Jose Miguel Alonso-Trabanco
Geopolitical Monitor, Feb. 24, 2022
“…[Russia’s invasion of Ukraine] marks (after decades of intellectual triumphalism) the fateful return of realpolitik as an interpretative prism to understand the field of international relations.”
Bilateral relations between Russia and Ukraine have been confrontational since 2014, when the civil unrest triggered by the Euromaidan movement managed to overthrow pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych in 2014. This turning point fueled a reorientation of Ukraine’s strategic alignment. Ever since, Kiev has sought to deepen ties with the West through the pursuit of membership in the EU and NATO, a development that represents a setback for the plans of Moscow to reassert itself as the unchallenged hegemon of the post-Soviet space. Hence, shortly afterwards, the Kremlin responded with the de facto annexation of Crimea and with the covert instigation of insurgent militias in the Donbass, an eastern region of Ukraine in which pro-Russian attitudes prevail amongst the local population. As recent events show, diplomatic negotiations failed to defuse the atmosphere of deepening hostility.
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