It has always been my belief that violence is an inexorable, harrowing attribute of the

human race. Since the beginning of mankind there seems to have been a clear divide between
those free from strife and those who possess a lust for power and blood. Both the ferocious and
the merciful exist today, bearing heavy hands full of intention to alter the world in whichever
way they see fit. It seems that one could classify modern-day countries into one of two
categories: violent or nonviolent. Currently, I believe that the United States is teetering on the
border of outright savagery and intermediate goodwill, and it is my personal conviction that the
U.S. should lean towards the latter and implement more pacificatory foreign policy. My attitude
towards the involvement of the United States in the Ukrainian crisis has remained consistent
throughout the entirety of our class and our simulation, and that is: the U.S. should provide
humanitarian relief in Ukraine, assist with the reconstruction of their government, and continue
to act as reliable ally. However, the U.S. should not provide Ukraine with weapons in order to
minimize bloodshed within the region.
Before delving into the specifics of my personal opinion on the Ukrainian crisis, it is
imperative that I first describe the crisis itself. In 1991, Ukraine separated from the USSR
following a referendum in which 90% of people voted in favor of independence. Following the
referendum, Ukraine advanced on with minimal political unrest for approximately thirteen years.
In 2004, political turmoil dubbed, the Orange Revolution began when rumors dispersed

throughout the country that pro-Russian presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych had unfairly
defeated his opponent Viktor Yushchenko. As a result of the notion that the votes were rigged,
Ukrainian citizens took to the street and rioted, causing Supreme Court to annul the election. In
December of the same year, another election was held, and this time, Yushchenko came out on
top. A couple years later, Yanukovych ran for office once again-and this time was victorious. He
was elected president in 2010. Both the Orange Revolution and Ukraines separation from the
USSR correlate to some of the underlying tensions that have elicited the political unrest which
now alters the state of modern Ukraine daily.
The current crisis in Ukraine essentially developed on November 21st, 2013 after
President Yushchenkos cabinet dropped an agreement with the European Union, and instead
opted to cooperate closer with Russia. Many Ukrainian citizens saw this as a considerable
setback to the westernization of the country- something that many people, both from Ukraine and
the western world, had been anticipating. Later that month, more than 100,000 people
congregated in protest in the capital city of Kiev. The guest that was brought into our class,
whom is a teacher in Kiev and experienced these protests first handedly, spoke a narrative of an
absolutely unforgiving police force beating people in the streets in an attempt to undermine their
spirits. According to him, people then began rallying against police brutality. By early December,
some 800,000 people assembled around the Kiev city hall and in Independence Square. Also in
December, Russian president Vladmir Putin bought up 15 billion dollars of Ukrainian debt and
lowered the price of Russian gas specifically for Ukraine- once again strengthening the political
and economic ties between the two countries. As this was going on, protesters continued to rage
passionately outside government walls. This led to further persecution by the police force. As our

guest speaker tells it, car tires were being set on fire, police were barging into homes
unwarranted, and Kievs metro system was out of service for days. In an attempt to squash the
hellish riots, the Ukrainian parliament passed a prohibition on all protests. The prohibition lasted
approximately five or six days, and by mid February, all 234 protesters that had been arrested in
the months of December and January were released. On the night of February 18th, disputes
flared once again- this time leaving 18 citizens dead in the streets. By February 20th, 88 people
had been killed.
Witnessing the barbarous scene in Kiev, President Yanukovych signed off on a
compromise with leaders of the opposition, but then fled his presidential palace and was
subsequently impeached by parliament. Meanwhile, Pro-Russian rebels began to really observe
the weakness demonstrated by the Ukrainian government and decided to take advantage of the
countrys crumbling status. On February 27th, 2014, Pro-Russian soldiers seized key buildings in
the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine. Following that, on March 1st, Russia established the decision
to put troops on the ground in Ukraine in order to preserve and protect Russian interests.
As I previously mentioned, Ukraines separation from the USSR in 1991 heavily
influenced some of the tensions that fueled this crisis. A large quantity of Ukrainians still speak
Russian, read Russian newspapers, watch Russian television, and consider themselves very much
a part of the motherland Russia. On the 16th of March, the region of Crimea, a peninsula that
juts into the Black Sea, held their own referendum in which 97% of their people voted towards
secession from Ukraine, and integration back into motherland Russia. The Ukrainian government
and much of the west refused to recognize the referendum, for they believe that Crimea is and
forever will be a part of Ukraine. In opposition to the wests failure to acknowledge the

referendum, President Putin signed a bill to absorb Crimea back into the Russian Federation. At
this time, in late March of 2014, the United States began to emerge as a player in the crisis when
President Obama strongly recommended that Putin withdrawal his troops from Ukrainian soil.
Seeing what had happened in Crimea, rebel ideology spread rapidly to other parts of the
country. Soon, the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kharkiv called for their own referendums
for independence. The Ukrainian government quickly recovered the area of Kharkiv, but could
not do the same in the other two territories. Following the downfall of no-longer President
Yanukovych, government official Olexander Turchynov assumed the position of temporary head
of state, and on April 22nd, he ordered Ukraines military to launch attacks against Pro-Russian
militants in the east. Heading into the month of May, confrontation escalated between the
Russian-backed rebels and the Ukrainian army. By just the 2nd of the month, 42 soldiers- mostly
Pro-Russian- were killed. Following failed attempts by Ukraine to recapture the regions of
Donetsk and Luhansk, the rebels decided to declare independance. Failing to reconnect with the
east, Ukraine was forced to hold a presidential election exclusively in the west and Petro
Poroshenko was appointed as the official new president.
Throughout the next few months, altercations between Russia, the pro-Russian rebels,
and Ukraine inclined at a steady pace. The rebels not only shot down a military plane in the east
that resulted in the death of 49 people, but had a Malaysian Airlines flight shot down on their
territory, which resulted in the loss of 298 lives. In late August, Russia began providing
humanitarian aid to Luhansk, lacking permission from the Ukrainian government. A couple days
later, Ukraine released videos of captured Russian soldiers, the two countries then exchanged
their captured soldiers.

