17 July 2024

Moscow’s Imperial Appetite Will Not Be Defeated Until Crimea and the Other Occupied Territories Are Returned Under Kyiv’s Sovereignty, — The Jamestown Foundation

The Jamestown Foundation, an American think tank, has published a report, “Crimea: Where Russia’s War Started and Where Ukraine Will Win,” by Dr. Taras Kuzio, Professor of Political Science at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and a junior fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, a London-based think tank. The report covers the history of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the reaction of Western countries to Russian aggression. It emphasizes that the West’s insufficiently decisive response and business-as-usual policy contributed to Russia’s further aggression. The report also emphasizes Russia’s international law and agreements violations, such as the Budapest Memorandum.

The report emphasizes the role that the occupation of Crimea has played in the development of Russia’s imperialist and expansionist policies:

“Crimea offers a cautionary tale of what a decade of Russian occupation can bring as the peninsula has served as a testing ground for the Kremlin’s repressive Russification and de-Ukrainianizing policies. Most egregious of these acts are the atrocities committed against the Crimean Tatars and other minority groups.”

Dr. Kuzio points out that Russia is using Soviet policies in occupied Crimea and other Ukrainian territories to change the ethnic composition of the population radically:

“This was accomplished by resettling tens of thousands of Russians and using educational and media policies to eradicate the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar national identities. The Kremlin’s destruction of the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar identities and repression of civil rights and media freedom is aimed at ensuring that the annexation of Ukrainian territory is irreversible.”

Dr. Kuzio emphasizes that when Russia occupied Crimea a decade ago, Europe experienced the first violent change of international borders since World War II. According to the author, it was the insufficient response to Russia’s invasion of Georgia and occupation of Crimea that led to the beginning of a full-scale aggression against Ukraine:

“The Western response to both invasions was weak, with no sanctions imposed for the invasion and annexation of Georgian territory and only mild sanctions for the annexation of Crimea and invasion of Ukrainian territory.”

Russia’s invasion and attempted annexation of Crimea was a critical moment for Europe, the first case of territorial expansion in Europe since the end of World War II. However, the author points out that many Western politicians, experts, and scholars directly or indirectly supported Russia, and Ukrainian leaders were advised to accept that Crimea was lost forever. The Minsk agreements, for example, did not mention Crimea.

In many ways, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine was brought on by a failure to understand that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin was as militant, imperialist, and able to weaponize corruption as it revealed itself to be,” the author states.

The document states that reconciliation with the occupation of Crimea was a major strategic mistake that increased Russia’s appetite for further territorial conquests:

“Turning a blind eye to Russian revanchism and military aggression in Crimea, as in Georgia and Syria, while continuing “business as usual” with Russia reinforced Putin’s determination to act on his obsession with Ukraine militarily. Instead of halting Moscow’s ambitions earlier, the West was compelled to react forcefully in 2022 when the full-scale invasion of Ukraine unleashed a global crisis.”

The author emphasizes that Russia began its conquest of Ukraine in 2014 with Crimea, and Moscow’s imperial appetites cannot be overcome without the return of Crimea and other occupied territories to Ukraine’s sovereignty.

The article emphasizes the need to continue supporting Ukraine in its efforts to restore its territorial integrity:

“Only Russia’s military defeat in southeastern Ukraine and the removal of Russia’s grip over Crimea will ensure that Russian imperialism will not move further west. Every Western country should embrace Russia’s military defeat, as Ukraine’s absolute victory is necessary to restore peace and quell future Russian revanchism.”

The full version of the article is available here.