By Lateef Adegbite
It is no longer news that the ‘’special military operation’’ being conducted by Vladimir Putin, President of Russia Federation had turned into a full blown war. This is because the Ukrainian forces, with the support of the North American country f the United States, US, United Kingdom, European Union, EU, and Canada, all leading member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, NATO have entered into the war. Putin may have mobilised the military to invade Ukraine on Thursday, February 24, 2022, because he felt that Russia could not feel’’safe, develop or exist’’, because of what he had considered as a constant threat from modern Ukraine. As a prelude to planned takeover of Ukraine, he had annexed Crimea and its ally, Belarus.
He had expected to overrun Ukraine within days as Russia forces did in Crimea and Belarus, but met a very strong resistance put up by the Ukrainian Army and which had made the war to drag on for this long, entering its third week. Many believe that Putin may have played into the hands of the US, and its allies with his invasion of Ukraine as that was an opportunity for the West to deal decisively with Russia after the WWI I in 1945 and the end of the cold war in the ‘90s, .
Joe Biden, the US, President and other Western Leaders, may have known that it is only through sanctions, which Putin had described as ‘’West declaration of war on Russia’’, that would force the Russian Leader to have a rethink on the war. They were right. This is evident going by what is happening in Russia Federation because of the several failed attempts to take over Kharkive, the second largest city in the war torn Ukraine which have a large Jewish population in.
The negative effects of the US and its allies sanctions in Russia, are already noticeable among the Russian fighting troops which have suffered setbacks in the recent time, including reports of low morale and abandoned vehicles in the war fronts.
Note that by effectively the Russian Bank’s Assets, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President ‘s Western Leaders allies had succeded in depriving Russia of one of the key banks of its strategy to use its country’s $630 billion stockpile in reserves.
The situation is so bad that inside Russia, the country’s Central Bank has banned the Sale of foreign currency to individuals and had converted the rouble denominated foreign currency deposits into rouble , allowing only one time withdrawal of up to $10,000, to keep the economy afloat. Putin, the Russian President who could no longer hide his feelings had agreed that the US and its allies economic sactions , which had seen many foreign companies to leave the country and wind up their business including Shell British Petroleum, BP, and other Multinational oil companies , MNOC, as having ‘’direct impact on the country’s military action and logistical capability to advance against Russian forces’’.
While the war between Ukraine and Russia , rages on , Dymtro Kuleba, the Ukraine’s Foreign minister, who has the backing of President Zelenskyy and his Russian Counterpart, Sergey Larov, met in Istanbul, the Turkey Capital, on Thursday, 10, 2022, to continue the ongoing discussions on how to bring the war to an end. It was the first time , two top government officials, who have the ears of their country’s Presidents, are meeting to hold talks but the position of Naftali Bennett, the Israeli Prime minister, PM, on the various peace talks so far between the two countries was that Zelenskyy and Putin should hold direct talks to resolve their differences in order to end the war. Indeed, many believe that the meeting between the foreign ministers from the two warring countries was a step in the right direction towards ending the three weeks-old war.
There are fears that Putin, the Russian President may not want to end the war which may have exposed the military strength to the US and its allies that Russian military is not what people really think they were. This nay have informed why he has continued the country’s shelling of Ukraine’s military infrastructure and air raids to put pressure on the Ukrainian military Command and political Leadership to surrender or agree to its terms of not contemplating of joining NATO, which major interest in the country, he had repeatedly said is is to take over effective control of its four nuclear power plants.
But this may be an impossible condition to fulfill by President Zelenskyy as every attempt by the Kremlin to force him not to assign a 2013 association treaty with EU, had failed. Many believe that if he had signed the treaty, it would have become an Automatic member country of the EU, which currently have 27 European countries as members, who are in turn member countries of NATO.
Notwithstanding the position of Putin to reverse moves to join the EU and in turn NATO, Zelenskyy has made it clear to Putin and other Russian top government functionaries that he is taking Ukraine to join the EU and the western defensive alliance, NATO, whether the Russian Kremlin like it or not. Tough talking Zelnskyy may have hardened Putin’s mind to deal with Ukraine to teach him a lesson.
It was not surprising why the Russian, Leader in late 2021, started deploying military tanks and troops to the country borders to frustrate the US and its allies from doing so and thus have no option but to invade the country, tarketig its nuclear plants which was said to be the target of the West in trying to get the country join NATO.. Already two of the Ukrainian nuclear power plants had fallen under Russian control while two, are still under the control of the Ukrainian government.
The Ukraine‘s State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate had confirmed that Zaporizhia and Chernobyl, two of the country’s Nuclear power plants are currently in the hands of the Russian forces, stressing that its employees could not access the plants to restore power. President Zelensky, who is not happy that Zaporizhia and Chernobyl, Nuclear plants had fallen into the hands of Russian forces had confirmed that the soldiers are advancing toward the third nuclear power plant at Yuzhnoukrainsk, 75 miles, north of Mykolaiv city.
There are fears making the rounds of a major catastrophe in the European Continent as the two Nuclear power plants, particular, Chernobyl, are not being serviced, on the grounds that there might be a leak of radioactive emission . Note that Ukraine has four nuclear power plants with a total of 15 reactors. The good news about the nuclear power plants is that the reactor is in a steel –reinforced concrete building that can withstand extreme external events both natural and man-made, such as an aircraft crash or explosion. But he worry of scientists is that the disruptions to the nuclear plants electricity would cause serious issues. This is where the Russian new owners of the Ukraine’s two nuclear power plants may have to ensure constant electricity supply to enhance the cooling process to prevent radiation leaking into the surrounding environment which could take decades to cycle out of the area.
While Russia forces has targeted the four Ukrainian nuclear power plants, the Pentagon has reaffirmed the United states’ position to Poland, a former ally of Russia, offer to send fighter Jets to Ukraine but fears that it might escalate the crisis. Recall that the International Monetary Fund, IMF, Executive Board, had approved $1.4 billion in emergency funding to support Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion. To help meet its balance of payment needs. Even the US, House of Representatives , has passed a $15.5 trillion funding Legislation for Ukraine through September 2022 and an additional $14 billion in humanitarian and military aid to the country, further confirming people’s fear that the US, is determined to ush out Russia from Ukraine.
