Photo source: The Irish Times By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe Upfront T he war in Ukraine is far from over. As it kept on brewing in front of the world, what became apparent is that the Russian aggression was not about territorial expansion anymore, but it was actually more about controlling Ukraine’s political destiny. Even if Ukraine succeeds in pushing Russia’s military forces all the way back to its 1991 borders, the conflict won’t truly end. Ukrainian intelligence officials estimate that if the fighting were to stop in 2023, Russia would have sufficient capabilities in its arsenal to restart the war by 2027-2028, even with economic sanctions remaining in place. So, in order to truly end the conflict, Russia will have to understand, or be made to understand, that Ukraine’s future will be decided in Kyiv, not Moscow. And Kyiv has made it abundantly lucid that it sees its future with the West, as an integral part of the Euro-Atlantic institutions. That is why for Kyiv, finding a...

Photo source: Politico By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe Upfront For months, Putin denied that he would invade his Ukrainian neighbour. Even Ukrainian intelligence and its think tanks had made calculations that a large-scale war was not imminent, at the land border. But, Putin shocked everyone, and eventually went ahead and chose war by land, air, and sea, in February 2022, after a pre-dawn media address, as he thought Russians 'could not be safe, could not develop, and could not exist' for a while. He even claimed that his goal was to protect his people subjected to bullying, and genocide, and aimed for the demilitarisation and de-Nazification of modern Ukraine. For this, he even vowed to bring ‘Ukrainian fascists’ to court, who run the country since 2014. Although, Ukrainian leaders, including its prime minister, rejected Russia’s slur, outrightly. But, in reality, there are some Ukrainian territorial defence groups who are overtly and unabashedly hard-right in their ideological...

                                                                                          Photo source: Open Democracy By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe Upfront When around a hundred thousand Russian troops were amassed near the Ukrainian border by December 2021, it created a renewal of a protracted civil war that first happened in 2014, in Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Satellite imagery, as per Ukrainian intelligence, showed movements of armour, missile and other heavy weaponry to Donbas separatist forces by Russia. In response, Ukrainian forces, in snow-laden wastelands were seen donning their white uniforms, with many snipers on the prowl. Near the front lines, war-weary soldiers were seen preparing food in makeshift kitchens, and the scenario reflected a newer ver...

By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe Upfront R ussian backed rebels who have been fighting in eastern Ukraine have proclaimed a new state for the areas they control (around 19 provinces) in July 2017.  The rebels have named it ‘Malorossiya’ or ‘Little Russia’, a lingual derivative of a historical ethnic province, completely coincidental to the current day, where once it’s ruling feudal baron pled allegiance to the Russian Czar. The history of conflict actually goes back to more than thirty-three years. Around 10,000 people have been killed and 1.6 million people have been displaced. Since 2014, Moscow has consistently denied involvement for fighting in the area. This claim,  has been contested though.  Some even claim that Kremlin has for a long time backed an insurgency and that many rebels have been Russian soldiers. The Associated Press members,  have documented how Moscow has been propping up the separatists in Ukraine with funds, weapons an...