The war between Ukraine and Russia has been going on for some time, and it was thought to be a quick war, but the result was unexpected, and the course of the war was full of uncertainty. Although Ukraine is at an absolute disadvantage against Russia, the results have not been as smooth as Putin had hoped.
Flag of Ukraine
As the war continued and expanded in scale, a large number of Ukrainians were devastated by the war, countless people were displaced, and the beautiful Ukraine that was once full of beautiful women is now devastated.
Ukraine is a typical Eastern European country, but also a republic of the Soviet Union, once with a strong industrial base and "the world's third largest nuclear arsenal", but now it has become an agricultural country that relies on food exports.
How did Ukraine get to where it is today?
First, the sequelae of the planned economy in the Soviet era
Soviet flag
During the Soviet period, Ukraine was a heavy industrial region and the core of the Soviet military industry, the most famous of which was located in the Black Sea Shipyard in the Nikolayev Oblast of Ukraine, where the predecessor of the Liaoning warship, the Aircraft Carrier Varyag, was born.
It is precisely because of this that Ukraine's industry is basically developed around the military industry, there are almost no other industrial categories, and even many necessities of life are obtained from other member countries, which has led to the deformity of Ukraine's own economy and industry, and once it is separated from the entire planning system of the Soviet Union, it is completely unable to be self-sufficient.
Second, the collapse of the Soviet Union, shock therapy
Russia
Like Russia, when the soviet giant fell, Ukraine fell to the West, and the economy adopted shock therapy provided by the West, privatizing a large number of state-owned assets, deregulating state control, and allowing capital to flow freely.
However, shock therapy did not improve Ukraine's economic situation, but instead allowed a large number of state assets to be divided up by Western capital and domestic bureaucrats, forming a financial oligarchy that controlled the entire national lifeline of Ukraine.
Third, oligarchy, taking turns to sit on the throne
President of Ukraine Zelenskiy
Although Ukraine, like Russia, has created a large number of financial oligarchs because of shock therapy and controls the lifeblood of the domestic economy, unfortunately the fates of the two countries are very different.
Russia has inherited the mantle of the Soviet Union, and although it is no longer the glory of the Soviet Union, it is still a fearsome country, only because Russia has produced a Putin. Putin, who was born in the KGB, is a proper tough guy, strong and strong externally, and fights against oligarchs at home to rectify the economy, although because of Western sanctions, Russia's economy has not been very good, but resilience is not comparable to before.
In contrast, in Ukraine, there is no strong president, and each president is basically the representative of several oligarchs, who are basically serving the oligarchs, which has led to the people's livelihood in Ukraine has not been improved, and the people have long been disappointed in the government.
Fourth, NATO is expanding eastward, and Ukraine is in an awkward position
NATO flag
NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, abbreviated nato or NATO, is an international military bloc established by North American and European countries to achieve defense cooperation.
With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, NATO did not give up its eastward expansion, approaching Russia's doorstep again and again, making Russia feel like a needle. Ukraine's close proximity to Russia, its geographical location is extremely important, and it is a country that Russia will never allow to join NATO, because once Ukraine joins NATO, Russia will lose its last strategic buffer, which is absolutely unacceptable as a five-permanent power.
Ukraine's relationship with NATO has thus become a key point in a great power game, which Ukraine cannot decide on its own.
Fifth, comedy presidents believe too much in the West
Eu flag
With the comedic President Zelenskiy coming to power, writing Ukraine into nato's constitution and running wild on the way to NATO, this challenged Russia's bottom line. First Crimea, then Eastern Ukraine, Russia and Ukraine have long been on the same page. Even peace negotiations are counterproductive. As expected, Russia sent troops, but everyone did not expect that the war would come so suddenly.
Now with the continuous advancement of Russia's army, Ukraine's accession to NATO is no longer possible, although the United States and the West have been sanctioning Russia, but no one is willing to send troops to help, the comedy president may not be able to laugh now.
No one knows what the future holds for Ukraine, but we still hope for peace talks as soon as possible, and war has always been cruel.
Finally, in the words of the ancients:
The country is small and not humble, the strength is small and not afraid of the strong, the rude and insulting neighbor, the greedy and clumsy, but also the death!