President Vladimir V. Putin declared a “special military operation” in Ukraine three weeks ago, after months of speculation about Russia’s intentions as it massed tens of thousands of troops on Ukraine’s border. For a long, Putin has believed that Russia entirely created modern Ukraine. After the Fall of the Soviet Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) grew more pungent as countries once part of the Union joined NATO opposing Russia. As more countries joined, Russia got weaker, and NATO got stronger. As Ukraine longed for its effort to join NATO, Putin feared losing all his political influence in Ukraine.
For eight years, Putin held onto his efforts and finally decided to strike in February of 2021. His demands for NATO to regress their troops failed and only enforced a more vital west frontline towards Russia, igniting a war between Russia and Ukraine. As of last week, Ukraine has held on to the fight courageously and had received aid from many countries to fight Russia. As citizens of Ukraine face such adversity, NATO and other countries slowly but effectively try to hold Russia back.
- Countries in the NATO currently: Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom & United States.
How does this affect the Policy World?
As the conflict in Russia-Ukraine continues to expand to higher levels, the world of policy is quietly being affected. There has been a wide range of Foreign and International policies affected by this war. Since the start of the War;
- President Joe Biden and his administration announced that his administration was banning Russian oil, natural gas, and coal imports to the United States.
- Biden has also implemented policies that offer aid and support to European states for precautions towards Russia. The United States has also sent weapons and humanitarian aid to Ukraine to help them in this conflict.
- The Biden Administration has also developed specific sanction packages for Russian elites and families if they continue to approach Ukraine’s capital.
- The U.S. Senate passed a $1.5 trillion funding bill that wards off a possible government shutdown, and at the same time, it is also to aid Ukraine in this conflict.
These policies being implemented by the Biden Administration primarily benefit Ukraine and affect the economy in the United States, Russia, and other European countries. The policy war has also affected Russia and Ukraine by a margin.
- Nike, McDonald’s, Google, and others have temporarily closed their businesses in Russia due to the conflict; it has affected employees and citizens of Russia.
- EU removed seven banks in Russia from the SWIFT messaging system.
- Russia’s economy experiencing all-time lows in its financial system like Apple, ExxonMobil, Ford, Boeing suspend all operations in the country.
- The International Criminal Court issues an open investigation into alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine, causing many of the Russian allies to pause imports and exports.
The future of this conflict
As the conflict between Russia-Ukraine shows no end towards a resolution, both countries face thousands of casualties and losses in the economic and policy world. If the financial and economic sanctions on Russia hold, and if Ukraine holds the line against Russia, there is a huge chance that Putin will retrieve and call back its troops to lead towards a more negotiated and noble ending to this conflict. President Putin could engage in:
- A negotiation between Kyiv and Moscow
- A negotiation on measures to enhance Europe’s security
- A discussion of sanctions relief from the Kremlin
If Russia continues their approach on Kyiv, Putin will most likely put in place a pro-Russian government. Leading the Government, would require a heavy presence by Russian military and security forces. A Government under such presence could affect many economic policies between NATO, Russia, United States and Ukraine.