Following these disputes, leaders of all parties knew that if this warfare continued, they
would pay- both in monetary value and in human lives. On September 5th of 2014, in Minsk,
Belarus, a truce called the Minsk Protocol was signed by representatives from Ukraine, Russia,
the Donetsk Peoples Republic, and the Lugansk Peoples Republic. The agreement consists of
twelve major points, beginning with an immediate ceasefire from both sides. Following the
ceasefire, the treaty also called for: verification with the OSCE that no party has violated the
ceasefire, the decentralization of the Ukrainian government, permanent monitoring of the
Ukraine-Russia border, immediate release of all hostages by all parties, amnesty for all rebelswhich means that they can not be convicted by the Ukrainian government for their resistance, the
continuation of a national dialogue, the contribution of humanitarian aid in the Donbass region,
the conduction of local elections throughout Ukraine, the removal of all soldiers and military
equipment from Ukrainian territory, economic revitalization in Donbass, and guarantees of
personal security for the people involved in consultations.
Disastrously, the state of the Minsk agreement deteriorated quickly. In November of
2014, Russia continued to send convoys of tanks, artillery, and rockets towards the ceasefire line.
In addition to that, the Ukrainian government made no solid attempt to conduct elections in
Donetsk and Luhansk. Today, in 2015, the ceasefire established in Minsk has crumbled.
Consistently, soldiers from each side are being gunned down- roughly about 3 people per day.
As an ally of Ukraine and position as the world police, the United States plays a key
role in the Ukrainian crisis. The current policy of the U.S. is to advocate and defend Minsk
Protocol as much as possible. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, states:
What we can do- what we need to do- is keep ratcheting up the pressure on Russia until it

abides by Minsk and chooses the path of de-escalation. Also, whilst on our trip to the
Department of State, the head of Eurasian affairs briefed us on Americas intentions in Ukraine
and claimed, Minsk is the best way to get to Ukraine. The end goal of the United States is to
assist Ukraine in the transformation and reformation of their country, to implement the Minsk
agreements, and to keep transatlantic unity using diplomacy.
Currently, the U.S. has spent over $184 million in assistance Ukraine. This money goes a
number of different ways. An assistance package worth $48 million boosts economic growth
within Ukraine and carries out reforms necessary to make the country successful in its IMF and
World Bank programs. This package also assists with constitutional reform, national unity, the
strengthening of Ukraines State Border Guard Service, the diversification of Ukrainian trade,
and much more. In addition to many crisis packages like the one I just described, the United
States has also given Ukraine a $1 billion loan guarantee. The loan has granted the Ukrainian
government access to financing from international markets, therefore expanding the social safety
net within the country.
Due to the breaches of the ceasefire in Ukraine, President Obama has approved around
$23 million in security assistance. Within the last six months, the U.S. has provided the
Ukrainian army with body armor, night vision goggles, and communications equipment. The
United States has also allocated Cooperative Threat Reduction funding to support the troops at
the Ukrainian border with supplies such as small power generators, hand fuel pumps, vehicles,
and non-lethal tactical gear. As of now, the U.S. has no intentions of providing Ukraine with
lethal weaponry, or putting troops on the ground in order to actively assault Russia.

At the beginning of our class, I had very little knowledge of what was happening in
Ukraine. But I, along with many fellow Americans, felt that troops from the United States have
no business combatting in Ukraine, and I still feel that way. In actuality, I think the U.S.
government is doing exactly what it should be doing. If they were to provide Ukraine with lethal
weaponry, I believe itd be contradictory to their adamant advocacy of the ceasefire in the Minsk
Protocol. The odds that a Ukrainian soldier would abuse the power of possessing a gun and fire
at someone from the other side is high, and if that were to happen, the United States would be
indirectly contributing to the fall of the ceasefire. But instead, the United States is providing
defense mechanisms to Ukrainian soldiers, which helps even the playing field with the more
militarily advanced Russia. By assisting Ukraine purely defensively and pushing Minsk Protocol,
I feel that the United States is being a tremendous ally, especially compared to many European
countries who are providing Ukraine with little or no relief.
The road to the reconstruction of Ukraine is going to be quite tedious. I assume that after
a couple more years with limited casualties, Russia will remove itself from the region of Crimea
due to unwavering persistence in the western world and by Ukraine. It is my hope that the United
States continues to offer nonviolent assistance to Ukraine. With a revitalized economy, I believe
that Ukraine has the potential to become a legitimate trading partner both to the United States
and to Russia. Ideally, Id like the United States and other European countries help to improve
the economic state of Ukraine to the point where it will be able to join the European Union,
therefore becoming a more westernized state. With diplomatic assistance from the United States,
I think that eventually, Ukraine can be a country that is whole, free, and at peace.