Case study: Ukraine
By Ethan & Tiernan
Why War is not Justified.
- There are Peace Talks and Negotiations underway
- Military intervention from the UK or US would increase tensions and worsen the situation
- The prospect of the U.S. and Russia going to war with each other would be incredibly dangerous
- Military intervention from the UK or US would increase tensions and worsen the situation
- The prospect of the U.S. and Russia going to war with each other would be incredibly dangerous
The Ukraine conflict began when the Ukrainian government decided not to sign an agreement with the European Union back in Autumn 2013. This was not just a trade agreement, but also a political agreement that committed Ukraine to follow certain European values and principles.
After this happened the country sank into corruption and government changed. The old leader was overthrown. The protesting started in Kiev, most of the protesters were students and young people, protesting was a way to fight corruption. Fighting started in April 2014 - in eastern Ukraine and raged for months until Ukraine and the separatists came to a deal on 5 September to halt the violence and free prisoners.
But the ceasefire never held entirely. Both sides used the relative lull to build up their forces and for months the rebels tried to seize Donetsk airport, a strategic and symbolic asset, from government forces.
On February 23rd, 2014 Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula, part of Ukraine. The move has been widely criticized and is considered illegal in international law. The population of Crimea is ethnically Russian. The annexation of Crimea came after Ukraine overthrew its last leader for not signing a European trade agreement.
The people of Ukraine don’t know if the peace treaty will hold, and we don’t believe that war is the solution to this problem. Russia, Ukraine and the EU need to start to work together and decide how they are both going to be happy with the decisions that each country makes. The only reason that this conflict happened is because of decisions made that were not discussed before agreeing to the offer.
Sources
- http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/04/victoria-nuland-russia-actions-ukraine-invasion- 'Russia's actions in Ukraine conflict an 'invasion' - says US offical' [Accsessed: June 2015]
- http://www.summer.harvard.edu/blog-news-events/co_nflict-ukraine-historical-perspective 'The Conflict in Ukraine: a Historical Percpective'
- http://www.summer.harvard.edu/blog-news-events/co_nflict-ukraine-historical-perspective 'The Conflict in Ukraine: a Historical Percpective'