The Russian military worries eastern Europe on mass troop activity over contested borders
By Matthew Hillier, Staff Writer
News organizations were quick to cover the Russian Federation this week as troop activity over the frequently contested Crimean-Ukraine border has massively increased since November.
According to a document obtained by the Washington Post, up to 175,000 troops have been spotted moving to potentially take military action against Ukraine. The former Soviet satellite state is no stranger to interference from its upstairs neighbour. In 2014, Crimea, Ukrainian’s neighbour and former political ally, was annexed following a political revolution that overthrew the Ukrainian back interim government.
This was followed by massive unrest that gave Russian special forces a reason to overtake Crimea’s Parliament in order to, according to Russia, “stabilize” the country. Following this, men in unmarked uniforms (believed to be a mixture of Pro-Russian Crimeans and Russian forces) blockaded trade routes and borders. The Crimean government was given little option but to be annexed by the Russian Federation following the blockades.
Ever since, Ukraine has been updating and expanding its military forces to prepare against potential Russian interference. Russia’s goals are likely to control the Dnieper River and the land coordinator connecting the river and Crimea. Ukraine quickly built a dam after the annexation of Crimea to destabilize Russian influence in the area. This river supplies Crimea with over 1.5 million cubic meters of water and amounted to 85 per cent of the newly annexed Crimea’s drinking water.
Crimea and Ukraine have also been a hotbed of militia activity since the annexation as both governments seek to destabilize each other’s influence without direct involvement. For example, in 2015, blockades were set up between Ukraine and Crimea by far-right militias, however, these blockades were moved following Russian troop activity on the border.
According to Global Fire Power, a ranking system for countries’ military strength that assesses over 50 points of strength, Russia seems to overpower Ukraine in every section. Statistics like reserve personnel and available manpower are considered. Russia ranked second in terms of global military strength. Ukraine is ranked 25th.
The United Nations (UN) and its United States allies have pledged little to aid Ukraine. However, the Biden administration, with help from the UN, has pledged to hit Russia economically.
According to Global News, when these troop movements began back in November, the Biden administration pledged to sanction Russian access to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) if annexation occurs. SWIFT is an international banking system responsible for transferring large payments from country to country.
United States President Joe Biden believes that the economic sanctions may be enough to dissuade any Russian military action.
“What I am doing is putting together what I believe to be, will be the most comprehensive and meaningful set of initiatives to make it very, very difficult for Mr. Putin to go ahead and do what people are worried he may do,” Biden says.
United States President Joe Biden believes that the economic sanctions may be enough to dissuade any Russian military action.
“What I am doing is putting together what I believe to be, will be the most comprehensive and meaningful set of initiatives to make it very, very difficult for Mr. [Vladimir] Putin to go ahead and do what people are worried he may do,” Biden said.
Time will tell if the economic sanctions will be effective. Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s Foreign Affairs Adviser spoke on this subject in a conference call with reporters.
“While the U.S. president talked about possible sanctions, our president emphasized what Russia needs,” Ushakov said. “Sanctions aren’t something new, they have been in place for a long time and will not have any effect.”
