The Unknown War: Conflict in Eastern Ukraine

The Unknown War: Conflict in Eastern Ukraine

Ryan Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer

In the past year, we’ve all heard the news: Russia invades the Crimean Peninsula in late February, with the intent of annexation. Nearly a month later, on March 19th, the Republic of Crimea is established as a federal subject (autonomous region) of Russia. The world condemns President Vladimir Putin’s aggression, and then quickly seems to forget. For much of the world, life goes on, as per usual.
But in Eastern Ukraine, life doesn’t go on. A bloody armed struggle between Russian separatists and pro-Ukrainians is established, and it continues to go on to this very day. We may remember the headlines about Russian tanks and “humanitarian aid” trucks filled with soldiers crossing the border in late August, but the majority of people have no idea why Eastern Ukraine is in turmoil. Few have even heard of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic and their roles in the conflict. I recently conducted a poll, interviewing a pool of ten students on the true reason behind the conflict. Of the ten, only two could give an answer besides Putin being an imperialist aggressor.

 

The conflict is not as cut-and-dry as people believe. It is not over Putin wanting to return Russia to its pre-1991 borders during Soviet rule. It is not because Putin wants to show off his military to the world (which certainly is an issue, but not the reason behind the war in Eastern Ukraine). The real reason behind the conflict is ethnicity, something many don’t want to acknowledge. Eastern Ukraine and Crimea have a large ethnic Russian population. The majority of people in this region speak the Russian language and identify as Russians, not as Ukrainians. The reason such a large number of Russians reside in Eastern Ukraine has to do with Soviet rule. Joseph Stalin, General Secretary of the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1953, implemented the first Five-Year Plan in 1928. These collectivization plans called for mass quotas of grain to be produced for the Soviets. Despite being known as the “breadbasket of Europe”, the Ukrainians could not produce enough grain to appease the Kremlin. In response, Stalin cut rations. Coupled with the lack of food and the harsh winter of 1932-33, between 2.4 and 7.5 million Ukrainians starved to death. Cannibalism was widespread throughout the Holodomor (Ukrainian for “death by hunger”), and it is reported that over 2,500 starving Ukrainians were arrested for eating their own children.

 

Throughout the Holodomor, Stalin encouraged Russians to move to Ukraine and work as farmers, as ethnic Russians were given more benefits. Many of these Russians settled in Donetsk and Lugansk provinces in the east of Ukraine.


These Russians have felt alienated in Ukrainian politics and Ukraine’s culture. They have traditionally been more aligned to Moscow than Kiev. During the secession referendum in March, Donetsk, Lugansk, and Crimea received a 90% majority seeking to break away from Ukraine. Crimea was officially annexed by the Russian Federation (though the majority of the world does not recognize this notion), and Donetsk and Lugansk declared independence from Ukraine. Both the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics received funding and logistical support from Russia, along with volunteer troops. Donetsk and Lugansk both make up Novorossiya, or “New Russia”. This confederation aims to connect Donetsk and Lugansk’s republics with Russia. So far, Novorossiya and its self-declared republics receive limited recognition. With the exception of South Ossetia, a breakaway republic of Georgia, nobody has any diplomatic ties with Novorossiya, including Russia itself. However, in late October, Russia announced that they’d recognize elections in Lugansk and Donetsk. A Belarusian spokeswoman said the elections in the the newly-formed confederation were valid.


Novorossiya can be seen as nothing more as a puppet for Vladimir Putin and his imperialist aims. While Ukraine’s Russian minority is fighting to join with their homeland, they can also be seen as pawns for a easy landgrab. Russia is currently in shambles, economically and politically. Terror in Chechnya and the Caucasus has recently flared back up and with Russia’s involvement in Ukraine, they’ve faced heavy worldwide sanctions. The Kremlin predicts a great depression to strike Russia in 2015 as many countries have engaged in boycotting Russian goods and natural gas. This new conflict is bringing back tensions between Russia and the West that have not been seen since the fall of the Soviet Union and the Cold War. Is the sanctity of Russia and her people really worth 100,000 square miles more of land?