CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1` Background of the study
The war between Russia and Ukraine, according to Lakomy (2022), arose over a number of concerns. The foreign watchers of the war are concerned about a complicated interaction of ethnic, religious, political, and economic interests. Lakomy (2022), Mearsheimer (2021), and Zwolski (2018) all stressed the European Union's participation in the dispute . It will be required to analyze the conflict concerns, which may be divided into five categories: (1) Russian preservation of post-Soviet states, (2) Ukraine's sovereignty, (3) the status of Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk, (4) Ukraine's sense of national identity, and (5) international alliances (with Ukraine being at the center of conflicting ideologies). The Russian Federation has a lengthy history of imperial rule. Much of its society is pervaded by a feeling of superiority and the urge to prove it. The importance of Ukraine for Putin was highlighted by Kriesberg (2022), who noted that it led to "largely manufactured, yet nonetheless widespread collective agreement within large parts of Russia's population about the rightfulness, justice, and legitimacy of Moscow's various territorial, political, cultural, and economic claims toward Ukraine." He went on to say that Russian imperial expansion is "essential to the Putinist regime's support, cohesiveness, and durability." Putin's sadness over the USSR's demise, which he voiced in 2018 at the Truth and Justice media event, mirrors the Russian public's attitude (TASS, 2018). According to a study performed by the Yuri Levada Analytical Center in 2017, 58 percent of the questioned population regrets the fall of the Soviet Union (Levada Center, 2017). Surprisingly, the number of individuals who lament the Soviet Union's demise has dropped just 8 percentage points since 1992. Furthermore, during the last two decades, it has been suggested that the breakdown of the unified economic system and the fact that people no longer feel like they are part of a global superpower are what the Russians have felt most nostalgic about (Levada Center, 2017). It seems that the Russians have been deprived of what the Western Europeans have enjoyed for years. As a result, the Russian government's attempts to retain spheres of influence in post-Soviet republics seem to be an attempt to compensate for this nostalgia by exerting control over these areas(Lakomy,2022). As a result, Putin's actions should be seen as a reflection of Russian society's requirements. However, the degree to which he molds it to fit his own personal goals will be further examined . Nonetheless, it is worth noting that Russia's preservation of post-Soviet republics, such as Ukraine, is an attempt to bring the country together (Lakomy,2022). More so, it is a reaction to Western European powers' eastward expansion. Since 1991, Russia has been repeatedly interfering with Ukraine's sovereignty(Kriesberg,2022). The reasons for the Orange Revolution outlined above, as well as the underlying causes of Euromaidan, are only a few instances of Russian meddling in its satellite state. President Putin would rather have control of a person in charge of the Ukrainian government than have to navigate the complexities of international law or economic ties(Mearsheimer,2021). During Yanukovych's president, the lease on Russia's naval station in Sevastopol (the Crimean Peninsula) was extended until 2042, despite president Yushchenko's prior attempts to seize this strategically and economically important port. The agreement was reached in return for price reductions on Russian gas imported into Ukraine(Mearsheimer, 2021). Hence, many of the oligarchs who dominate Ukraine's economy (it was stated that the wealth of the wealthiest hundred Ukrainians was comparable to 23 percent of the country's GDP (Datskevych, 2019) and have economic ties with the Russian government, banks, corporations, and so on. However, their impact on the current battle will be examined later. The question to be raised now is why is Ukraine's sovereignty under jeopardy now more than ever? Putin ensures that his foreign policy acts are in accordance with international law, or seem to be in accordance with international law(Zwolski,2020). Despite the fact that the majority of UN members do not recognize Crimea as Russian, the peninsula is effectively administered by Russia. The conflict in Donbass is more difficult; yet, the precedent created by Russia's annexation of Crimea calls into doubt Putin's future foreign policy actions in relation to Ukraine and its sovereignty. Hence the need to peruse into the causes and effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.