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UNSC
United Nations Security Council
Understand Your Topic
Make sure you read the topics carefully!
Addressing the Ongoing Conflict within Russia and Ukraine
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The long and complex history between Russia and Ukraine has been quite a notorious one. Although the conflict dates back decades to the dissolution of the Soviet Union on the 26th of December 1991, a more recent crisis arose in 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an alleged invasion of Crimea, a small peninsula in Ukraine, based on it being a rescue operation to protect the Russian ethnic majority residing in the region. In March 2014, Crimea became formally occupied by Russian forces after a general vote by the locals. The strained relationship between the two nations has only been worse since, with Russia adamant against Ukraine joining the European Union. Subsequently, the tensions reached their height on the 24th of February 2022, when Russian troops invaded Ukraine under President Putin’s “special military operations” to rescue Russian residents from a supposed genocide and demilitarise Ukraine.
The conflict has only escalated since, with numerous neighbouring nations and NATO allies working with Ukraine to prevent the invasion by providing both simple and heavy weaponry, European allies sheltering refugees, and imposing sanctions on Russia. Due to restrictions on Ukraine’s food exports to sustain domestic resources, there has also been a growing global food crisis, for which European ministers have deemed Russia responsible. Similarly, Russia and several of its top government officials, oil and gas companies, and banks are given sanctions by the United States and European nations. During a UN General Assembly session on the 2nd of March 2022, 141 of the 193 United Nations Member States voted to condemn the actions of Russia against Ukraine and demanded that troops withdraw immediately. Since the summer of 2022, the conflict has mainly been in the east and south of Ukraine. In the most recent developments, Russia launched several attacks on Ukraine after Ukrainian forces demolished sections of the only bridge connecting Crimea to Russia. |
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