On the fifth day of the assault, Ukraine continued to repel Russian soldiers despite sustaining significant damage. Western nations have announced more penalties against Russia, as well as the deployment of fighter planes and weapons to Ukraine. As Russia’s isolation worsened, its currency, the Ruble, encountered further difficulties, and internal demonstrations erupted, President Vladimir Putin activated his nuclear arsenal, drawing further censure from the US and its allies.
In the midst of all of this, a Ukrainian team is meeting with Russian authorities near the Belarus border today for negotiations (February 28). During the Ukrainian delegation’s journey, meeting, and return, all planes, helicopters, and missiles stationed on Belarusian territory will stay on the ground.
“A forum for dialogue between Russia and Ukraine has been constructed in Belarus,” Belarus’ foreign minister stated.
On February 24, Putin launched a pre-dawn, large-scale invasion of Ukraine, claiming that he wished to “demilitarise” his former Soviet member and safeguard two rebel-controlled breakaway areas from “Ukrainian horrors.”
He also stated that Russia was addressing its own security concerns. But what Putin truly desires can be deduced from his extremely contested wish list, which he detailed for the first time and handed out to the West in December 2021.
The approach used by the US and Nato in recent years to aggressively aggravate the security situation is completely unacceptable and exceedingly hazardous, according to Moscow. The Russian suggestions were included in two documents: a draught agreement with Nato members and a draught treaty with the United States.
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NATO SHOULD LEAVE EASTERN EUROPE.
Russia sought legal assurances that the US-dominated North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will cease military operations in eastern Europe and Ukraine. One of the demands is for Russia and NATO to refrain from deploying more soldiers and weaponry outside of the nations where they were in May 1997.
This is largely due to the military alliance’s eastward expansion in former communist governments in East Europe beginning in May 1997. This would comprise much of Eastern Europe, including Poland, the former Soviet republics of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia, as well as the Balkan states.
Nato’s growth has really posed a security risk for Russia, jeopardizing Putin’s bigger aim of annexing the Soviet components (who remained independent following the Empire’s collapse in 1991) for the sake of culture, history, language, and nostalgia.
However, Nato is unlikely to halt military operations in the region, especially in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Currently, multi-national Nato battalions are stationed in Poland and the former Soviet Union Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
VETO ON UKRAINE’S FUTURE NATO MEMBERSHIP
Russia also desired a Russian veto over Ukraine’s potential Nato membership. Ukraine, unlike some other Soviet republics, has been waiting for Nato membership for over two decades.
Part of Russia’s insistence on a veto stems from the fact that Article 5 of the Nato charter binds member nations to defend one another in the event of an invasion, but this does not apply to a non-member country like Ukraine. The West has ruled out Russia’s desire for a Russian veto over Ukraine’s future Nato membership.
The US has stated that it would not compromise the core values that underpin European security, notably the ability of all countries to determine their own destiny and foreign policy free of outside influence.
Nato has also said that Russia cannot have a veto over further alliance enlargement and that Nato has the right to determine its own military posture. According to Poland, Russia is not a member of Nato and does not make decisions on Nato-related issues.
Ukraine has said that it has exclusive sovereign authority over its foreign policy and that only it and Nato can establish the relationship between them.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS DEPLOYMENT
Russia also wants the United States to remove its nuclear weapons from Europe. If agreed upon, the pact with the US would prohibit Moscow and Washington from deploying nuclear weapons outside their respective national borders. This would put an end to Nato’s nuclear-sharing agreements, in which European Nato countries contribute planes capable of delivering US nuclear bombs.
But a lot has changed since Russia invaded Ukraine. Belarusians, for example, voted on Monday to permanently host nuclear weapons and the Russian military.
According to security and diplomatic professionals, some of the demands Russia knows will not be satisfied will serve as a diplomatic diversion to begin and maintain military operations. The West recognizes that Putin’s nuclear signal appears to be designed to dissuade the US and its allies from greater engagement in Ukraine and economic measures.
The details of the Russia-Ukraine discussions are still being worked out. And the outcome is still up in the air. The problem for Nato countries now is to continue to support Ukraine while also discouraging Putin from carrying out some of his threats. Streaming video
