From the announcement of the impending war between Russia and Ukraine to the fact that Ukraine was being packed up, it took less than 5 days. And the outbreak of total war to the ceasefire seems to have taken only one day or less. This "blitzkrieg" makes us in peace can't help but marvel at how quickly modern warfare can come.
Ben was born from the same root
I believe that it is not Putin's intention that Russia and Ukraine have come to this point, because the people of these two countries once had common ancestors, they belonged to the same nation, and it is not an exaggeration to say that they are brothers. This also involves Belarus, which is helping Russia fight Ukraine. As early as the 8th century AD, the regions of present-day Ukraine, Belarus and southwestern Russia were established as three independent states. Although the countries are different and the customs are slightly different, the people of the three kingdoms are all of one nation , the East Slavs, which is a bit like the Three Kingdoms of the Eastern Han Dynasty or the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period.
Later, in the 11th century, the Vikings from northern Europe occupied these three countries and formed a large empire called Kievan Rus'. However, the Vikings, much like the Manchus or northern Wei, did not prosper in their own culture, so they were gradually assimilated by the local ethnic groups. In other words, the Vikings helped the East Slavs to complete the unification, and the ancestors of the Ukrainians and Russians were able to sing and dance in the same land, calling them brothers and brothers.
Even because Kievan Rus' was founded on kiev, the capital of Ukraine, Ukraine was so powerful that Russia, then known as the Principality of Moscow, was only a "small follower" of Kievan Rus' and Rus' army.
Logically, after hundreds of years of running-in, there should be a deep sense of cultural identity and national unity between Kievan Rus's and the Principality of Moscow. Unfortunately, in the 13th century, West Asia and Eastern Europe were the stage of the Mongol Empire, and Genghis Khan and his descendants launched three western expeditions to merge the Kievan Rus' and Muscovite principalities into the "Golden Horde", equivalent to the puppet regime of the Mongol Empire.
Go their separate ways
When the Golden Horde declined, the two brothers, Ukraine and Russia, decided to go their separate ways, looking for a path of national self-reliance and independence. This time, the "two brothers" began a diametrically opposed life.
By bribing the Mongols, the Muscovite Principality not only avoided the killing of its rulers, but also became a tax agent of the Mongol Empire, growing increasingly powerful under the protection of the Mongol Empire. After the decline of the golden Horde's rule, the Russians took the opportunity to escape from the rule of the Mongols, completed the independence and unification of the country after a long revolution, and began territorial expansion, eventually forming the predecessor of the Soviet Union, the vast Tsarist Russia.
Warrior of the Golden Horde
Ukraine, on the other hand, is constantly troubled at home and abroad. After the fall of the Golden Horde's rule, the Grand Duchy of Poland and Lithuania began to ride on the head of Ukraine, and the whole territory of Ukraine was brought under Polish rule. Unlike the rule of the Vikings and Mongols, the Poles invaded Ukraine culturally, bringing in Western Catholicism and forcing a change in Ukrainian beliefs and customs. It was this change that not only divided Ukraine, but also became the source of Ukraine's love-hate feud with Russia.
The Polish religious invasion succeeded in changing the beliefs and customs of The Western Ukrainians, but the Eastern Ukrainians were deeply influenced by the Orthodox Church and were very disgusted with the Grand Duchy of Poland. The Poles attempted to win over the local Cossack free armed armed army by enthroning the Eastern Ukrainian nobility, and ultimately achieved the goal of controlling all of Ukraine.
However, the East Ukrainian armed forces were bent on gaining freedom and independence, so they launched numerous uprisings, and finally under the leadership of Bogdan, the rebel army successfully recaptured the East Ukrainian region from Poland. However, their strength was still very weak, and they were besieged by three powerful forces, the Grand Duchy of Poland and Lithuania in the northwest, the vast land occupied by the Ottoman Empire in the south, and the Tsarist Russia dominating Siberia. In such a dilemma, Dongwu will never emerge.
Insoluble hatred
In 1654, in order to survive, Bogdan chose to defect to Tsarist Russia, which was also Orthodox. Russia was also very righteous to this "good brother", constantly sending troops to support Ukraine, and launched a war with Poland that lasted for 13 years. Eventually, in 1667, Russia and Poland signed a treaty to divide Ukraine, stipulating that eastern Ukraine belonged to Russia and western Ukraine belonged to Poland. At this point, Ukraine was officially divided into two and began to undergo the baptism of two different peoples and cultures for more than 100 years, and the contradictions between East and West Ukraine were now irreconcilable, and they could only be forced to unite or separate through war.
