Recently, there have been a lot of speculations over the beginning of World War III as the tensions between Ukraine and Russia are on the verge. Many superpowers and other nations have extended their support for Ukraine while some have also spoken in favour of Russia. If the tensions, don’t subside, it might be possible that this generation might even witness World War III.

It is expected to cause massive destruction. Many people will lose their lives, their livelihoods, and their homes, climate change is expected to happen due to the large-scale use of explosives, and nuclear weapons. Who knows, this might be the end of mankind on this planet if the issues don't neutralize soon. The ecosystem will be affected to a large extent.
Here, is an explanation of the two major reasons behind and why all this conflict started between the two nations:

1. Border Tensions

Ukraine is a matter of strategic importance for Russia. Looking at the size of Ukraine, it’s a very big country connecting the European Union with Russia. As the majority of countries throughout the globe experience with their neighbours, tensions over territory, the same is the case here as well. There are two regions in eastern Ukraine: Donetsk and Luhansk which together combined forms the Donbas region of Ukraine. Ukraine was earlier a part of the Soviet Union itself, but on 24th August 1991, Ukraine declared itself a separate and independent country. Ukraine has deep social and cultural ties with Russia. Ukrainian and Russian cultures are somewhat similar up to a level. The Russian language is widely spoken in Ukraine. The eastern side of Ukraine has both Russian as well as Ukrainian-speaking people. As Ukraine was once a part of Russia obviously after Ukrainian, the Russian ethnicity is most popular there. In the border areas, there exist politically exposed as well as armed groups. Pro- Russians who are more number on the Eastern side want their culture to be dominant. The Ukrainian culture is quite new compared to the ancient old Russian culture. It is not yet so well spread, spoken as well as prosper. Apparently, there have been a lot of protests by the armed forces in the Donbas region in the past few years. It is also believed that they possess heavy arms and ammunition supplied by Russia. The demands from this region by both nations have been quite different. Ukraine wants cease fire, withdrawal of heavy weaponry, and full Ukrainian government control over the conflict zone. On the other hand, Russia demands, the autonomy of the Donbas region. It wants this region to control itself and its affairs because Russia is confident that people residing here are majorly Russian-speaking and ethnic pro- Russians. If this happens, it will be easy for Russia to exercise its political and military influence over this region and Ukraine is completely aware of it and that’s why it is against the autonomy of the Donbas region. Apart from that, it's also one of the most prosperous industrial regions after Crimea (Taken into control by Russia while there was an internal political conflict going on in Ukraine) in Ukraine, which is also one of the reasons why Ukraine don’t want to settle or bend down. Russia is aware of the fact that if Ukraine settles and becomes a stable state then it will begin its association with the European Union, which is something that Russia doesn't want. That is also one of the reasons why Russia is pushing for its autonomy. It is simple to understand, as long as there will be conflict in Ukraine, there will be no successful association agreement with the European Union. After the current president, Volodymyr Zelensky took the presidential post, he agreed to implement the Steinmeier Formula in this region. As per this formula, Ukraine has to grant this region a self-governing status only after conducting local elections. The outcomes of the election will be recognised by the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co- operation in Europe). But, Ukraine had one demand- A complete ceasefire and withdrawal of all Russian troops and weapons. But Russia said, first conduct the elections then it will retreat its troops. So again, nothing much conclusion took place, as it was a risk for both nations, and nobody wanted to take that.

2. NATO

Ukraine alone is not in a position to participate in a fully-fledged war against Russia. It needs the support of NATO to face Russia. Ukraine is in full support of NATO but it is yet to receive its membership. The reason for the same is that after receiving membership, there will be a large-scale migration from Ukraine to other parts of Europe. People will migrate for a better life and better economic opportunities. The European Union is largely not in favour of this. Apart from that, there is very less support within NATO for granting membership to Ukraine, as both the United States and the European Union are aware of the fact that Russia is already inside Ukraine, so the moment they grant NATO membership, they have to immediately interfere and deploy NATO troops as a NATO ally and rage a full-scale war against Russia, which is not easy as well as a smart move.

Even after following the above-mentioned preventive measures, it might be possible that you fall and become victim As far as, what I believe, Russia is doing the right thing, as it is defending its very own personal interests. Russia has to protect its motherland against NATO expansion. Russia doesn’t want the US and the European Union to deploy troops and set up nuclear weapons near its borders. Moscow is just 35 minutes away from Ukraine if American weaponry and rocket launchers such as Tomahawk arrives in Ukraine. And in the case of hypersonic missiles, it will just take 5 minutes. It’s the war between the West, the United States and Russia. Ukraine just acts as a springboard in between. The USA is planning to use it as a battleground. Apart from that, the USA is only speaking and imposing unnecessary and ineffective sanctions on Russia and isn't doing much at ground level for the safety of Ukraine. The USA for its interests has pushed Ukraine into deep trouble. Although it is not something new, the USA has been doing this for a long time and has done the same with many nations. Apart from that, there have been several instances where Ukraine betrayed Russia due to which Russia is infuriated. The USA in the name of “Sympathy for Ukraine” just wants to establish military bases, artillery and troops to pressurize Russia, which is completely incorrect.
At last, let's all just hope, that both nations, come to a common neutral ground after having a mutual understanding without any wars.

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