Let’s look at the historical background of Ukraine, the so-called land of wars.
Ukraine is the poorest country in Europe. Country with more agricultural land. It is the second largest country in Europe after Russia. There are more than 4 crore. Ukraine has always been part of Russia in post-industrial modern times. AD At the beginning of the millennium, the Kiev Rus empire ruled Ukraine. Hence the name of the current capital, Kiev.
The Kivian Empire consisted of present-day Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, and parts of Russia. Vladimir the Great, the famous king of that empire. Russia derives its name from the Kiev Rus empire. In the 13th century, the Mongol invasion overthrew the Kiwian Empire. The monarchs of Poland, Lithuania, Austria and Russia then divided Ukraine.
Much of the country was occupied by Poland, and the Ukrainian people revolted against it. This uprising, which killed tens of thousands of people, is known by historians as the ‘Cossack Rebellion’. Taking advantage of this, the Russian monarchs occupied a large part of Ukraine. Following World War I, the Russian Communist Revolution overthrew the monarchy. At that time some of the leaders of Ukraine came together and formed a separate country.
Ukraine became a separate state in 1918 with the support of the Russian Communists. The war broke out between supporters of the Russian monarch in Ukraine and supporters of the Communists. The war lasted for 3 years and claimed thousands of lives. Ukraine came under the control of the entire Soviet Union.
The government supported efforts to restore the Ukrainian language, traditional arts and culture in Soviet-controlled Ukraine. In 1939, Hitler’s Nazi forces invaded Poland. At the same time, Soviet Russia was waging war on Poland. The two countries split the Polish stock. All of Poland’s occupied parts of Ukraine came under Soviet control.
The German army laid siege to Kiev, the capital of present-day Ukraine, and Soviet forces fought back. After two years of war, Kiev could not be occupied by Hitler’s Nazi forces. There were thousands of casualties on both sides.
The people of eastern Ukraine joined forces with the Soviet army to fight Hitler’s forces. Some groups in western Ukraine joined forces with German forces to wage war against Poland.
Peace returned to Ukraine only after the appearance of Germany in World War II. In that war 60 lakh people died in the territory of Ukraine alone. Stalin sent many of Ukraine’s people to Siberia because of the famine caused by the war. He brought Russians to those places and settled them. This is how Russian domination of Ukraine was established. Nikita Khrushchev came to power in the Soviet Union after Stalin’s death. Who was also secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine.
As the region was rich in iron ore and coal, rapid industrial growth came to Ukraine. Ukraine was at one time the largest industrial center in Europe. Many of the Soviet famous scientists, athletes and artists originated in Ukraine. Brezhnev, who ruled the Soviet Union after Khrushchev, left. When the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, Ukraine became a separate country.
7 lakh 80 thousand troops and nuclear weapons were distributed to Ukraine from the Soviet Union. Ukraine became the third largest nuclear power in the world. Ukraine, which does not want to have nuclear weapons, has surrendered to Russia to destroy all its nuclear weapons, and in four years has become a nuclear-weapon-free nation. One in five of Ukraine’s population is of Russian descent. Most people in the country speak Russian.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, a Russian supporter, severed ties with the European Union in 2013. Putin accused the United States of inciting the Ukrainian people to take to the streets and fight. The Victor government collapsed after months of struggle. Victor fled to Russia. Thus Putin invaded Ukraine in 2014. He annexed Crimea to Russia in its south. The current war is the second phase of that conflict.
– இளங்கோவன்
You can also read: Why military action against Ukraine? – President Putin’s explanation