International Reactions to the Ukraine-Russia Crisis

Other sources also reported on this particular government-centered, anti-Russian response to the court’s ruling. However unlike the previous cited articles, they assume the role of devil’s advocate, calling attention to a potential for harm if the

The Ukraine crisis has emerged from a domestic conflict and developed into an international issue because of the Russian federation intervention. The evolution of the Ukrainian crisis demonstrated the inability of the international community to handle it in a timely manner and prevent conflict escalation and ultimate stalemate. Although Ukrainian separatists seek to follow the Crimean strategy, many Western countries are strongly opposing to the Russian annexation of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts due to concerns of aggressive geostrategic objectives. U.S. and the European Union are still struggling to implement coordination and cooperation tactics to deal with the conflict. In addition, Russia’s position also contributed to the complexity of the situation because of its hasty decisions as the conflict evolved.

“The West must understand that, to Russia, Ukraine can never be just a foreign country. Russian history began in what was called Kievan-Rus. The Russian religion spread from there. Ukraine has been part of Russia for centuries, and their histories were intertwined before then.” (Kissinger). Ukraine has been a focal point in Eastern Europe and foreign policy for hundreds of years. From the Crimean war, to Hitler’s operation Barbarossa the territory we know today as Ukraine has fallen under multiple conflicting spheres of influence. Over the past year it has been difficult to avoid hearing of the crisis in Ukraine; but depending on who you ask, the responses are just as confusing as the questions at hand. How do we respond? Why should we care? The ongoing crisis is important for a multitude of reasons, mainly because it sets a very dangerous precedent on the world stage. Starting a crisis is surprisingly easy, but it is dealing with it and ending it which is incredulously difficult. It is easy to use the intelligence and special operations arms of a country to agitate situations and create unrest, like in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. The problem is once you get the ball rolling it adopts a dangerous dynamic all on its own, and can quickly fester into a firestorm. Russia’s tactics in Ukraine and Crimea have been dubbed by many as what it is, ‘Hybrid War’. Despite being war wary, the U.S. must

“revoke their [Russia’s] favorable tariff rates, which would increase the taxes Russian firms have to pay to sell their goods in the United States, or impose quotas so that those companies can only sell a certain amount of their goods here. We [US] could also implement a trade embargo. That embargo would cover certain goods, certain state-run organizations, or be a blanket policy that would prohibit U.S. individuals and companies from doing any business with Russia. We [US] could also prevent Russians from accessing U.S. financial markets, denying them a liquid source of funds.”

On 25JUL17, Germany called for additional sanctions on Russia, urging the EU to add up to four more Russian nationals and companies to the bloc's sanctions blacklist over gas turbines. The German governments said that these turbines were illegally moved to Crimea to help support separatist operations. The proposed additions to the blacklist could include Russian Energy Ministry officials and the Russian company that moved the turbines to the Black Sea peninsula.

After the break up of the Soviet Union it became obvious that the leaders of the Russian Federation didn’t welcome attempts by the European Union and NATO to extend their sphere of influence into countries once part of the Soviet Union nor did they approve of any of the former Soviet satellite states encouraging this influence. Furthermore, it has also become well known that Putin and many others within the Russian government, along with his allies elsewhere, dislike the detachment of Crimea from Russia for a multitude of reasons, not limited to the historic and

This was an appropriate policy of Putin’s because it allowed for Russia to become known to the world again after the Soviet Union had fallen. Concerning the relations between Russia and the United States under Putin, many believe that the relations between these two countries had reached their lowest point in 2013. This was eventually resolved when Putin went to a United Nations meeting in order to discuss the anti-terrorist policies and what to do in regards to Syria and Ukraine. This helped to strengthen the relationship between the two countries

On November of 2013 the citizens of Ukraine took to Kiev’s streets. Mass protests broke out in dispute of the governments plan to drop agreements with the European Union and instead seek closer economic ties with Russia. Since the protests broke out Ukraine has seen an ongoing conflict in the east of the country. In order to illustrate a clearer understanding of the current situation in Ukrainian I will first discuss a brief history of Ukraine and its relationship with Russian since the fall of the Soviet Union.

