Read: Orthodoxy and Russian Foreign Policy: A Story of Rise and Fall
Putin's iron grip
In the hours up to the invasion, Putin recognized the independence of the self-proclaimed People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk – everything in an usurpatory attempt to redraw the map according to his own liking and to undermine the international order.
s the Russian invasionofUkraine enters its fourth day, there has been an outpouring of compassion for Ukrainians, which has garnered widespread coverage in international news outlets.
China's restrained position over the Ukraine crisis as seen in the general statement to “resolve differences through dialogue and consultation” bolstered speculations that the possible invasionofUkraine would serve as a precedent for Beijing's military attack against Taiwan.
President Joe Biden, a Russian invasionofUkraine “remains distinctly possible,” which poses the largest military risk to the European security order since its foundation.
But as Biden has proved, secondary sanctions imposed on a handful of countries which buy oil from Iran, are very hard these days to implement and Putin has made it clear that, if necessary, he will trade sanctions for an invasionof some sort, if the West doesn’t engineer a way ofUkraine talking down NATO membership.
Some reports and analyses predict that Russia may initiate a full-blown military conflict any time although a large-scale ground invasion is unlikely given the consequences Russia would face for such a move.
So, what is Russia’s endgame in Ukraine? And what might be the consequences of Russia’s words and actions? I already argued that Russia is not particularly after a military invasionofUkraine despite moving troops to the border.
imposed sanctions against Russia for its invasionofUkraine and annexation of Crimea in 2014, along with growing antipathy between Beijing and Washington DC has created a new and unshakable bond between Russia and China.
Transition from Axis to Balance PolicyTurkey abstained from direct military intervention in the Syrian civil war and this was something unexpected by Washington, which, previously too, had not received logistical support from Turkey during the invasionof Iraq in 2003.
One of the bases and pretexts of the Russian invasionofUkraine and the partial annexation of the country was the Russian majority, especially in Crimea.
While Turkey sought to salvage its good relations with Russia by not reacting very forcefully against the Russian occupation of Crimea or the invasionof Georgia, Russia did not hesitate to order numerous airstrikes against insurgents supported by Turkey in Syria while also violating Turkish airspace by the Turkish-Syrian border during its offensive in coordination with the Assad regime.