The clouds of war are looming over Ukraine, the second-largest country in Europe after Russia. Under the leadership of America, Western countries are trying to avoid a confrontation between Russia and Ukraine. Diplomatic meetings are taking place day and night, but the Russian army of more than one lakh standing near the Ukrainian border has caught the breath of not only Europe and America but the whole world.
To the west of Ukraine in Europe and the east is Russia. The country has been inclined towards the West since its separation from the Soviet Union in 1991. Russia's neighbor to the east does not tolerate this and has been trying to take it under its ambit.
Russia feels that Ukraine's tilt towards Western Europe is a threat to its security and strategic interests. Although tension has always been there, in recent months it has reached the edge of war and the danger of having a third world war is looming in the world.
The eyes of the whole world are on Ukraine, but what is going on in Ukraine? To understand this, Bhaskar correspondent Poonam Kaushal spoke to Ukrainian journalist Natalia Gumenyuk.
Natalia is a well-known international journalist and an expert on security and international affairs. She is also the founder of the Public Interest Journalism Lab. Before reading this ground report, give your vote through the question given in the poll.
Understand the latest situation in Ukraine from the point of view of Natalia
Ukraine is a very large country, but much smaller than Russia. Russia is the largest country in the world. We can't deny that there are more than a million Russian troops stationed near the Ukrainian border and that Ukraine is in danger of being invaded, but the Ukrainian people's view on the status of Russia's invasion of Ukraine is genuine.
Russia has greatly increased its military strength in the last eight years, but Ukraine will also respond to Russian aggression in its capacity. The Ukrainian army is on alert. The situation in the past month has given Ukraine a chance to be more prepared for a state of war.
There is also preparation about how to protect the country's important institutions, critical infrastructure. There are also preparations on how the territorial sovereignty will be defended if Russia enters Ukraine. Ukraine also understands that if there is a major attack on it, foreign soldiers will not fight to save it, but its soldiers will have to fight.
There is an atmosphere of war, but if we talk about the general population, then the common people are very calm. The government has also officially asked the people to remain calm and do their work.
Fight to go on for last 8 years
We also have to understand that Ukraine has been fighting a war with Russia for the last eight years. In the eastern part of the country, pro-Russian separatists are fighting against Ukraine, but despite this the current situation is new. This danger was always there, but now it has increased more. People are not too surprised by this.
Situations are such that people cannot afford to be overly anxious. They are trying to understand how the situation can happen and what preparations they have to make.
The potential threat facing Ukraine is very clear. The question is what will happen? Will Russia launch airstrikes on Ukraine or even launch a ground war and attempt to capture some Ukrainian cities or will it escalate the fighting in the conflict zone?
Several circumstances are being considered. Will Russia attack Ukraine's critical infrastructure, cut off the Internet, or do something else? All these questions are before the people.
The people of Ukraine are calm in these dire circumstances. They are trying to show vitality. There is optimism among the people and to say that there is also a serious optimism that there will be resistance if Russia tries to annex Ukraine.
People are very worried, but they feel that the country will not be captured. People don't want war, but they don't have much in their hands. The people of Ukraine do not want this conflict to escalate any further.
Ukraine's army is not very secret, but open
The government is also indicating in the dialogue with the people that everything will be fine and the tension will reduce. At present, the issue of Ukraine has become an international issue and it involves many countries of the world. The government is indicating to the people that even though this is an international issue, the country's army has full control.
How ready is the army? It is not very easy for journalists to assess this. It is not possible to independently assess the preparedness of the army, but Ukraine is an open country. The Ukrainian army is not very secretive, but rather open. We know that the army is also calm and is not showing any signs of provocation.
However, despite this, the public does not have complete information and people are questioning the government. The opposition is demanding that the government should give more information about the circumstances and the preparedness of the army to the public and make its stand clear.
There is also a fact that the government of Ukraine does not have much to tell the people, because even the government cannot tell with complete certainty how big the threat is and what scale it will be if attacked.
we don't have all the information
Indeed, we do not have complete information about the situation. It is also true that no one has complete information about what will happen next. Possibly the decision regarding Ukraine has not been taken yet.
As far as the international response is concerned, the people of Ukraine are welcoming it. Ukrainians are more concerned about whether Western countries will leave Ukraine alone and agree to the idea of the scope of influence.
However, the general belief among Ukrainians is that weakness provokes Russia. Ukraine is a democratic country and people may have different opinions here, but support for NATO is growing. The defensive weapons that are being received from Western countries are being welcomed. Some want the situation to calm down, while others want the West to react harshly to Ukraine.
The current President does not want to clash with Russia
The Ukrainian government claims that Ukraine's advice was also taken in the response given by NATO to Russia regarding Ukraine. The people of Ukraine want to say that this is not just a matter of Ukraine. The demands that Russia is making are not just the issue of Ukraine, but the issue of the whole world.
People should also know that Ukraine's policy for the last few years has been to reduce tension. The present government is a centrist liberal government. The current president considers talking to Russia rather than confronting it. It is important to mention here that Ukraine does not have a government that is determined to fight a war and someone needs to pacify it.
As far as the common life of the people is concerned, it is quite normal. There is no panic or panic of any kind. People have returned from vacations and life is going on at its own pace.
The atmosphere in the capital Kiev is the same as before. People have returned after celebrating the Christmas holidays. There are restrictions related to Covid, but bars and restaurants are full. Schools are open, vaccination is going on. Kiev is just like the capital of any European country in winter.
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