Hello everyone, I am Ziruo Mingjingli
If we go back to 30 days ago, I believe most people would not think that Russia would launch such a large-scale attack on Ukraine .
These people include both Western politicians and all Ukrainian government officials including Zelensky. It seems that everyone has a consensus that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine will only be a small fight.
However, just when everyone thought it was impossible to start a war, Russian President Putin made a move that shocked the world and launched a special military operation against Ukraine.
You must know that Russia will face a large country with a population of 44 million. The most important thing is that this country has been armed by the United States for nearly ten years.
Many people can’t help but ask, what is the purpose of Russia’s special military operation?
The simple answer we can get from Putin's televised speech on February 24, especially that the military action was prompted by responding to the appeal for help from the leaders of the Donbas republics. The purpose of the
operation was to demilitarize and denazify Ukrainian territory without occupying it. To put it bluntly, the first purpose is to disarm Ukraine, and the second purpose is to eliminate Nazis in Ukraine.
Putin emphasized that this is not a war or invasion, but a "special military action" that the Russian Federation must take for its own security.
Obviously, Russia has launched such a large-scale military operation. If it is just to achieve the above two options, there is naturally no need to go to war in such a big way.
Sure enough, as the war progressed and Ukraine was retreating steadily, Putin began to lay out detailed conditions for the peace talks to Zelensky. There were only six conditions.
- The first is Ukraine's neutrality, that is, giving up joining NATO ,
- The second is the Austria model of disarmament and mutual security guarantees,
- The third is what Russia calls 'denazification',
- The fourth is the elimination of widespread use in Ukraine The obstacle of Russian language,
- fifth is to recognize the annexation of Crimea to Russia,
- sixth is to recognize the "independence" of the two republics of Ukraine and East China.
I would like to ask, which Ukrainian would agree with these six items? Zelensky was probably furious after reading it.
Why does Russia need a neutral Ukraine?
Since the independence of Ukraine in 1991, with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Russia has no longer regained its courage. The two brothers who were once Slavic nations, have slowly begun to have cracks.
Russia has always firmly believed that Ukraine is its brother, not only because they are both Slavs , but more importantly, Ukraine has never had a real national tradition in history.
Therefore, Russia has always been vigilant on the issue of Ukraine until 2013, when Ukrainian pro-Russian leader Viktor Yanukovych was ousted from power, which became the trigger for the conflict between the two countries.
After the new pro-Western Ukrainian government came to power, it began to fully support the European Union and the United States, which greatly harmed Russia's national security interests.
In order to prevent its strategic space from being further squeezed by the West, Russia unilaterally announced in 2014 that it would take back the Crimean Peninsula that had been donated to Ukraine, and it also retained Lugansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. The region has given a red line to Ukraine.
Russia's strategic goals are very clear. On the one hand, it prevents Ukraine from suddenly joining NATO and squeezing its strategic space. On the other hand, it uses these disputed areas to defeat Ukraine's pro-Western regime.
The above two aspects are a red line drawn by Russia for Ukraine before launching special military operations. Obviously the rules of the game have changed, and now Russia is considering establishing a "neutral, demilitarized" Ukraine.
What are Ukraine’s demands? It’s not that important.
Ukraine’s demands are clear: a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory, as well as legally binding security guarantees.
To be honest, the request is not too much. But how to formulate a legally binding security guarantee for is a big deal, and even Russia has to handle it carefully.
Within what framework is a legally binding treaty conducted? United Nations , EU or NATO. The most important thing is how to ensure that the interests of both parties are not violated.
So it doesn’t matter what demands Ukraine makes. What matters is the attitude of the Americans. The initiative to stop and end the war lies entirely with the United States and Russia, and Ukraine is just a pawn.
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