While many might even call it a war, Russian and Ukraine have conflicted since 2014. This started in 2014 when Putin ordered the Russian army to enter Ukrainian territory. This intervention involved the annexing of Crimea for the Russians. Ever since this conflict in 2014, there has been repeated fighting. With about 13.000 soldiers dead, both sides look to put a stoppage in the fighting ("Ellyatt"). Between Putin's Russia, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Ukraine, how will the two agree to stop the violence?
After a meeting in Paris, France on Monday, the two countries have come up with a 3 step plan to cure their relationship.
The first agreement is to come to a cease-fire by the end of 2019 ("Ellyatt"). Meaning that both countries' military in the Donbass area (the area where the fighting is happening) will let each other go. Hoping to have this done by March 2020 both countries have a lot of work to do. With this agreement, all prisoners of war/hostages will be able to return home to their country. While it seems as though this is a big step forward for the relationship between these two countries, there have been six previous cease-fire announcements, with the longest one only lasting six weeks.
Current Borders of the Countries
After a meeting in Paris, France on Monday, the two countries have come up with a 3 step plan to cure their relationship.
The first agreement is to come to a cease-fire by the end of 2019 ("Ellyatt"). Meaning that both countries' military in the Donbass area (the area where the fighting is happening) will let each other go. Hoping to have this done by March 2020 both countries have a lot of work to do. With this agreement, all prisoners of war/hostages will be able to return home to their country. While it seems as though this is a big step forward for the relationship between these two countries, there have been six previous cease-fire announcements, with the longest one only lasting six weeks.
Current Borders of the Countries
The second agreement is called the Minsk agreement. With the Minsk agreement being the basic path to peace and freedom, the main goal is to shut down all violence in the Donbass region ("Ellyatt"). If there was to be a stoppage of military forces and equipment, the war would come to a promising halt. While this agreement is quite similar to the first one, this one focuses more on the fighting itself compared to the first one being about timing. This is currently very significant because of Ukraine's upcoming elections. With the elections coming up, Ukraine has requested the removal of Russian troops now instead of January for reassurance for the people of Ukraine. In disagreement, Russian troops will continue to line the borders of the Donbass region until the full plan is inaction by the end of the year.
Lastly, both sides have agreed to simply just keep talking. With this long-lasting negative relationship between the two, these countries continue to discuss and work things out. With another scheduled meeting in four months, the two hope that the cease-fire and Minsk agreement can allow permanent peace.
Works Cited
Ellyatt, Holly. "Russia and Ukraine make small steps toward peace, but no big leap." CNBC, www.cnbc.com/2019/12/10/russia-and-ukraine-agree-to-ceasefire-by-the-end-of-2019.html.
Russian military intervention in Ukraine. Wikipedia , en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_military_intervention_in_Ukraine_(2014%E2%80%93present).
You mention the exchange of prisoners/POWs. How many prisoners are there in each country?
ReplyDeleteWhy did Russia invade and take over Crimea in the first place?
What caused the conflict between Ukraine and Russia? What will each country lose/gain if they do stop fighting each other?
ReplyDeleteWill Russia receive consequences for this spontaneous invasion, or was there another factor that deems the Russians not responsible for the "war"?
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