Why Did Putin Attack Ukraine?

Three theories about Russia’s war against Ukraine from a Ukrainian.

It’s been four weeks since Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine, and everyone keeps asking the same question: why?

Why would a leader of the biggest country globally, known for so many things, attack a neighboring state? Why would Russia attack Ukraine, that’s so much smaller and has a 3.5 times lesser population? Why Russia’s land and resources aren’t enough for them? As a Ukrainian-born individual, I can answer those questions using my own experience and views and the facts quotes from the news.

So, why did Russia attack Ukraine? I offer you three different theories as a Ukrainian. It’s up to you which one you like the most.

The Prelude

First of all, you need to understand one thing; it wasn’t Russia but its president that did that. Russian people have elected an inhumane dictator as a leader, and now Putin decided to wage war against Ukraine. I have a bone to pick with Russians, as they could have prevented this from happening, and they should be protesting much more. But that’s a different story.

Putin wasn’t supposed to be a president of Russia for more than five years. Upon being elected in 2020, he served a 4-year presidential term and then decided to run for office again. Okay, that’s normal, and Russian law allows it. But then, as the second term ended in 2008, Putin planted his right-hand-man, Dmytryi Medvedev, as a former president of Russia.

Medvedev was never the “real” president but more like a puppet. But what happened during his presidency paved the way to the disaster we’re witnessing right now: the Russian laws were amended to extend the presidential term from 4 years to 6 years. The problem is, Putin’s presidential term technically restarted. In 2012, Putin became president again, and he ran for two more terms, 6 years each. Vladimir Putin has been a president of Russia for 18 years to date officially, plus 4 years unofficially under Medvedev – Putin was a Vice President. Still, he was the one calling all the shots. That’s 22 years, if you count the “castling” move, or tandemocracy, with Medvedev.

And guess what? In 2021, the constitution was amended again, and now Putin gets to be the president until 2036. That’s a total of 36 years in power. Dictatorship who?

Putin, the man who’s currently bombing hospitals and schools in Ukraine, killing innocent people, and terrorizing the entire country, is the not-so-human-being who’s been the president of Russia for most of its existence in modern times – since the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991.

We’re segwaying into the next topic of my monologue, if you may: the Soviet Union. Side note: I wish it never existed.

The Soviet Union Theory (or Imperialism Theory)

The Soviet Union or USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) used to be an alliance of dozens of Russian-speaking countries in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Imagine Russia and many small countries surrounding it – that’s pretty much it, just look at the map. While this union was useful in some ways, if you ask me, it mostly had disadvantages.

Ukraine has a rich culture, a beautiful language, and a long history. Despite lots of violence and tragedy being a part of that history, the Ukrainian people are proud of their roots.

Unfortunately, over the centuries, Ukraine has been a part of many other states and unions before gaining its independence in 1991 when the Soviet Union was dissolved. August 24th is the official Independence Day in Ukraine, and we celebrate it with a lot of pride. Modern Ukraine is 31 years old, but the Ukrainian people have been occupying the territories of today’s Ukraine and other lands since as early as 882 when the Kyivan Rus was created. Regardless of how many wars have happened since then, as of 1991, Ukraine has been proclaimed an independent country with its sovereign land. That includes the Crimean peninsula, which was gifted to Soviet Ukraine in 1954.

But Putin has had this maniac-like obsession about bringing back the Soviet Union. He wrote a letter in 2021 where he talked about how Ukrainians are “a part of the same Russian nation” and how the Soviet Union dissolution was “the worst mistake ever made.”

News alert: Ukrainians and Russians aren’t the same people, and Ukrainians do NOT want the USSR back. Moreover, if Putin considers Ukrainians brothers and sisters to Russians, the last thing he should have done was to attack Ukraine back in 2014 when he annexed Crimea and two eastern regions of the country, which were transformed into independent republics that face violence and poverty. And then, on February 24, 2022, Putin attacked Ukraine again. This time we have a full-scale war on our hands, with the Russian army shelling cities with the civilian population, shooting at evacuation transport, and causing genocide to the inhabitants of Mariupol. That’s one Hell of treatment towards the nation you consider similar to your own, Putin.

So, the short answer to why Putin attacked Ukraine is: he’s a dictator and a terrorist who’s delusional about bringing back the old union of countries, which no one else wants but him; and he’s gone insane because he wants to take over the neighboring country that has nothing to do with him.

But wait, there’s more. If you don’t like the imperialism theory about Putin wanting to take over Ukraine, there is another one — a geopolitical theory.

The Geopolitical Theory

Any country’s geographical location is crucial to that country’s development, economy, and safety. Panama holds the keys to one of the most important trade routes in the world: the Panama canal, which is critical to the world’s economy. The same goes for the Suez Canal in Egypt.

When it comes to safety, location is everything. Look at Israel, surrounded by enemies. Look at the European countries that trade goods with each other — that wouldn’t be possible had they been located far away from each other.

Every country bases its safety protocols and politics on its geographical location, allowing them to defend themselves and attack others if they have to. I mean, it’s crazy we still have to anticipate wars in the 21st century, but look at what Russia is doing to Ukraine!

The United States is an excellent example of how you can control other continents if you’re located far away from them. The US has military bases all over the world, including their warships. Well, if you can’t build a base on the land, there’s always the ocean! And depending on where a country concentrates its military, it can defend itself and its allies.

