Russia, which annexed Crimea in 2014 and put forward the separatist groups in Donbas last week, started to invade Ukraine at dawn on February 24. The Ukraine issue, which has always been the main agenda item between the United States, NATO and Russia, has moved to a different point with this invasion attempt. In short, the gist of it is: On the one hand, there is Russia, which is longing to revive its old empires, and on the other hand, there is the USA, which sees every step it takes in global politics as a chess move for its interests and plans accordingly. The event is serious. Russia has been trapped in this way to stop NATO's enlargement strategy, and has embarked on a wrong path where it will personally see the negative consequences in the long run. In addition to this, the USA also tried to increase the tension especially with its astonishing language that it constantly scratched and even used as if it was an invasion toto. While the border integrity and sovereign rights of countries are respected at the highest level in the modern world, the occupation of a country is an indication that humanity is not actually progressing in a good direction.
Change was always difficult in the countries that declared their independence after the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Because the Russian population, which is the dominant element of the USSR, has always tried to maintain their old habits in these countries and wanted to behave as before. Of course, the recognition of basic rights in the new states of these groups, which remained in minority status due to the change in political situations, is what should be done. An important exception to this emerged after the disintegration of Yugoslavia, and the remaining dominant element, the Serbs, seized the army's weapons and committed massacres. Russian groups may not have committed such terrible crimes, but with their old habits, they wanted to have a say in the political administration in a way that protects the goals of Russia. However, it was claimed that the population of Russian origin, who remained behind after the USSR, was deprived of some rights or that they sought help from Russia by claiming that they were treated badly, and Russia claimed that it could not remain indifferent to this demand and went to annex those lands. These regions, which ignited the fuse in Ukraine, declared their independence, probably with the advice of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Russia recognized these new states the next day. Russia, which "runs" to the aid of the Donetsk and Luhansk states, which are called Donbas People's Republics, has taken the mission of protecting the rights of innocent people, "disarming Ukraine" and "de-Nazification", which no one understands, as an excuse. Although everyone in the world knows very well that Putin is actually targeting the European order established after the cold war. While Baltic countries such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are already afraid of Russian hegemony, Finland and Sweden are now forced to join NATO with this latest invasion move.
The speech made by Vladimir Putin on February 21 is probably a text that will be emphasized and discussed for years for international relations and politics. This speech, which was inconsistent at first glance but had a very high emotional tone and watched live by millions of people on world television, was a reinterpretation of the history of Ukraine in its own way and with angry expressions. Denying that it was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and claiming that it was a country that emerged with the decision of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin did not only astonish the audience, but also gave the impression that it was part of an effort to legitimize itself. NATO is not innocent anyway, but accusing the West of creating a puppet regime in Ukraine has actually turned into an effort to reveal the philosophical background of its true intentions. Some distortions and some clumsy expressions have done great harm to the mystery imposed on Putin in world politics, and made the trap in which Russia was drawn more clearly visible.
On the other hand, although it is normal for an independent country to want to be included in an international union on paper, Ukraine's act against its own regional reality has shown its failure in the process management. In particular, the fact that he attributes much more meaning to the statements of support from the USA and NATO is proof of his political lack of foresight. Because Ukraine is just a card on the table for the USA. It is a bait thrown into Russia. For Putin, who sees "the collapse of the USSR as the greatest disaster of the 20th century", it is a "backyard". The situation in which the former USSR countries are now trying to overcome the trauma of Russian domination in history with the invasion of Ukraine is much worse. In the latest turmoil in Kazakhstan, Russia was immediately called to help and intervened with its military units. Again, a mediator in the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia and directly intervening in politics in Georgia now lives with the longing of the old tsarist times. The example of France is a bit more complicated in this sense and it seems as if it is trying to maintain its "brotherhood" relationship with its former colonies in a different way, but even this attitude does not find a response in many countries, especially in Algeria and Mali. Therefore, the intricacy of international relations when it comes to the interests and interests of the states parties can often be compared to a game of chess by politicians. Vladimir Putin's last moves also provide clues for his future moves, as in the game of chess. For example, the fact that Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who met on the first day of the games for the boycott decision under the leadership of the United States that emerged before the Beijing Winter Olympics, agreed on a “military-level and supra-political cooperation”, it is plausible what the Chinese response to the Ukraine move could be. raises the question. If there is an agreement between them in every field, as they themselves have stated, then similar to Ukraine, can a similar development be expected if Taiwan also "bores" China? British Prime Minister Boris Johnson mentioned this possibility at the Munich Security Conference, but of course, due to the historical and political environment, it was not considered highly likely that China could make such a move. However, international relations experts reveal that the Chinese Communist Party has had different plans for Hong Kong and East Turkestan, although they do not coincide with Ukraine, as well as Taiwan. These days, that is, when the occupation has just started and the reactions of the world public opinion are rising, China's reaction is curious. If he stands with Russia and gives full support to the intervention, he will soon be able to take similar steps in Taiwan when he gets the chance. Putin's move may also encourage Cinping. If this game works, from now on, the states can signal the separatists whenever they are bored, ask them to establish an independent state, and then go to protect them with their invitation. But the point where Putin and similar leaders are wrong is that the modern world is no longer a world that can be ruled by puppet regimes. Such regimes will cost their owners more than they ever expected. Our hope is that Russia turns away from the exorbitant mistake it has made as soon as possible, gives priority to diplomacy, preserves the historical and current interests of its country on legitimate grounds, and does not cause innocent people to die.
As it will be remembered, when Armenia occupied Karabakh, sane Armenian politicians, academics and opinion leaders said, "We took Nagorno-Karabakh, but we lost Armenia." Putin may also invade Ukraine, but if he does not return from the wrong, he will lose Russia in the long run and his country will suffer greatly from this attempt. Because it has used its hard power pointlessly, put Russia on the scale, and it will be understood as a threat not only for its enemies but also for countries that try to establish a balanced relationship with itself.