Introduction to International Relations

PhD. Patricia Sepúlveda

4.1 - Presentation of Actors

RUSSIA - UKRAINE

MEMBERS :

430 Martínez Facundo Jéssica Karina 2122075

430 Martínez Gámez Danna Elizabeth 2122405
430 Moreno Zamorano Constanza Rocío 2176902

440 Hernández Flores Leonardo 2176930

440 Reyes Llanes Hilda Daniela 2043511
440 Salas Eguia Keiry Michelle 2090785

6 October 2023
 INTRODUCTION

On the day of the 24th of February, year 2022, Russia launched what was called
by President Putin as a “special military operation”. This wasn’t just stopping as an
operation though, it turned out to be one of the largest wars Europe has had, to date,
after World War ll. What was the purpose for this operation? A military invasion of
Ukraine which also largely targeted the capital of Kyiv. This conflict didn’t necessarily
start right there; This came from a situation Russia has had with Ukraine prior.

Russia held for a long time that Ukraine was still a part of Russia. But Ukraine is a
sovereign nation that only holds history with Russia; they have fought for their
independence and were able to achieve it along with their own language, political
system, culture and most importantly their own way of thinking. This is exactly what
originated the issue Russia had with Ukraine, difference in opinion. In 1917, after a
civil war in Russia, Ukraine gained sovereignty. This did not last long since in 1921
the Soviet Union took control of Ukraine along with expanding forcefully into other
parts of Europe and finally creating a “soviet sphere” with the countries around the
borders and this led to the development of communist government in those
countries.

The countries closer to the west started to form a “western sphere" after they were
influenced by their opinions and they developed democracies with capitalistic
economies. This created distrust from both sides which led to the US, Canada and
the “western sphere”, that was conformed by several European countries, to form the
NATO and signed a pact in which they promised to defend each other from invasion
in 1949. In 1955 the soviet-led Warsaw Pact was joined by several countries in the
“soviet sphere”. Each side had military forces heavily protecting themselves from the
other on their borders.

Europe stayed this way for multiple decades; that was until late 1991 when
republican ukrainians began to declare independence from the domination the URSS
had successfully achieved. Many countries which had previously joined the Warsaw
pact had by then overthrown their communist governments. NATO was still holding
strong after the cold war and even started to expand after being joined by Poland,
Hungary and the Czech Republic in 1999. Later in 2004 seven other countries joined
as well.

Ukraine and Georgia were two of the only post-soviet countries left and they also
wanted to join the NATO. In fact, Ukraine became a partner of the NATO in 1994
which meant they were closer to becoming one of the countries inside; This made
Ukraine become targeted by Putin, the president of Russia. In 2013 Ukraine
suspended a deal that was in talks with the European Union and they chose to
strengthen their ties with Russia.

Later on February 22, 2014 Ukraine’s President was voted out of office. This was
the result of protests that were started after the president got over 100 peaceful
protesters that wanted the deal to be signed with the EU killed with extreme force.
These protests made it clear that the political influence Russia held on Ukraine had
now been greatly impacted. In 2014 Russia invaded and annexed Crimea then
proceeded to kill over 14,000 people and “displaced” over 2 million others.

Satellite images captured around 100,000 Russian troops and military equipment
gathered at the border of Ukraine. This was observed between October and
November of 2021 until January of 2022 when Putin Ended up denying any
intentions of invasion. But weeks later Putin demanded western countries to move
the NATO forces back from the Russian borders but this was refused and instead
NATO chose to locate reinforced forces on standby near the borders. Russia then
started conducting several huge military drills along its border with Belarus.

And on February 21st the threat of war that was dreadful, became real. After this,
on February 24th Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops and
tanks entered Ukraine on all fronts leading over half a million of its residents to leave
their homes. 120,000 deaths were estimated from this invasion. This was Putin's
attempt to redraw the European map that was shaped by political alliances after the
WWll.
 TABLE OF CONCEPTS

KEYWORD EXPLANATION
Anarchy The conflict between Russia and Ukraine,
particularly in the context of Crimea and the
ongoing conflict in Eastern Ukraine, is a complex
and sensitive issue. The term "anarchy" typically
refers to a state of disorder due to the absence
or non-recognition of authority or other
controlling systems. While the situation in
Ukraine involves elements of political unrest,
territorial disputes, and complex historical and
cultural factors, it may not be accurately
described as purely anarchic.

