Nagpur: In what can be termed as a shocking development, Russia on Wednesday announced Crimea military drills and troops leaving the units of southern military district.
This development comes a day after it announced a first troop pullback from Ukraine’s borders. The Russian defence ministry shared a video of their troops and military forces leaving Crimea. However, the Russia’s most advanced units from the Central and Eastern military districts continue to remain deployed.
As per Analysts, even if Russia pulls back a significant number of units from the border areas, it will still have enough forces to launch serious military attacks on Ukraine, particularly from the North.
In another development, the defence ministers of NATO are all set to hold a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday as per a report, amid the crisis. Ukraine’s neighbor assured Kyiv that there is no military threat from its territory.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video address to the nation on Tuesday said that they have been informed that February 16 will be the day of the attack by the Russian troops.
Ukraine and Russia- What’s the history?
30 years ago, Ukraine gained independence, after the fall of the Soviet Union. Since then the country has struggled to combat corruption and bridge the internal divisions. Tensions rose between the two nations when Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych rejected an agreement with the European Union back in 2013. The agreement was in favour of closer ties with Moscow. Turning down the agreement saw a large number of protests which led to overthrowing him as the leader in 2014.
Following the crisis in 2014, the Russian troops saw the opportunity and took control of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. Three years later, in 2017, the Ukraine and European Union signed an agreement for opening markets for free trade of goods and services as well as visa-free travel for Ukrainians across all EU nations.
What does Russia want from Ukraine?
The power-hungry Russia sees North Atlantic Alliance (NATO’s) support to Ukraine as a threat to itself and that’s the reason why Moscow is against Kyiv joining the NATO. Another demand by Moscow stated to halt any NATO drills near Russia’s border and also wants the international organization to withdraw its forces from the Eastern Europe.
US President Joe Biden had earlier said that if Russia invades Ukraine, there will be severe consequences and will be sending in their troops. Meanwhile, on the other hand, China has extended full support to the Putin-led Russian government.
This invasion is being termed as the beginning of ‘world war 3,’ with several countries choosing their sides.
