The West should stop militarising Ukraine.
Why?
Post a good reason for a change.
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RECAP for anybody who doesn't know how this war started.
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Ukrainian political crisis began in 2013 when then Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych rejected
EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and opted for
Customs Union of Russia instead. This decision did not sit well with a part of Ukrainian population and protests broke out:
The largest showing of fury in 11 days over President Viktor F. Yanukovich’s refusal to sign political and trade accords with the European Union came as signs of fissure emerged within the government.
www.nytimes.com
Amid ongoing conflict, Ukraine’s civil society is working hard to enable reforms; support independent, accurate reporting; and help thousands of displaced people.
www.opensocietyfoundations.org
Yanukovych ordered crack down on the protestors but the movement grew to such extent that he chose to flee to Russia.
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youtu.be
Yanukovych convinced Russia to intervene and Russian forces annexed Crimea as well as engineered a separatist movement in Donbas in 2014:
en.m.wikipedia.org
Translations:English (UK)Русский (Россия)Full report here. The extent of Russia’s role in the ongoing conflict in Eastern Ukraine has yet to be determined. Thus far, Russia denies any direct involvement in the war. However, most Western nations do not share Russia’s position and assume that...
www.bellingcat.com
Translations:English (UK)Русский (Россия)The full report can be downloaded here The war in eastern Ukraine is known under multiple names; most often formulations similar to Ukrainian civil war or Ukrainian conflict are still used to describe the war. The implied characteristic as solely...
www.bellingcat.com
Exiled former leader sentenced to 13 years’ jail over 2014 protests and Russian invasion
amp.theguardian.com
On the other hand, it is true that the American Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland was in contact with Ukrainian politicians and her leaked call suggests that she was involved in suggesting who is acceptable in the new political setup of Ukraine:
Of-course, Russia took advantage of this controversial call to build its own narrative and make its moves in Ukraine.
The next Ukrainian President Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko accepted
EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and sought to modernize Ukrainian armed forces in the face of Russian intervention in Crimea and Donbas:
Ukraine today signed an association agreement with the European Union. Steven Pifer takes a look at what the agreement means for three of the involved actors: Ukraine, the European Union, and Russia.
www.brookings.edu
WASHINGTON — As Ukraine wars with Russian-backed separatists in its east, it faces an internal battle, between military reformers and who seek to modernize the largely Soviet-era technology and the realities of bureaucracy, pervasive corruption, ar
www.defensenews.com
Parliamentary Assembly Session Strasbourg 11 October 2017
www.coe.int
Recent Ukrainian military exercises highlight not only a more capable force but a possible obstacle to peace
medium.com
Poroshenko was making the right calls for the country in the context of its national interests but corruption charges led to his defeat in the Ukrainian Presidential Elections held in 2019:
Petro Poroshenko concedes defeat as Volodymyr Zelenskiy takes over 70% of votes, promising: ‘I won’t mess up’
www.theguardian.com
Russia was preparing to invade Ukraine on the other hand:
Editor's note: Don't miss our comprehensive guide to Russia's war against Ukraine. Russia’s military buildup along the border with Ukraine has
warontherocks.com
Russia has continued to mass forces on the Ukrainian border, with troops now surrounding the country on all sides, including in Belarus and Transnistria, a Russian-backed breakaway region of Moldova.
www.nytimes.com
President Vladimir Putin complained that those in the WEST
lie but Russia also
lied when questioned on the purpose of its military buildup:
Post in thread 'Putin slams West’s ‘empire of lies’'
https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/putin-slams-wests-empire-of-lies.736589/post-13595966
Since 2014, the conflict in Ukraine has been tightly linked to Putin’s fear of an opposition-led challenge to his rule.
www.aljazeera.com
Post in thread 'Russia-Ukraine War - News and Developments PART 2'
https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/russia-ukraine-war-news-and-developments-part-2.746450/post-14094949
But Poroshenko's reforms seem to have paid off:
Though the Russian army dwarfs the strength of the Ukrainian army, the underdog has managed to resist during the early days of the Russian invasion. Military reforms are part of the reason.
theconversation.com
Post in thread 'Russia is inexperienced in how to deal with NATO - They should learn from Af-Pak - Patience and let fatigue get the beast'
https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/russ...et-fatigue-get-the-beast.767579/post-14366061
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What Syria and Ukraine had in common?
An old school leadership that refused to acknowledge shift in Public opinion, chose to suppress calls for change from within the country, and sought foreign support when local measures to stop protests failed.
Yanukovych is now seen as nothing more than a Russian stooge who prioritized Russian interests over Ukrainian interests. He cannot set foot in his country again.
Assad administration chose to bomb Syrians who desired change with support of foreign powers such as Iran and Russia when its rule was under threat. Much of the Syria is reduced into a pile of rubble consequently.
@Dalit
FYI