EU's Role on Russia and Ukraine War

Theme- EU's Role on Russia and Ukraine War

**Authored by Tinku Garg, A Student at Symbiosis Law School, Pune

Russia (A Country in Northern Asia and Eastern Europe) invaded Ukraine (A Country in Eastern Europe) in Feb. 2022. It is an ongoing war/conflict producing many catastrophic effects, and the entire world suffers from it. The war between Russia and Ukraine started in 2014 but became full-fledged in 2022. Now, the Major aim of Russia is to annex Ukraine and make a land bridge from Russia to Crimea, which will pass through Ukraine and help in a lot of economic gains for Russia. Another motive of Russia is to counter NATO's (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) influence on Ukraine or to ensure the neutral status of Ukraine. 

 The European Union is an international organization comprising 27 member countries. It was created in 1993 by the Maastricht Treaty. Most countries (19) have the Euro as their currency.

The Russia-Ukraine war has been ongoing since Feb.2022; more than a year has passed since the war broke out, and both nations haven't reached any conclusion, which will have disastrous consequences. Vladimir Putin's aggression was baseless and unprovoked when he decided to attack a tiny country like Ukraine. Almost all countries in Europe severely criticized Russia's move to invade Ukraine. EU also made Ukraine a member temporarily and also put certain sanctions on Russia:  

• Sanction on the export of certain goods to Russia, like luxury goods, engines, drones and in maritime and aviation sectors.  

• EU also disconnect leading financial institutions that belong to Russia, including 

Sberbank (Russia's largest bank)  

• EU, in his sanction, also freezes the assets of 1473 individuals (Comprising of Russian officials) and 207 entities (comprising key banks of Russia)  

• Also, discourage import from Russia of products like synthetic rubber, gold, seafood, steel, Russian coal, etc.  

• It also suspends the operation of broadcasting activities that belong to Russian nations, including state-owned nine media outlets.  

This series of sanctions seriously blew the Russian economy, which was the central core goal of the EU. On the other hand, the EU also plays a significant goal in assisting Ukraine. This is why a tiny nation like Ukraine could easily resist a big superpower like Russia. Under financial aid, the EU denoted €18 billion, primarily for Ukraine. EU has started to work closely with the United States to discourage Russia from international bodies.

Despite the sanctions taken unanimously, many member nations still needed to uphold these sanctions. Of the total member countries of the EU,

Germany was the largest exporter of sanctioned goods to Russia, followed by Lithuania. Most of the imported items from Moscow came from these two countries. So, the Germans used third countries to sell their sanctioned goods to Russia. They were not breaking the law but were moulding it the way they like, which is not good at all. Like in wartime, demand for mid-size trucks rose for Russia, and Germans supplied the same. Still, after sanctions, the export of these trucks no doubt came to zero from Germany to Russia. Still, the same was increased fivefold from Armenia to Russia, which clearly states that the Germans were exporting their trucks to Russia Via Armenia, As the Germans increased their export of same trucks to Armenia. Similarly, we can see that the EU had put sanctions on Russian crude oil amid the war as the same was imported from India on a large scale. When all the countries were busy putting sanctions on Russian crude oil, India saw it as an opportunity and cleverly imported crude oil from Russia at a discounted price in huge quantities. So, the major European countries were importing crude oil from India rather than from Russia, as the EU did. EU imposed sanctions on Russian crude oil, which the EU bought via India from Russia. This means the EU was indirectly buying Russian crude oil, as it has many limitations. EU imposing restrictions on Russia also had a negative effect, which left a small dent in the economy of the EU. Although the EU was aware of the repercussions that had to be encountered, imposing restrictions on Russia was a mandate/must on humanitarian grounds.

In a nutshell, the European Union (EU) plays a significant role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict by advocating for a diplomatic resolution, imposing sanctions on Russia, supporting Ukraine economically and politically, and promoting dialogue and negotiation to de-escalate tensions and restore peace in the region. The EU condemns Russia's actions in Ukraine and actively works to address the crisis through international cooperation and diplomatic channels.