Since February 2022, we have been living the conflict between Ukraine and Russia from a distance. At the origin of this conflict, we find the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014. Indeed, this region located in the south-east of Ukraine is disputed. The Donbass region is also and led to a first conflict between the Ukrainians and the separatists, supported by the Russian army. The annexation of Crimea had been voted by referendum organized by Russia. In his image, the Donbass region, mainly Russian-speaking, was the subject of a referendum to declare the independence of this region in Ukraine. It is controlled by pro-Russian separatist forces. Since 2014, tensions remained present.
This is when the conflict takes on an international dimension and becomes the war that everyone has been hearing about for a year. Indeed, on February 21, 2022, Vladimir Putin declared the recognition of the Lugansk and Donetsk region forming the Donbass. This recognition has not been approved by the international community, quite the contrary. Even more, Vladimir Putin evoked the advance of NATO, Organization of the North Atlantic Treaty, close to the Russian borders as triggering of the conflict.
After this declaration, the Russian armed forces enter Ukrainian territory and Vladimir Putin announces “a special military operation” in Ukraine. On the night of February 23 to 24, Ukraine saw the first bombardments by Russia and the invasion began. Since the start of the war, the majority of the fighting has taken place in the south-east of Ukraine, in Donbass and Crimea. Nevertheless, one of the first cities bombed was kyiv, capital of Ukraine. The last town where clashes took place is that of Bakhmout, in the Donbass region.
The city of Bakhmout, first surrounded by the Russian army, would now be taken over by the Ukrainians. Indeed, the Chief of Staff of the Ukrainian armies, Ruslan Khomchak, affirms that his troops have succeeded in stabilizing the situation in this city. For eight months, this city has been the epicenter of the fighting and is now empty of the presence of civilians. According to the images reported by BFMTV, it would therefore be under control today and the fighting could switch in favor of Ukraine. In parallel with these fights on the territory, the conflict took on an international dimension with the help of the countries allied to the two camps…
Since the start of the war, the international community has sanctioned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Some time after the anniversary of the start of the conflict, an international arrest warrant was issued against Vladimir Putin by the International Criminal Court (ICC), as reported by Le Parisien. This mandate aims to condemn the Russian head of state for the war crimes perpetrated against Ukraine for a year.
In particular, the question of Ukrainian children kidnapped and brought back to Russia can be sanctioned. Indeed, the president judge of the ICC, Piotr Hofmanski, recalled that “it is prohibited by international law to transfer people from their places of residence in their country to another. Children benefit from special protection from the Geneva Convention”.
Moreover, in support of Ukraine, members of the European Union as well as the United States have provided financial and military assistance to Ukraine. Indeed, one of the first countries to send tanks to Ukraine was Poland. In France, nearly 7.2 billion euros of macro-financial assistance had been provided to Ukraine in 2022. For the year 2023, assistance of 18 billion euros is planned according to figures from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Several combat equipment as well as anti-aircraft systems, several Caesar guns already delivered, AMX10-RC light combat tanks, ammunition and fuel have also been delivered.
This French aid is in agreement with international aid. For the United States, for example, aid comprising financial, military and humanitarian assistance amounted to 73.18 billion euros in October 2022, according to the map presented by Le Monde. Since then, during his visit to Ukraine, Joe Biden has reaffirmed a promise of 500 million dollars in additional armaments, according to comments collected by 20minutes. On the Russian side, several countries support the fight from afar.
Russia’s economic allies, including China and Belarus, have never affirmed their agreement with Russian actions in Ukraine. China even recalled the principle of “territorial integrity”, declared AFP. Nevertheless, the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Russia worries Westerners, as reported by Liberation.
Other Russian allies include Iran, which is accused of sending weapons to Russia for the fighting in Ukraine, as TF1 reports. Finally, Belarus, a neighbor and ally of Russia, would constitute a threat. Indeed, while Belarus never directly supported the Russian invasion, it remains Russia’s closest ally. Thus, the Russian president declared in Moscow, on Saturday March 25, 2023, that “tactical nuclear weapons” were going to be sent to Belarus, as reported by BFMTV.
This is not the first time that Vladimir Putin has used the nuclear threat. Indeed, from the start of the invasion, the latter declared that he had placed his atomic weapons “on combat alert”. Training would even have taken place last October. A tactical atomic weapon is nevertheless considered to be of low intensity and is intended to destroy a city or a geographical area. It is opposed to so-called strategic ones which have a much greater capacity for destruction.
The international community, including NATO, nevertheless declared that if such an offensive were launched, it would be an aggression. The former director of the CIA, David Petraeus, even declared in October on the ABC channel, reported by BFMTV, that this nuclear offensive could lead to a response from Western allies. An elimination of “all Russian conventional forces” would then be put on the table. Nevertheless, Vladimir Putin says he does not want to back down from these new actions in Belarus.