General Motors (GM), also announced in March 2015 that it was closing its Russian assembly line and laying off 4,000 workers. GM’s Russian car sales declined rapidly, 26.7% in 2014 and 64.8% in 2015, following the implementation of sanctions (Bennett and Stoll). One final and new development concerning U.S. sanctions against Russia is the relationship of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and ExxonMobil Corporation. Secretary Tillerson was ExxonMobil’s chief executive at the time of the actions of 2014 which led to a recent fine of $2 million for violating the sanctions against Russia. ExxonMobil is suing the Treasury Department in an effort to have the penalty withdrawn (Rappeport). This situation should be very interesting as it plays out in future weeks. One of the many duties of the Secretary of State is to conduct negotiations relating to U.S. foreign affairs, which includes economic affairs and trade policy. Despite the sanctions, currently, Russia's economy is slowly starting to recover, due to the increased performance of domestic companies and devaluation of the ruble, adding to the challenges and

In 2013 as Ukraine was negotiating with the European Union, President Putin was also conducting secret meetings with the president of Ukraine. These secret meetings helped sway the President of Ukraine to decide against joining the union and striking a deal with Russia for oil and natural gas. This was the starting point for the Ukrainian revolution in 2014. The Ukrainian President found refuge in Russia after he was exiled for his decision to join Russia and not the European Union. Now with Ukraine in disarray, Putin had a new plan; he secretly sent soldiers into Crimea. Putin saw Crimea as a vital piece of land that could help Russia by giving them a seaport, which is more accessible to the rest of the world. This would also give Russia the chance to strengthen their navy by giving them a more direct route to the west in order to defend themselves from the west. Starting October 2014 reports surfaced that there were troops in Crimea. Putin and Russia’s government denied all claims that the troops were Russian soldiers. By March 2, 2015, Russia acknowledged that they had sent troops to the border of Ukraine to protect Russia from any actions towards Russia. By March 16, Russia announced that troops are in Ukraine and that they held the majority of the government buildings in Crimea. This sparked the first set of sanctions from the west. Mostly economic, Russia was able to hold out and not be affected by these sanctions. The second set of sanctions hit their businesses and many of Putin’s friends, which he appointed. This is when Putin started to negotiate with the west. Crimea then held a vote to see if they would join Russia or stay part of Ukraine. 90% voted in favor of joining Russia. Putin’s controversial and secretive acts had paid off and Crimea is now part of

SUMMARY: As of 26JUL17, major international players are warning the U.S. against imposing further sanctions on Russia, saying that doing so could further isolate America from the world community. EU President Jean-Claude Juncker issued a warning to the U.S. stating that the “bloc would act “within days” if it doesn’t get assurances that new sanctions wouldn’t significantly impact European interests. The economic bloc worries that American sanctions developed without their input could jeopardize the continent’s energy security.

In March, Russia annexed Crimea by a referendum with an unrealistic 97% in favor, claiming that they were protecting ethnic Russians. This Russian move was criticized by the international community since Russia was violating its promise. In foreign policy, countries priorities are in order from security, economy, autonomy, environment, identity and then prestige. Russia knew by annexing Crimea, it would ensure the safety of Crimea’s ethnic Russians. However, Russia needs Crimea for potential long term economic gains and better security in the Black Sea. Russia is also being suspected of supplying weapons to separatist held territories through dubious aid trucks. Again, Russia is supplying so called aid in the name of protecting ethnic Russians, though it is clear he has other economic and security reasons in

The citizens of Crimea have done nothing to deserve this treatment and need someone there to protect them in their time of vulnerability. This article is incredibly news worthy as something needs to be done about it. The only way that people can help this to be stopped is in others know about it and are aware of what is happening in other parts of the world like this. The vulnerability of the citizens of Crimea at this time is uncanny and is taken advantage of by Russia’s occupation of their home. Although the occupation may not be stopped the violations of human rights most certainly can and should be stopped.

The crisis in Ukraine and Crimea’s recent accession to Russia are events that clearly highlight the underlying sources of conflict in global politics. While Russia sees its actions in Crimea as a “reunification” and the respect for the right of self-determination, the West views it as a threat to European security and a violation of territorial integrity. Crimea has been a debatable topic from the time it came under the control of the Russian Empire in 1783 during the reign of Catherine the Great. The justification then was similar to the reasoning being used by Vladimir Putin today. Catherine declared that she was protecting ethnic Russians in the region from the Ottoman Empire, much as Putin is claiming to protect Russians from Ukrainian

Under international law Russia’s invasion of the Crimean Peninsula is illegal as the Referendum held on the 16th of March by Russia infringed upon the