NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Theme : Bilateral, regional and global grouping involving India and affecting India’s interests etc
Paper : GS - 2
Ukraine’s relations with the European Union (EU) and NATO were always a matter of contention.
Contestation about post-Cold War central European territoriality and resurrecting a burnished Russian past is at the core of the Ukraine crisis. Ukraine and Russia share hundreds of years of cultural, linguistic and familial links.
For many in Russia and in the ethnically Russian parts of Ukraine, the shared heritage of the countries is an emotional issue that has been exploited for electoral and military purposes.
TABLE OF CONTENT
- Context
- What was the Conflict
- NATO
- Nuclear Doctrine of Russia
- Response by Western countries and institutions towards Ukraine war
- Impacts on India
- Road Ahead
Context :
Ukraine’s relations with the European Union (EU) and NATO were always a matter of contention.
What was the Conflict :
- Contestation about post-Cold War central European territoriality and resurrecting a burnished Russian past is at the core of the Ukraine crisis.
- Ukraine and Russia share hundreds of years of cultural, linguistic and familial links.
- For many in Russia and in the ethnically Russian parts of Ukraine, the shared heritage of the countries is an emotional issue that has been exploited for electoral and military purposes.
- As part of the Soviet Union, Ukraine was the second-most powerful Soviet republic after Russia, and was crucial strategically, economically and culturally.
NATO :
- Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium.
- It is a military alliance established by the North Atlantic Treaty (also called the Washington Treaty) of April, 1949, by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.
- There are currently 30 member states.
- NATO’s essential and enduring purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of all its members by political and military means.
- NATO has an integrated military command structure but very few forces or assets are exclusively its own.
Nuclear Doctrine of Russia :
In 2020 it declared that it would use nuclear weapons in four instances:
- If alarmed by an incoming missile
- Subjected to attack by weapons of mass destruction
- Suffered damage to infrastructure that housed its nuclear arsenal
- When conventional war threatened the existence of Russia
Response by Western countries and institutions towards Ukraine war :
- Assistance by NATO: In weaponry, training, communications, satellite and human intelligence, reconnaissance, information processing systems and total control over the global media.
- World Bank: The World Bank rushed $5(four point five)billion to Ukraine
- IMF: The International Monetary Fund came up with $4(one point four)billion.
- The United States: Itexerted pressure on India and others to boycott Iranian and Venezuelan oil, which shifted to Russia.
Impacts on India :
- The Russia-Ukraine crisis will send cooking gas, petrol and other fuel bills soaring for Indian households and businesses. Higher oil prices add to freight/transportation costs.
- Depending on how long global oil prices remain elevated, the tensions could raise questions on the RBI's credibility in making inflation projections and upset the government’s budget calculations, particularly fiscal deficit..
- India’s imports of petroleum products from Russia are only a fraction of its total oil import bill and, thus, replaceable.
- Exports to Russia account for less than 1% of India’s total exports, but exports of pharmaceuticals and tea could face some challenges, as will shipments to CIS countries. Freight rate hikes could make overall exports less competitive, too.
Road Ahead :
- The Ukraine war will lead to major economic shifts: States suffering from western sanctions or affected collateral will seek alternative financial and monetary platforms.
- Fragmentation of the monetary and financial order: It should be anticipated, including increased protectionism and a retreat from globalization which will severely depress the growth of world trade.