Russian Expansionism under Putin continues to destabilise the World, undermines the credibility of the UN Security Council and worsens global issues

It's not often that the Planetary CFO talks about peace and security.  For much of my life, there has been relative peace.  I was born in the year of the Cuban missile crisis.  But by the time I was a teenager, the Cold War was just ending.  Gorbachev and Glasnost followed. Dismantling of the Berlin Wall.  Fragmentation of the former USSR and independence for former soviet states.  For a long time, this meant a reduced risk of armed conflict between Russia and other European countries.  But, seemingly inexorably, Russia has been rising from the ashes of the former USSR.  And under Putin, it has become expansionist, as evidenced by its actions in places like Georgia and Ukraine (with annexation of Crimea in 2014 and then invasion of Ukraine in 2022).  Where this is all leading next is very worrying for World peace and security.  What is especially concerning is that Russia is acting aggressively towards its neighbours (near and far) and yet it is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.  This actually undermines the trustworthiness of the UN Security Council and its legitimacy to be a custodian of World peace and security.  That, in turn, undermines the credibility and authority of the whole of the United Nations as an institution for governing global issues. 

Russia's expansionist policies are almost literally fuelled by its status as a petro-state, exploiting fossil fuel reserves while it still can.  Yet another reason for the world to accelerate the transition to a decarbonised global economy, because the more that transition progresses, the weaker Russia will become and the less able to pursue aggressive conventional military campaigns ("operations", invasions or wars) against other independent, sovereign countries.

For evidence of publicly available statements of Russia's expansionist policy intentions, "straight from the horse's mouth" (Russian Security Council spokesperson Medvedev), the following excerpts are from the Institute for the Study of War ("ISW"), 4th March 2024:

"Russian Security Council Deputy Chairperson Dmitry Medvedev promoted Russia’s extensive territorial objectives that expand deep into Ukraine’s territory. Medvedev gave a lecture on March 4 called “Geographical and Strategic Borders” at the Russian World Youth Festival, a Kremlin-organized event that includes attendees from more than 100 foreign countries, during which he claimed that “Ukraine is, of course, Russia.” Russian forces currently occupy the east (left) bank of Kherson Oblast, but Medvedev defined all the territories on the left bank of the Dnipro River and many territories on the right bank of the Dnipro River as “integral” to Russia’s “strategic historical borders.” Russian forces currently do not occupy any territory in right-bank Ukraine. Medvedev spoke against the backdrop of a hypothetical English-language map of Eastern Europe that he originally posted on his Telegram channel in July 2022. The map depicts parts of western Ukraine under Hungarian, Polish, and Romanian control — furthering the recently reignited Kremlin narrative that eastern European states have “territorial disputes” in western Ukraine that is aimed at spoiling Ukraine‘s relationships with its western neighbors. The map shows Ukraine existing as a rump state only within the borders of Kyiv Oblast and the rest of modern-day Ukraine as part of Russia — well beyond the areas that Russian forces currently occupy, and the four oblasts Russia has illegally annexed. The fact that Medvedev reused a map from 2022 underscores that the Kremlin’s maximalist territorial objectives have remained unchanged since the beginning months of the war.
Medvedev argued that the influence of sovereign great powers, like Russia, extends beyond their geographic borders, catering to a wider maximalist ideological interpretation of the “Russian World” (Russkiy Mir). Medvedev repeated Russian President Vladimir Putin’s previous statement that “Russia’s borders do not end anywhere.” Medvedev alleged that a state’s strategic borders, which he differentiated from a state’s geographical borders, directly depend on “how strong and sovereign” the state and its authorities are. Medvedev claimed that the more “powerful” a state is, the “further its strategic frontiers extend beyond its state borders” and the larger the state’s sphere of “economic, political, and socio-cultural influence.” Putin made similar remarks recently that suggested that he views weaker states that are unable to unilaterally impose their will upon others, such as Ukraine, as having a truncated sovereignty. Medvedev claimed on February 22 that Russia “probably” must seize and occupy Kyiv City, which he labelled an historically “Russian” city, at some point in the future. Medvedev’s February 22 and March 4 statements suggest that the existence of a Ukrainian rump state in Kyiv Oblast — even after a hypothetical Russian-led negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine — may be temporary and subject to future Russian attacks. Medvedev also did not specify to where Russia’s “strategic” borders would extend should Russia’s “geographic” borders expand as shown in the hypothetical map he presented. The map is notably a conservative depiction of possible Russian territorial claims, given Putin’s recent geographic definition of Russkiy Mir encompassing the former Russian Empire, which includes parts of Poland, Romania, Finland, and Moldova.

​Medvedev indicated that Russia is more interested in subjugating Ukraine’s people than taking its territory. Medvedev claimed that Russia’s “enemies constantly insist that Russia’s main goal is to seize Ukrainian lands” but, as the “riches” of Ukraine’s lands, such as wheat, steel, gas, and coal are “almost absent,” the main value that Russia seeks from its occupation of Ukraine is through controlling its people. Medvedev also claimed that the concept of a sovereign Ukrainian state and the concept of a Ukrainian national identity that is not Russian must “disappear forever.” ISW continues to document how Russian authorities are repeatedly engaging in large-scale and deliberate ethnic cleansing campaigns and systematically working to eliminate Ukrainian language, culture, history, and ethnicity in areas of Ukraine that Russia occupies."

Original found here:
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/ukraine-conflict-updates

Full ISW report here:
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-march-4-2024

The following, from Taras Kuzio's blog at the Atlantic Council in March 2023, is a reminder of how the Russian state "Russifies" newly conquered territories, using the language and false flag of "de-Nazification" as part of its justification:

"The events of the past year make clear that Russia’s stated invasion objective of “de-Nazification” actually means the execution, imprisonment, deportation, or otherwise silencing of anyone deemed to be a Ukrainian patriot. Those targeted since the invasion began in February 2022 have included elected officials, civil society activists, educators, journalists, army veterans, and cultural figures."
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/putins-plan-for-a-new-russian-empire-includes-both-ukraine-and-belarus/

There are chilling echoes and undertones here from history, for example from the Second World War and the Cold War.  Let's hope that important lessons from WW2 have not been forgotten by those who survived it and their descendants, and let's not forget the many millions who didn't survive it.