East vs. West: The Superpower Squeeze of Sovereignty in Ukraine

Armed men in front of a tank. Donbas region.

There is a war raging in eastern Ukraine that threatens the stability of the entirety of Europe and possibly the world. It does not equal the Syrian Civil War in terms of casualties or refugees, but it reflects deeper underlying problems in the region that could lead to further bloodshed between Western powers and the Russian Federation.

In the winter of 2013-2014, Ukrainian nationalists in the Maidan revolution ousted pro-Russian Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych and put pro-EU candidate Petro Poroshenko in power. Shortly after, Vladimir Putin seized control of the Crimea, a semi-autonomous region in the south of Ukraine which encouraged pro-Russian separatists in the east of Ukraine to then declare independence in a region known as Donbas. In the year and a half since then, the war has continued to rage in Donbas between the Ukrainian military and the rebel forces supported by Putin.

The United States has so far supported the new Ukrainian government because they are pro-Western and wish to be granted entry in the EU. Russia supports the secession of Donbas and defends their claims on Crimea because it is Putin's goal to create a Eurasian sphere of influence for Russia to once again reassert itself as a global power. When the Ukrainian people rejected his offer of inclusion in his newly formed Eurasian Union, in favor of the European Union, it was a great blow to Russian economic plans in Eastern Europe. Putin has also shown great initiative in the Middle East as an ally of Assad's fight against Daesh and other rebel groups in Syria; no matter the political implications. The Russian military is out-showing their rivals in NATO in that region. And so it is in Ukraine where it seems that despite crippling economic sanctions, Russia is unwilling to back down on their stance in the country.

Unlike the United States, the Russians also have a deep cultural impetus to gaining more control in Ukraine. The land that comprises Ukraine  forms the heartland of the ancient homeland of the Rus and some of the oldest Russian cities can be found there, including Kiev which is arguably even more historically significant to the Russian people than Moscow. The West is willing to offer paltry support to the Ukrainian government, but we do not feel the same deep connection to the land that the Russians do. That being said, neither the Russian government nor the Ukrainian government should be allowed to decide what determines the sovereignty of any particularly region of the country.

We need to care about what is happening in Ukraine. Not because we should wish to be the ones dominating the Ukrainian sphere of economics and politics rather than the Russians, but because both the Russians and the West are allowing this country to fall apart all for the sake of more power. It is this hunger for power that is truly reprehensible, that is causing a rift to form in Ukraine. Instead of competing for influence over a country that is too weak to be able to reform on its own, we should be joining together to figure out a solution to the issues in Ukraine so that all of its citizens may strive for a better and freer life.