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Renata Sadbenova

Ms. Wray

English 11

23 May 2023

War in Ukraine

Ukraine, like any other country, has the right to existence and independence. Putin

regularly denies the fact that Ukraine is a full-fledged state. It has been nine years since Russia

illegally annexed Crimea, an integral part of Ukraine's territory. For the first time since the

Second World War, a European country tried to change borders by force. This is a flagrant

violation of international law, followed by Russia's destabilization of the situation in the eastern

part of Ukraine, where Russia provided support for militants fighting Ukrainian forces and where

Russia sent its troops. Because of this cruel war, the population of Ukraine is dying in the world,

infrastructure has been destroyed.

Ukraine is one of the largest suppliers of grain in the world to the countries of Africa,

Asia and Europe. And the war unleashed by Russia in Ukraine slows down this process due to
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constant rocket attacks, agricultural work cannot be carried out as usual. All this and other

factors entail an increase in the starving population of the planet.

Chechnya Today reported that, “Russia launched a special operation in Ukraine on the

morning of February 24th. Head of State Vladimir Putin called its goal protection of people who

have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years. For this,

according to him, it is planned to carry out the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine

"(Polov). I completely disagree with this statement. All my relatives on my mother's side live in

Ukraine in different regions and have not seen the Nazis personally and do not know about them,

and do not want such a cruel liberation from the Nazis, and did not ask Putin to do this. And

Russia did not ask them if they wanted it. From The New York Times it reports that, "Across the

country, rockets hit homes, cultural centers and industries that provide Ukrainians with basic

necessities, including heat, electricity and water. Millions have become refugees" (Bilefsky). We

can see clearly that this is Putin's special operation not protecting people, but harming them and

their homeland and killing people.

Putin has repeatedly stated that he does not consider Ukraine a state and stated that there
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is no such nation as the Ukrainians and that the real sovereignty of Ukraine is possible only in

partnership with Russia. Putin is constantly trying to characterize Ukraine as created by Russia

on native Russian soil. During the war, the Russian propaganda and disinformation machine

often used Putin's false claims as a model for a campaign to deny Ukraine's right to

independence and even existence.

Ukraine has existed for centuries as a separate cultural and national entity, and Putin

forcibly wants to assimilate Ukraine into Russian culture, the persecution of Ukrainians during

the existence of the Soviet Union is especially monstrous. Under Stalin, over three million

Ukrainians died as a result of the Holodomor, an artificially created food shortage, at a time

when the lives of the entire population of Ukraine were considered less important than fulfilling

a five-year economic development plan.My great-grandmother often recalled that terrible time,

told with tears in her eyes what she and her family had to endure.

Ukraine's economy depends on the concept of two free trade zones. The Prime Minister

proposed that Russia collaborate with the Customs Union. However, the Russian Federation

opposes the two trade zones because it has an uncompetitive economy, and the modern economy

is based on competitiveness, which poses a risk to the political regime. Article Pravda quoted:

“In 2013, Ukraine defended the idea of two free trade zones. Prime Minister Mykola Azarov

then offered Russia a format for cooperation with the Customs Union according to the formula 3

+ 1. The Russian Federation was against two trade zones, because it understood the

non-competitiveness of its economy" (Yakhno). We can see that the Russian Federation opposed

the two trade zones because it recognized the not competitiveness of its economy. Russian

government lacked and still lacks the incentive to create and develop a modern economy because

modern economies rely on competition, which poses a risk to the political regime.The true
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reason for Russia's war against Ukraine is the current Russian government's realization that the

Russian economy is uncompetitive, and the belief that the Russian Federation's leadership in the

region and the world could win through the dead people is really wrong.

Thirty one years ago, Ukraine's people proclaimed the independence of their independent

state. And since 2014, and particularly over the last six months, people worldwide have seen

President Putin undermine Ukraine's sovereignty using military might and deceitful statements.

Despite all the harm inflicted upon Ukraine, Putin was unable to attain his objective. The

Ukrainians have shown incredible courage and strength during the ongoing war. As Secretary of

State Blinken noted: “Ukraine has not been conquered and will not be conquered. It will remain

sovereign and independent. The United States and our allies and partners will continue to support

them and help provide exactly what they need to protect their freedom”(Blinken).
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Works cited

Polov, Danil . ““I Wouldn’t Have Thought to Go”: Russian Women Want to Participate in

Special Operations in Ukraine.” Chechnya Today, 24 Apr. 2022,

chechnyatoday.com/news/355131.

Bilefsky, Dan. “The Roots of the Ukraine War: How the Crisis Developed.” The New York Times,

24 Jan. 2022, www.nytimes.com/article/russia-ukraine-nato-europe.html.

Yakhno, Olesya. “How Did Russia’s War against Ukraine Begin?” Ukrainian Truth , 26 Oct.

2016, blogs.pravda.com.ua/authors/yakhno/580ffbfd858dc/.

Blinken, Anthony . “Secretary Blinken’s Remarks at the United Nations Security Council

Ministerial Meeting on Ukraine - United States Department of State.” , 24 Feb. 2023,

www.state.gov/secretary-blinkens-remarks-at-the-united-nations-security-council-ministe

rial-meeting-on-ukraine/#:~:text=Ukraine%20fights%20for%20its%20freedom.