Sovereignty The issue of sovereignty in the Ukraine-Russia

conflict primarily revolves around Ukraine's
territorial integrity and the international
recognition of its sovereignty as an independent
nation. Efforts have been made by the
international community to uphold Ukraine's
sovereignty, including sanctions against Russia
and diplomatic initiatives to resolve the conflict
peacefully, but the situation remains complex.

Recognition The international community, for the most part,

does not recognize Crimea as part of Russia and
condemns the annexation. Additionally, there is
widespread criticism and condemnation of
Russia's involvement in the conflict in Eastern
Ukraine, with sanctions imposed to pressure
Russia to respect Ukraine's sovereignty and
territorial integrity.

Nationalism Nationalism plays a significant role in the

Ukraine-Russia problem, it shapes the
perspectives and actions of both Ukrainian and
Russian populations, as well as influencing the
policies of their respective governments.
Nationalism in both Ukraine and Russia has
contributed to the complexities of the conflict.
National interest Russia's national interest is the preservation of
the current political regime and the gain of an
equal status of other major international players.

International security The United Nations delivered supplies and

evacuation support for people in the affected
area. This war has weakened international
security, it created a humanitarian and human
rights catastrophe and accelerated the global
food and energy crises.

International law The international law prohibits the attacks

against civilians and the city, all attacks should
stop right away whether they be on Ukraine or
Russia territory.

International organizations Many international organizations work in

countries near Ukraine due to safety and security
issues but this does not stop them from
responding to the needs of the victims of the war
or assisting Ukraine in its military needs.

NATO In the middle of the Russia-Ukraine conflict,

NATO took the stance to support Ukraine and
helped out by sending economic and
humanitarian help. Even though Ukraine is not a
member, it is a country partner.

European Union The European Union has also taken Ukraine´s

side in the ongoing conflict and has given Russia
different sanctions like: prohibits on imports and
exports from and to Russia, suspension of
broadcasting in the EU for RTR, closure of EU
ports to all Russian vessels, among others.

USSR The recent invasion of Ukraine is not something

new, from 1917-1921 the Ukrainian-Soviet War
happened. This was a war between Ukrainian
independentist forces and pro-Bolshevik
elements that wanted to establish soviet rule. It
ended with the Second Winter Campaign and the
partisan movement won.

Hard Power Russia’s quest for security lead to Ukraine’s

insecurity. NATO growing closer to Russia’s
border made it a threat to Russia’s security
interests. Russia wants Ukraine to be neutral and
demilitarized.

Referendum On 2022 it was launch a accession referendum

for territories occupied by Ukraine
Humanitarian corridor Ukraine established a humanitarian corridor in
the Black Sea, to release cargo ships trapped in
its ports since the outbreak of war.

International Criminal Court The ICC doesn´t have any jurisdiction on the
Ukraine-Russia conflict, because neither of the
nations have parties in it.But also

Democracy The democracy levels have fallen on Russia in a

consequence of the ideologies and actions of its
own government
 DIPLOMATIC RECOMMENDATION
Monterrey, Nuevo León, México on October 6th, 2023.
Folio No. RD-250922

ATTENTION

Your excellency Vladímir Vladímirovich Putin

President of the Russian Federation

PRESENT

Excellent Mister President,

Us, members of the Executive Table of the Diplomatic Body, in name of the
Diplomatic Missions accredited in the country, direct to you today, excellent mister
Vladimir Vladímirovich Putin, with the intention of propitiate our opinion and advice
about the present conflict that your federation is currently in. Our intention is uniquely
to inform about the position that our nation takes as well as the thoughts that we
have in respect of the best decisions that could be taken in the future related to the
topic. We leave at your disposal the following information in order for you to have the
freedom of its consideration and usage in the most convenient manner.