So, many people are asking why Putin invaded Ukraine back in 2014? Why did it bite off Crimea? The answer is simple: he needed to control more land that had access to the Black Sea. Not only it’s good for economic reasons, but it comes in handy when you’re planning to take over the country.

Having Crimea meant Putin could attack Ukraine from the south, which he did on the first day of the war. It gave him an advantage because had he not had Crimea, he wouldn’t have the ability to send tanks, planes and other military machines as quickly as he did.

The only Ukrainian city Putin managed to take over so far is Kherson, and he only did so because it’s so close to Crimea — it’s located in the south of the country. The city of Mariupol has been annihilated by the Russian troops, with the Ukrainian government reporting 80% of the city infrastructure and residential areas have been bombed and damaged. Not to mention, around 100,000 people are currently trapped in Mariupol with no access to food, water, electricity, or medication.

The only reason this happened is that Mariupol is located in the south of Ukraine. Russians attacked the city from the west by sending the army from Crimea. They also attached from the east by bringing troops from Russia and the annexed Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. Mariupol didn’t stand a chance; it’s surrounded. The worst part, the Ukrainian army cannot save the city because it takes very little time for Russians to attack Ukrainians from Crimea. While Ukraine is trying to free Mariupol, their chances aren’t great because Russians can send the army from different directions. The city is very close to the Russian borders, where a part of their army is also centred. The only way to free Mariupol, in my opinion, would be to wait until Russia is almost out of army reserves and launch a counter-attack.

Russia needs a land corridor between their southwest border and their Crimea border. And based on the current map, they are in the process of making it happen. However, the Ukrainian army is still strong, and they will take the land back, simply because more and more Ukrainians are signing up to join the military and defend their country; At the same time, Russian soldiers’ morale is low, and they didn’t sign up to murder innocent people or shell cities in the first place (and yet, they’re doing it).

There we have it. Putin originally attacked Ukraine in 2014 because he wanted to take over. Maybe it was his plan back then too, but he failed. There is a theory that Putin’s original plan was to attack Latvia and Lithuania instead because he wanted to create a Russia-to-Kalingrad corridor too (no sources here, as it’s an unverified theory people share online). However, since Ukrainians overthrew their pro-Russian, planted-by-Kremlin, illegitimately elected president Yanukovich by organizing the Maidan Revolution, Putin realized that Ukrainians aren’t stupid and they don’t want to be controlled by Russia. Therefore, he chose to attack Ukraine. Or maybe it was his priority all along — we don’t know.

So, long story short: a country’s geopolitical location is a number one priority. Frankly speaking, this is why many wars start. Land is a number one commodity for any country.

I have another theory for you, though: the paranoia theory.

The Paranoia Theory

(in Ukraine, we also call it “Putin forgot to take his meds”)

Putin is paranoid. To be fair, when your country is considered a superpower along with the United States and China, you’re expected to be a little bit paranoid. But in Putin’s case, it was more of insanity. I’m not a psychiatrist, but how else can you describe his actions?

Putin didn’t want Russia to be surrounded by countries close to the west — meaning the United States — and especially those in a NATO alliance. As the military alliance between western governments, NATO posed a threat to Russia.

Or did it? NATO’s purpose is to defend its members, not to attack others. Ukraine never got a chance to join NATO. In my opinion, NATO was on the fence about accepting Ukraine due to Russia’s invasion in 2014 and Ukraine being situated near Russia’s border. If you ask me, the West betrayed Ukraine by throwing it to the wolves — as in Russia — but this deserves a story of its own. NATO countries are simply scared.

Putin is a delusional, paranoid dictator who thinks that he’s surrounded by enemies who can attack him at any point. And to be fair, the United States has a history of entering other countries for various reasons. However, what is the best way to keep the US away from you? NOT TO ATTACK AN INNOCENT COUNTRY, God damn it! If Putin didn’t invade Ukraine and waged war, the US would have barely cared about Ukraine. But now, the western countries are shocked and outraged about the war.

You need to be a really sick person to think that the best defence is an attack. You also need to be crazy to think that others consistently daydream about attacking you.

One more thing about Crimea: due to its geographical location, it allowed Russia to be closer to Europe. It’s one thing to send military planes from the Russian land, but it’s a totally different one to be so close to European countries.

Crimea’s annexation was strategic. But the war against Ukraine is stupid. Russia could have easily spent all the money they are throwing away on the war on their people, economy, infrastructure, and the country’s development. Many Russians live in poverty or close to poverty, so why would you spend so much capital on war instead of improving your own country?

Many compare Putin to Hitler, and there is a reason behind it. Russia is still a closed-minded communist country, and its leadership believes that establishing Russia’s dominance in the world is a priority. Well, considering that their plan to take over Ukraine in a few days, similar to Hitler’s Blitzkrieg, failed, all Putin did was show that Russia’s army is weak and incapable, and their military equipment is garbage.

What the Russian army has achieved so far shows that it’s poor and very far from being even remotely good. And the worst part is, Ukrainian people are paying for this stupidity with their lives and livelihoods.

Conclusion

There you have it! Three theories. You may like one of them or none, but I wrote them based on what my family and friends in Ukraine and other Ukrainians have been telling me, and what the news channels have been reporting over the years. Maybe all of them are wrong, but they make sense to me as of today.

In my opinion, the mix of all three theories is why Putin invades Ukraine. He’s a communist and an imperialistic dictator who wanted the Soviet Union back, wished to have a better geopolitical and strategic presence in Europe, and also was paranoid about NATO attacking Russia.

All I want is for the war to end and for Putin to pay for his crimes.