27/04/2026
Russi@ vs NATĀ© in Ukr@ine
Ukr@ine šŗš¦ and NATĀ©
Let's take a glimpse into the full picture, in plain terms...
While most headlines are fixed on whatās happening in Ir@n, the w@r in Ukr@ine is still ongoing. People are still dy!ng every day. This w@r started in 2022 when Vl@dimir Pātin ordered Rāssian forces into Ukr@ine. Since then, over 500,000 pā¬Ā©ple, both c!vil!ans and sold!ers on both sides, are believed to have lĀ©st their l!āes. And millions have also flā¬d their homes and sc@ttered across EurĀ©pe as refugā¬ā¬s. Itās the dā¬adl!est confl!ct EurĀ©pe has seen since World W@r II.
At the heart of this w@r is one major issue:
Rāssia does not want Ukr@ine getting too close to WĀ£stern countries. More specifically, Rāssia has made it clear that Ukr@ine must not join NATĀ©.
Now, NATĀ© didnāt just appear out of the blues. It was created in 1949 by the US and its WĀ£stern allies as a way to pr0tect WĀ£stern Eur0pe and N0rth Americ@ from the S0viet UniĀ©n. Before we get into that properly, let's first be clear about something:
Ukr@ine is an independent country. Like any s0vereign state, it has the right to choose its allies and decide who it wants to work with.
But in reality, things are not that straightforward.
To really understand this w@r, or what many call Pātinās w@r, you have to go way-back in time...
Where Ukr@ine wasnāt always the independent country it is today. It used to be part of the S0viet UniĀ©n, which was formed in 1922 and later broke apart in 1991. Even before that, Ukr@ine wasnāt a stable, united country. It was a region controlled by different empires, including the Rāssian Empire.
When the S0viet UniĀ©n was formed in 1922, Ukr@ine became one of its founding members.
The S0viet UniĀ©n itself was a huge state made up of 15 rĀ£publics, namely:
1. Rāssia
2. Ukr@ine
3. Bel@rus
4. Uzbā¬kist@n
5. K@zakhst@n
6. KĀ„rgyzst@n
7. T@jikist@n
8. Turkmā¬nistan
9. Azerb@ijan
10. GĀ£orgia
11. L!thu@nia
12. M0ld0va
13. L@tvi@
14. Armā¬nia, and
15. EstĀ©ni@
Out of all these, Rāssia was the dominant f0rce amongst them. It controlled about 75% of the land and had more than half of the population.
M0scow was the capital, and Rāssian was the main language.
Thatās why many people mix up Rāssia with the S0viet Uni0n, even though they werenāt exactly the same thing.
After W0rld W@r II, the S0viet Uni0n became the main rival of the Un!ted St@tes. And this period became what was known as the C0ld W@r. It wasnāt a direct w@r, but both sides were competing for p0wer and influence across the world.
The S0viet Uni0n pushed communism, while the Un!ted St@tes stood for capitalism.
This divided the w0rld into two major sides, which are:
1. The WĀ£stern Bloc, led by the U.S., and
2. The Ā£astern Bloc, led by the S0viet Uni0n
Some countries didnāt want to pick a side. So they rather, formed a group called the N0n-Aligned Movement.
As tensions grew, both sides began forming milit@ry alli@nces. The U.S. and its allies created NAT0, where an attack on one member would be treated as an att@ck on all.
In response, the S0viet Uni0n created its own alliance, the W@rsaw P@ct.
At that point, the wšrld was on edge. It felt like things could spiral into a third w0rld w@r at any time.
Then came a major turning point.
In 1991, the S0viet Uni0n collapsed. The 15 republics became independent countries, and the W@rsaw P@ct also ended with it. With that, the Un!ted St@tes came out of the fr@cas as the w0rldās top superp0wer.
Rāssia, on the other hand, became weaker and had to rebuild.
In the years that followed, something important started happening.
Countries that were once part of the Ā£astern Bloc began joining NAT0.
Remember, these were countries influenced by the S0viet Uni0n, not part of it.
Places like R0mania, Bulg@ria, and Hung@ry joined NAT0.
CzĀ£chosl0vakia later broke into two countries, and then became the CzĀ£ch Republic and Sl0vakia. Both of them eventually joined NAT0.
East Germ@ny reunited with West Germ@ny and automatically became part of NAT0.
Even more sensitive for Rāussia, three former S0viet republics which are Est0nia, L@tvia, and Lithu@nia also joined NAT0, and Rāssia wasnāt h@ppy about it, but it couldnāt stop it.
At this point, most of Rāssiaās western side was now bordered by NAT0 countries. Only BĀ£larus and Ukr@ine remained outside NAT0.
So from Rāssiaās point of view, it started to feel surrounded.
For years, Rāssia kept warning that NAT0 expanding eastward was a rā¬d-flag, a line that shouldn't be crossed especially if Ukr@ine was involved.
Ukr@ine is not just any country to Rāssia. It shares a long, flat border with Rāssia, the kind of terrain have used in the past to enter Rāssian territory.
Also, Ky!v is quite close to M0scow compared to other former S0viet states that joined NAT0.
So in simple terms, if Ukr@ine joins NAT0, Rāssia fears that Western m!l!tary f0rces could be positioned right on its doorstep.
Thatās the big chunk of why Rāssia is strongly against Ukr@ine joining.
In glob@l p0litics, p0werful countries donāt like their neighbors getting too close to their rivals. Just like the US and Cāba saga. They often try to influence the ch0ices of nearby countries.
Now, fast forward to around 2013, this is where things really started to hĀ£ated-up!
Ukr@ine was about to sign a major trade deal with the Ā£uropean Uni0n, and Rāssia opposed it str0ngly.
Under prĀ£ssure from Pātin, Ukr@ineās president at the time, Vikt0r Y@nukovych, decided to reject the EU deal and instead moved closer to Rāssia.
That decision didnāt sit well with many Ukr@inians. Mass pr0tests broke-0ut. Things turned vi0lent, and by 2014, Ukr@ineās p@rliament removed Y@nukovych from p0wer, and he flĀ£d to Rāssia.
Rāssia called it a c0up and refused to accept the new Ukr@inian government.
From there on, things esc@lated so quickly at an unprĀ£cedĀ£nted rate.
Rāssia moved in and took control of CrimĀ£a, saying it was pr0tecting Ā£thnic Rāssians living there. Around the same time, it began supporting sĀ£paratist gr0ups in Ā£astern Ukr@ine, especially in the D0nbas region, who wanted to break away from Ukr@ine.
After Crime@, Ukr@ine kept building closer ties with WĀ£stern countries.
Rāssia saw this as a growing thrĀ£at, and used it as part of its reason to l@unch a full sc@le inv@sion in February 2022.
Years later, the w@r is still ongoing.
