Ukraine - The Rest of The Story

Podcast 170 

The author reviews some Ukrainian history as well as a long list of Russian aggression in the area. He also refers to a previous Podcast #15 In which he interviewed a former student who volunteered on the Ukrainian/ Polish border for 6 weeks. He made one mission into Ukraine to deliver relief supplies. 

Transcript

A few words about Ukraine. If you think Ukraine invaded Russia or you are impartial to Russia you may want to skip this. However, for me, I tip my hat to the Ukrainians who struggle in muck, mud and snow.  My comment follow…

Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb 24th 2022 in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian war which began in 2014.  But lets step back a bit. 

 The Soviet Union collapsed and dissolved in December 1991, due to the lost war in Afghanistan, a failing economy and the inherent weaknesses of Russian Communism. When the Soviet Union collapsed it allowed its repupublics to become independent .  the following republics ran to the door and became independent countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan and Ukraine. 

• StWhen the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Ukraine had the world’s third largest nuclear arsenal on its territory.  Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal and one nuclear submarine in return for a security guarantee with Russia,
•  USA and Britain..

List countries invaded by Russia…

Why did Ukraine’s Euromaidan protests begin?

·       In late November 2013, Ukrainians took to the streets in peaceful protest after then-president Viktor Yanukovych chose not to sign an agreement that would have integrated the country more closely with the European Union.

·       As the protests in Kyiv’s Independence Square, or Maidan, continued into 2014, the government began cracking down on the demonstrators. The size of the protests only grew in reaction and turned into what was termed “the revolution of dignity.” Those who remained on the Maidan risked assault, kidnapping, unlawful arrest, and loss of their jobs. On January 16, the government introduced a series of repressive laws severely restricting civil society and the right to protest. On January 22, the first protesters were killed in clashes in Kyiv; in all, over 100 mostly civilian protesters died, the majority on February 20 and 21.

·       On February 22, after President Yanukovych had fled the country, parliament voted to oust him and hold new elections. On May 25, Ukrainians elected Petro Poroshenko as president. After October elections, a new pro-reform coalition government came into power in December 2014.

·       What were the Euromaidan protests about?

·       The protests were more than a demand for closer EU relations; they were a rejection of injustice as a way of life and of the post-Soviet politics of corruption and nepotism. Ukrainians took to the streets to denounce the country’s endemic corruption, from the grand corruption practiced by ex-president Yanukovych and his peers, to everyday corruption and petty unfairness—like the need to bribe a teacher to get better classroom conditions for your children, a doctor to get an appointment, or the traffic police to avoid unlawful fines.

On 20 February, the Russo-Ukrainian War began when Russian forces entered Crimea. Soon after, pro-Russian unrest enveloped the largely Russophone eastern and southern regions of Ukraine, from where Yanukovych had drawn most of his support. An internationally unrecognized referendum in the largely ethnic Russian Ukrainian autonomous region of Crimea was held and Crimea was de facto annexed by Russia on 18 March 2014. The War in Donbas began in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine involving the Russian military. The war continued until 24 February 2022, when Russia launched a major invasion of much of the country.

So, much of what Putin says and claims is wrong. Ukraine legally under the Soviet system decided on Independence. Putin says he wants a return of historic Russian lands. Does that mean Russia gets Alaska back? (Uh No is the answer)  Do countries have the rirht to self determination?  The massacres in occupied Bucha. The transfer of Ukrainian Children to Russia and the forced conscription of Ukrainians in the occupied Oblasts are all criminal. Furthermore the hybrid war Russia wages on Europe is an indication of Russias continued brutality and bellicosity.

  USA, Europe, and the world need to support Ukraine.

For more on this I interviewed a former student of mine who volunteered as a relief agency worker on the Polish Ukrainian border for 6 weeks. He underwent one relief mission in Ukraine to deliver aid. Podcast…15..