During all the time that this current situation has lasted, where your state has
opposition against your neighbor nation, Ukraine; our country has maintained
ambiguity about our posture. Although we do not agree to second the actions that
have been take in hostility to your knocker territory, we comprend your intentions and
objective, hence we have not supported any action that has sought a sanction in an
economic, political, military or in any other way your diligence in response to your
movements. Due to our principles and interests, our nation does not promote warlike
attitudes in character to conflict resolution, even so, our government is inclined to
maintain the diplomatic relations that it currently has with your country. Nevertheless,
Mexico supports Ukraine’s integrity and sovereignty and searches to grant
humanitarian help to its population, without this affecting the links and interest that it
has with Russia and that it wishes to conserve and develop in the future, as proof of
this, the Mexico-Russia Friendship Group in the Chamber of Deputies of March of
this year.
Now well, even though our country continues to preserve its pro russian sentiment
against the adversities presented in the current panorama, this is not the case with
many other occidental states that condemn your decisions and search to take action
against you. A great number of these countries have relations with our territory of
different kinds and this will remain present in the near future, however, these
connections are independent of the conflict and do not must be misunderstood as
approving of their postures. Our nation recommends to stop the battle with the
intention of not taking this conflict to a bigger scale, such as to prevent possible
sanctions that could be applied to your territory by external states.

Our diplomats and government follow with interest and attention the future relations
that our territories will have. We hope that our interactions of bilateral and multilateral
cooperation continue to draw near and increment in all areas and in global topics as
well as particular ones. We wish that the information and advice is useful and we
remind that its usage is left entirely on your consideration. We renew once again our
disposal to continue to work along with the Russian Federation, affirming our
determination of staying related. Best regards.

SINCERELY

Martínez Facundo Jéssica Karina, Martínez Gámez Danna Elizabeth, Moreno

Zamorano Constanza Rocío, Hernández Flores Leonardo, Reyes Llanes Hilda
Daniela y Salas Eguia Keiry Michelle.
Members of the Diplomatic Body of the Mexican Republic.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Chakravarty, P. R. (2022, March 20). Hard power underpinning of the Ukraine war.
ORF.
https://www.orfonline.org/research/hard-power-underpinning-of-ukraine-war/

Cooper, H., Gibbons-Neff, T., Schmitt, E., & Barnes, J. E. (2023, August 18). Ukraine
war casualties near half a million, U.S. officials say. The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/18/us/politics/ukraine-russia-war-casualties.
html

European Council, Council of the European Union. (2023). EU response to Russia’s

invasion of Ukraine. Consilium.europa.eu.
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/eu-response-ukraine-invasion/

Globalcompact. (2022). International organizations and the war in Ukraine. Journal.

https://unglobalcompact.ge/sustainability-spotlight/en/international-organizatio
ns-and-the-war-in-ukraine/

Harmash, O. (2023, August 10). Ukraine announces “humanitarian corridor” for ships
stuck in Black Sea ports. Reuters.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraines-navy-announces-black-sea-hu
manitarian-corridor-says-russian-threat-2023-08-10/

Nato. (n.d.). NATO’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. NATO.

https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_192648.htm

Orozco, F. H. (2023). 7 factores que explican la caída de la democracia en Rusia.

Expansión.
https://expansion.mx/mundo/2023/02/03/como-es-democracia-rusia-caida

Reuters. (2023, July 27). Russia places third ICC official on its wanted list. Reuters.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-places-third-icc-official-its-wante
d-list-2023-07-27/

Russia-Ukraine war has weakened international security, USG DiCarlo. (n.d.).

https://dppa.un.org/en/msg-usg-dicarlo-sc-9357-ukraine-23-jun-23

Russia’s national interests and foreign policy preferences. (n.d.).

https://www.lai.lv/viedokli/russias-national-interests-and-foreign-policy-prefere
nces-554

Team, B. V. J. (2023, September 29). Ukraine in maps: Tracking the war with Russia.
BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60506682

Ukraine | History, Flag, Population, President, Map, Language, & Facts. (2023,
October 6). Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/place/Ukraine/The-Russian-invasion-of-Ukraine
Ukrainian-Soviet War, 1917–21. (n.d.).
https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CU%5
CK%5CUkrainian6SovietWar1917hD721.htm

Wojna, B. (11 de Abril de 2022). En el mundo de las ambigüedades: México frente a

la guerra de Rusia contra Ucrania. Wilson Center.
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/en-el-mundo-de-las-ambiguedades-mexic
o-frente-la-guerra-de-rusia-contra-ucrania