Recent History
Though there have been people living in Ukraine for thousands of years, the important history here starts in 1917. At the beginning of the Russian Revolution, Ukraine declared itself independent and would become one of the major member states of the Soviet Union. It’s important here to keep in mind that, though Russians dominated power in the Soviet Era, Ukraine was no slouch and was, in many ways, the breadbasket of the USSR.
During WWII, Ukraine was the site of truly awful modern warfare, leaving whole towns wiped from the earth, forever. Learning from this experience, the Soviets were looking for options to prevent the devastation of modern war from, once again, reaching Russia proper.
Looking at a map of the region, it’s clear why Russia values Ukraine so much: it’s between them and Germany. Recall that in WWII, Germany invaded Russia and very nearly took Stalingrad before the siege was broken and the Germans were chased all the way back to Berlin. Imagine the British burning New York in 1942 and you’ll have an idea of the significance.
Ukraine provides what we in international relations calls strategic depth: it gives Russia some time and breathing room to counter, historically, German aggression from the West.
After the end of the Second World War, the state of global politics was less violent in Europe, but no less scary, as both the USSR and the newly-formed NATO both developed nuclear weapons and began to point them at each other.
The Cold-War period saw the West German state rebuilt with the help of the US and NATO, so, once again, Russia felt threatened by the positioning of German, and now American, tanks, planes, and missiles pointing at them, thus valuing Ukraine as something that adds strategic depth.
Though the Cold War is over, and the USSR dissolved, it’s important to recall that the current government of Russia came of age during the cold war, and, as a state, they do not want to risk, to be seen, to be weak in comparison to NATO, nor do they want to give up their strategic depth.
The issue here is twofold. First is that Ukraine has had a partnership with NATO since 1994, which Ukraine has attempted to expand into full membership since 2019. This gives Russia the impression that they might face American tanks on their border, which would eliminate the time and space to think and react currently afforded them by a non-NATO state buffering between Russia and Germany.
Second, there has been civil unrest and brief periods of civil war since 2014: one of the factions in this struggle is made up of ethnic Russians who want Ukraine, or at least parts of it, to become part of Russia. Russia has, and continues to, promise these Russian Nationalists with protections from Russia, which have included armed support from Russian special operations.
During WWII, Ukraine was the site of truly awful modern warfare, leaving whole towns wiped from the earth, forever. Learning from this experience, the Soviets were looking for options to prevent the devastation of modern war from, once again, reaching Russia proper.
Looking at a map of the region, it’s clear why Russia values Ukraine so much: it’s between them and Germany. Recall that in WWII, Germany invaded Russia and very nearly took Stalingrad before the siege was broken and the Germans were chased all the way back to Berlin. Imagine the British burning New York in 1942 and you’ll have an idea of the significance.
Ukraine provides what we in international relations calls strategic depth: it gives Russia some time and breathing room to counter, historically, German aggression from the West.
After the end of the Second World War, the state of global politics was less violent in Europe, but no less scary, as both the USSR and the newly-formed NATO both developed nuclear weapons and began to point them at each other.
The Cold-War period saw the West German state rebuilt with the help of the US and NATO, so, once again, Russia felt threatened by the positioning of German, and now American, tanks, planes, and missiles pointing at them, thus valuing Ukraine as something that adds strategic depth.
Though the Cold War is over, and the USSR dissolved, it’s important to recall that the current government of Russia came of age during the cold war, and, as a state, they do not want to risk, to be seen, to be weak in comparison to NATO, nor do they want to give up their strategic depth.
The issue here is twofold. First is that Ukraine has had a partnership with NATO since 1994, which Ukraine has attempted to expand into full membership since 2019. This gives Russia the impression that they might face American tanks on their border, which would eliminate the time and space to think and react currently afforded them by a non-NATO state buffering between Russia and Germany.
Second, there has been civil unrest and brief periods of civil war since 2014: one of the factions in this struggle is made up of ethnic Russians who want Ukraine, or at least parts of it, to become part of Russia. Russia has, and continues to, promise these Russian Nationalists with protections from Russia, which have included armed support from Russian special operations.