all dimensions of life, according to the ICRC “Over 5 million people are reported to have left their homes into neighboring countries, and more than 6.5 million people still in Ukraine have been displaced from their homes” (ICRC, 2022) which nurtures refugee crises across Europe and not only. On the other hand, Ukraine is the biggest energy transit state in Europe, and the current war underlines and questions Russia’s hegemony in the region. The paper will attempt to assess the current geopolitical condition in the region and anticipate its future complications.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Aggression -: in international relations, an act or policy of expansion carried out by one state at the expense of another using an unprovoked military attack.
Imperialism -: State policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas. Because it always involves the use of power, whether military or economic or in some subtler form, imperialism has often been considered morally reprehensible, and the term is frequently employed in international propaganda to denounce and discredit an opponent’s foreign policy.
Geopolitics: - a study of the influence of such factors as geography, economics, and demography on the politics and especially the foreign policy of a state; a governmental policy guided by geopolitics; a combination of political and geographic factors relating to something (such as a state or particular resources).