Reports started circulating this weekend of ever-escalating tensions in Ukraine, particularly in the nation’s Crimean peninsula, where there still lies strong Russian ties.
A Russian Takeover
Russian military forces have seemingly occupied the entirety of the Crimean peninsula, taking over several military bases in the region as well as deploying naval ships to the surrounding waters. The newly-instated interim government of Ukraine has called these actions a declaration of war, and powers from around the world have begun to speak out against Russia’s latest actions.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk spoke out against Russian actions, stating the need of now not only economical support for Ukraine but if necessary, military support as well. Vladimir Putin claims his actions were in response to a legitimate threat of danger to Russia from “ultranationalists”, and if reports are correct the Russian forces continue to grow in number.
The World’s Response
World powers have come back with strong responses for Russia and Putin alike. The governments of the U.S., the U.K, France, Canada, Germany, Italy, and Japan, as well as the Presidents of the European Commision and European Council, have formed a symbolic G7 and issued a joint response against Russia. The response addresses agreements which Russia is seemingly violating with these actions and calls for a diplomatic solution. The statement also puts an end to discussions of the G8 talks which were supposed to be held in Sochi later this year.
President Barack Obama had contact with several world leaders personally, such as the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, who released some details from their conversation, saying they agreed that there needed to be a concrete response to Russia, including sanctions and other possible penalties.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry appeared on television to make his response to the recent events. Kerry will still be headed to Kiev this week, and called Russia’s invasion an “incredible act of aggression”. However, Kerry stressed that the U.S. government’s primary goal was economic retribution and military action was not its intention at this time.
The Problem With Ukraine
Despite the fact that Russia’s actions were uncalled for and aggressive, the real problem still lies in Ukraine itself. This isn’t a wholly anti-Russia country completely taken against its will, the eastern part of the country remains rather pro-russian. In fact, in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, pro-Russian protests have begun in the city center and are filled with citizens pleased by the news of Russia’s actions.
For Ukraine to become a more stabilized nation it must find a way to balance the staunch contrasting views of its western and eastern populus, for this divide was one of the major factors that lead to the original protests in Kiev weeks ago, when Ukraine turned to Russian aid instead of that of western Europe.
That certainly is no easy task, but one all government’s must face in some capacity, and in order to come out of this difficult period in one piece Ukraine must figure it out, sooner rather than later.