In what’s been known as a longstanding European geopolitical rivalry, Russia and the Ukraine have once again escalated hostilities.
A former bloc of the Soviet Union, the Ukraine has long been essential to Russia’s sense of sovereignty, even causing the empire to fracture thanks to its 1991 separation from Moscow.
In the following 30 years, Russia military operations have been numerous on Ukraine’s eastern front often causing tensions to rise to prospect of all out war. Including Ukraine alleging that Russia was the culprit behind January’s cyber attacks where approximately 70 Ukrainian government websites, including that of the Cabinet were compromised.
But last week, Russia Armed Forces (RAF) launched what many consider to be a full scale siege, including the deployment of several thousand ground personnel, naval vessels circling the surrounding Black sea near Donbas region, and initiation of heavy artillery fire centered in Ukrainian urban centers.
The above maps illustrate in the Ukraine state of play as of Friday, 4th of March.
Moscow has recognized the two separatist regions in eastern Ukrainian region, Lugansk and Donetsk as independent states as due to their previous boundary claims.
Ukraine is known for sponsoring Neo-Nazis like the Azov battalion, who openly purport anti-Black racism, white supremacist ideology, and have a track record of carrying out ethnic genocides similar to most of the other European nations including Russia.
However following hostilities breaking out at the start of the Donbas war of 2014, Ukrainian forces who were backed by the Obama administration in the US and the EU, launched a counterattack. They since effectively driven back the Russian loyalist Ukrainians past the contested provinces of Lugansk and Donetsk, which is where the current RAF operations are heavily focused on.
Additionally, in 2014 RAF troops destroyed a large concrete dam built in the Ukraine’s Kherson Region by the Ukrainian government that was meant to cut off water to the Crimea province, an action that many considered to be a reprisal for Russia’s annexation of the region.
But what does all of this mean in relation to Black people?
Well, it means that the Europeans are back at each others neck, again. It also means that US Armed Force operations will continue to be a significant presence in the region, something that’s been a political reality for 20 years now, although a influx of US troops to Kiev is expected within the coming days.
Most importantly it is a sign for Blacks across Europe and America to stay out of the armed forces. If history is any indicator of the future, the white supremacist want Black bodies as cannon-fodder, so it is not considered a safe prospect for Blacks in white nations to participate in a European spat.
Lastly, it means that Blacks across the world will have to advocate for their reparations much more aggressively since white nations will want to consider Russia’s recent escalation as a “war time” incident when it’s really a continual engagement that white governments have mishandled for 3 decades.
In other words, this is exclusively a European fight. Let them have at it.
–Sylvester Loving, Terrence Dorner, B1Daily
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