During the period 1654-1764, civil wars between East and West Ukraine continued, and after joining Tsarist Russia, East Ukraine began to hope to restore autonomy, and gradually developed a rebellious heart. Peter the Great of Tsarist Russia was very angry with Dongwu, when you wanted to get rid of Poland, it took me 13 years to help you, and now your wings are hard, and you don't know which onion you are? Therefore, in a fit of rage, troops were sent to Eastern Wu to carry out large-scale repression, extinguish all signs of rebellion, and arrest all those who tried to restore autonomy.
Although in 1764, Empress Catherine II of Tsarist Russia annexed Western Ukraine and rejoined the entire Territory of Ukraine and Russia, it was difficult to eliminate the seeds of national hatred buried in the hearts of the Ukrainian people.
Psychologically, many Russians have always regarded Ukrainians as their brothers, they all belong to the Rus' line, to the East Slavic nation, so the return of Ukraine is the cause of the reunification of the motherland. Ukrainians don't think so, and East Ukrainians think that they and Russia are just allies, so many people are looking forward to independence; while West Ukrainians directly embrace Western European countries and become the vanguard of anti-Russian forces.
Was the SOVIET UNION good for Ukraine?
After the outbreak of the February Revolution in Russia, Ukraine was also involved, and no sooner had the country than the Central Council was established, and the German army captured Ukraine and propped up the puppet regime of the Ukrainian state. With the defeat of the German army, the territory of Ukraine collapsed, and for a time the Black Army, the White Army, the Bolsheviks, mensheviks and other regimes and warlords were divided.
At this time, the situation in Russia was equally chaotic, and Lenin had to resolve Russia's internal contradictions before he could free his hands to solve the Ukrainian problem. After the success of the October Revolution, Lenin intended to take back Ukraine and incorporate it into the territory of Russia. But Ukraine, especially Spain, already has a hatred for Russia, and under the foolishness of European countries, it is even more strongly opposed to joining Russia. Lenin had no choice but to cede Spain first, and ukraine, which was in the soviet war buffer zone, changed hands between Poland, Germany and the Soviet Union, and until the end of the war, Ukraine was only a member of the Soviet Union.
Cession of western Ukraine
But the Soviet Union was not bad for Ukraine. Rich in resources and rich in wheat and milk, Ukraine itself was used as a large granary by the Soviet Union. Two leaders of the Soviet Union: Stalin made his fortune from Ukraine, and Khrushchev himself was a Ukrainian peasant. So in the early days, the Soviet Union invested 20% of the country's resources in Ukraine.
The first five-year plan was basically the development of Ukraine, and in the second and third five-year plans, Ukrainian industry was always the most advanced in the Soviet Union.
Why do many people now say that Ukraine has a good hand? Because at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine had enough food production to feed itself in agriculture; in industry, it had a large number of industrial bases left by the former Soviet Union, including Odessa, the best port in the former Soviet Union, the largest Black Sea shipyard in Europe, and 30% of nuclear weapons.
However, some Ukrainians remember only the "Great Famine" of the 1932-1933s, the "Great Purge" of 1937-1938 and the "Chernobyl nuclear accident" of 1986.
The Great Famine in Ukraine
Total Westernization! Ukraine has thoroughly angered Russia
How important was an independent Ukraine to Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union? From Stalin to Yeltsin to Putin, Russia has fewer and fewer allies, NATO has expanded to Russia's doorstep, and Ukraine has become the final bottom line. European and American countries continue to interfere in Ukraine's internal affairs in an attempt to pull Ukraine into the European camp. Imagine if Ukraine had completely turned to the West and Russia had lost its buffer zone with the West, the economic and industrial zones in the southwestern hinterland would have been vulnerable to the West.
Do Ukrainian politicians really not see this? They saw it, but the divisions within Ukraine were already very serious, and the pro-Russian and pro-European factions were equally powerful. Originally, Ukraine had elected Yanukovych, the pro-Russian president, but under the control of the West, Poroshenko launched a coup d'état to oust Yanukovych and announced total Westernization as soon as he came to power.
At this point, the contradictions between east and west Ukraine have been intensified, and Poroshenko has also ordered the armed annihilation of the pro-Russian faction in eastern Ukraine, and the two countries have completely torn their faces, and the "Crimean referendum" joining Russia is a clear signal.
Crimean referendum
The relations between Ukraine and Russia have changed from brothers to enemies, and in addition to their own historical and geographical relations, there are also reasons for foreign interference in the internal affairs of other countries. Therefore, the mainland has always adhered to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and resolutely opposed the interference of other countries in the internal affairs of other countries.