The military operations of Russia in Ukraine has attracted divided opinions from different journalists around the world. According to Wark (2022), Ukraine future is already at stake despite having expressed its lack of interest in joining NATO. President Zelensky informed the international community that his country was no longer keen on joining this military alliance. However, that did not stop President Putin from declaring a special military action against the country. It is almost one year since Ukraine came under attack. Some of its territories are already controlled by the Russian military. Thousands of Ukrainians have lost their lives and properties worth billions of dollars have been destroyed.
The point of view of this senior editor is that the future of Ukraine is at stake, and the only refuge would be to join NATO. President Putin is interested in annexing the entire country or at least most of its territories, having succeeded in annexing Crimea in 2014. The editor feels that the only deterrent would be for Ukraine to join NATO. This military alliance offer this country the military assistance that it needs to be free from any future attacks from Russia. This is a liberal perspective that this auditor has taken because it requires the Ukrainian government to take a bold step and defy Russia. Instead of playing safe and following the dictates of President Putin, the leadership of Ukraine will be taking a stance that it will not tolerate bullying. I support this argument of Ukraine fully joining NATO as the only way of protecting its sovereignty and territory. Russian government has demonstrated that it will use its military might to expand its territory, and the only way of stopping it is the presence of a stronger power in the region.
A section of the global society believe that Ukraine will be safer if it completely abandons its quest of joining NATO. Crook (2022), a senior editor at Bloomberg, argues that the only way of allaying fears of Russia is for this country to commit to be outside the EU and NATO. The main concern of President Putin and his regime is that Ukraine is becoming an ally of the west, which poses a serious military threat to the nation. Russia believes that the only way of neutralizing the threat of having NATO within its borders is to annex the entire Ukraine or most of its eastern territories. President Putin and his regime will only feel safe if its neighbor abandons the desire of joining unfriendly military alliances.
The conservative point of view taken in this editorial is meant to appease President Putin. The perspective taken in this editorial is conservative as it seeks to maintain status quo in Eastern Europe. My personal view is that military operations in Ukraine is a barbaric attack on a sovereign nation and it has little to do with Ukraine joining NATO. Russia had already annexed Crimea, and its intention is clear, which is to take control of the entire Ukraine. As soon as Putin started its special military operations, President Zelensky made a commitment that his country was no longer interested in joining NATO. However, that did not stop the attack. It means that joining NATO may be the only solution for this nation.
References
Crook, C. (2022). What if Ukraine is better off outside NATO and the EU?Bloomberg. Web.
Wark, W. (2022). With its future at stake, it’s time for Ukraine to join NATO. The Globe and Mail. Web.