Ukraine crisis briefing paper
Briefing paper.
Should Russia expand beyond Crimea and further into Ukraine.
Introduction.
Tension in Ukraine began to rise when then the president Viktor Yanukovych rejected a deal proposed by the European Union regarding trade agreements. Late last year when this deal was in consideration, Viktor Yanukovych began to express his doubts in the final stages about signing the trade agreement. For everyone in Ukraine it was clear that Vladimir Putin pressured Viktor Yanukovych so much that essentially Putin made Yanukovych reject the deal. Just days later on 17th December Putin agrees to buy 9bn pounds of Ukraine’s debt and reduce the price of Russian gas supplies by about a third. Just hours after Yanukovych rejected EU’s proposal, thousands of protestors stormed the streets of Kiev calling for the immediate resignation of Yanukovych. The conflict quickly escalated with riot police, armed guards and military personnel getting involved. On February 21st Yanukovych fled to Russia after his residence was invaded by the protestors while also facing charges from the opposition for the killing of protestors. Shortly after Yanukovych disappearance to Russia, unmarked guards began appearing on the Ukrainian – Russian border. The unmarked military personnel were believed to be the Russian army carrying out military drills. The ‘unmarked soldiers’ quickly began to advance into Crimea. Before it was announced that a referendum will be held in Crimea concerning the peninsula becoming part of Russia once more, there have been a number of clashes between Russian and Ukrainian military. After an unsurprising outcome of the referendum in Crimea, Putin did not let up and kept sending military personnel to Crimea and Ukraine. Nothing has been established currently between Russia and Ukraine with clashes and conflicts still apparent in Kiev, Odessa and various other parts of Ukraine.
Motivations.
Now that Putin has reclaimed Crimea, he will be looking at the most
Should Russia expand beyond Crimea and further into Ukraine.
Introduction.
Tension in Ukraine began to rise when then the president Viktor Yanukovych rejected a deal proposed by the European Union regarding trade agreements. Late last year when this deal was in consideration, Viktor Yanukovych began to express his doubts in the final stages about signing the trade agreement. For everyone in Ukraine it was clear that Vladimir Putin pressured Viktor Yanukovych so much that essentially Putin made Yanukovych reject the deal. Just days later on 17th December Putin agrees to buy 9bn pounds of Ukraine’s debt and reduce the price of Russian gas supplies by about a third. Just hours after Yanukovych rejected EU’s proposal, thousands of protestors stormed the streets of Kiev calling for the immediate resignation of Yanukovych. The conflict quickly escalated with riot police, armed guards and military personnel getting involved. On February 21st Yanukovych fled to Russia after his residence was invaded by the protestors while also facing charges from the opposition for the killing of protestors. Shortly after Yanukovych disappearance to Russia, unmarked guards began appearing on the Ukrainian – Russian border. The unmarked military personnel were believed to be the Russian army carrying out military drills. The ‘unmarked soldiers’ quickly began to advance into Crimea. Before it was announced that a referendum will be held in Crimea concerning the peninsula becoming part of Russia once more, there have been a number of clashes between Russian and Ukrainian military. After an unsurprising outcome of the referendum in Crimea, Putin did not let up and kept sending military personnel to Crimea and Ukraine. Nothing has been established currently between Russia and Ukraine with clashes and conflicts still apparent in Kiev, Odessa and various other parts of Ukraine.
Motivations.
Now that Putin has reclaimed Crimea, he will be looking at the most