Ukraine. United States Minitary Involvement - Research Paper Example

? Ukraine 29 AUG Ukraine United s Military Involvement Since the earliest days of its independence, following the dissolution of the SovietUnion in 1992, Ukraine has been involved in security collaboration with the United States of America. Initially, the considerable differences regarding political and bureaucratic cultures of U.S. and Ukraine were largely responsible for delay in the establishment of cordial relationships between the two countries. However, most of these obstacles still hinder the development of complete political and economic relationships between the United States and Ukraine. However, due to the presence of common interest regarding the perpetuating and maintenance of International concord and the agreement to mutually fight terrorism has enabled the establishment of military cooperation. The fate of Ukraine is quite critically related to the security of the countries formed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and this has been responsible for the U.S. interests in Ukraine. On the other hand, it has been the intention of the defense policy of Ukraine to amalgamate with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and other similar Euro-Atlantic organizations, and this intention has been largely responsible for Ukraine’s appeasement to U.S. military involvement. Therefore, the United States of America has been actively taking part in supporting Ukraine in its journey towards the transformation into a strong nation. The U.S. Ukraine military relations have been quite beneficial and have enabled Ukraine to learn diverse defense approaches and techniques which have culminated in strengthening its position in the entire zone formed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The Office of Defense Cooperation of the U.S. works mutually with the Ukraine ministry of Defense to strengthen Ukrainian military by empowering it with latest military equipment and superb training. National Purpose Ukraine was designated as an independent country on 25th of December 1991. The History of Ukraine dates back to approximately about 5000 BC and it is the largest of all the European nations with respect to territory. Ukraine has an ideal strategic location due to its position between the borders of the European Union on the east, border of Russia on the west, to the north it has the Belarus border and on its south The Black Sea. Ukraine has the longest border with Russia which is about 2063 kilometers long, and the shortest border with Slovakia which is merely 98 kilometers long. Ukraine is a united country in terms of political issues, and is a parliamentary presidential republic. In accordance to Ukrainian constitution, Ukraine is a democratic and a law abiding country. The constitution of Ukraine is the country’s fundamental law and like all democratic states, Ukrainian government consists of various political parties, the freedom of speech, an elected president, prime minister and a parliament. Only, the Ukrainian Parliament has the right to change an existing constitution or to adopt a new one. Before, June 1995, the fundamental law of Ukraine Soviet Socialist Republic was its Supreme Court but after June 1995, a constitutional agreement was signed by President Leonid Kuchma, until a proper constitution could be formulated. Therefore, in June 1996, first Ukrainian Constitution was adopted. Major adversary – United States of America is the major adversary for Ukraine in many ways. The national security of Ukraine is practically manhandled by United States military force. Latest military equipment used in Ukraine is also provided by the US and Ukraine receives a large amount of aid from the United States. Moreover, Ukraine receives Freedom Support Act assistance from the US. Since, the independence of Ukraine, it has received more than $3 billion dollars as aid from the US and this aid is used by Ukraine for economical, as well as political development. In December 2006, Ukraine signed a $45 million Threshold Program agreement with the United States. The implementation of the Program was initiated in 2007, with the aim to combat public sector corruption by vigorous government monitoring and through the enforcement of various laws. Keeping this entire situation in mind, it is obvious that United States of America plays a major role in the existence and the destiny of Ukraine and if due to some political or cultural issue this US support is discontinued then Ukraine would suffer immense damage. Minor adversary – Ukraine’s minor adversary is the ingrained corruption in the public sector. To a significant extent, the limited achievement in terms of economical stability is due to Ukraine’s efforts in trying to combat corruption. Currently US Threshold program is operating in cooperation with Ukrainian government to monitor the civil society through the implementation of various judicial reforms and enforce such Law standards which will eliminate corruption from Ukraine. United States interest – From its earliest days of independence Ukraine has received US financial and military support. It is in US interest to have a politically, economically strong and a Democratic Ukraine as an ally in the War against terror. Ideology Ukraine became a presidential parliamentary republic in June 1996 after the adoption of a proper constitution during the famous ‘Constitutional Night’. In accordance with the constitution, Ukraine is a democratic state. However, drastic changes were made in the Ukrainian Constitution in the year 2004 by the Prime Minister Yanukovich and subsequently Ukraine was designated as a parliamentary presidential republic. However, when Yanukovych was elected as a President in December 2010, he took steps to abolish the existing constitution. Therefore, on September 2010, the Constitution of 2004 was abolished and was replaced with the former Constitution of 1996 in accordance with the decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. The President of Ukraine is elected by the people of Ukraine once in every five years and is the regarded as the Head of the State. The legislative Branch of Ukraine is composed of 450 deputies and constitutes the parliamentary chamber which is known as the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Parliamentary chamber or the Verkhovna Rada is Unicameral and is administered by a Chairman. The parliamentary meetings are held in Kiev, at the Verkhovna Rada building. The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers is formed by the Parliament and is headed by the Prime Minister. The people of Ukraine elect city councils and city Mayors, who have the control over local issues and development programs. Regional and district administration heads are appointed by the President of Ukraine. Like most democratic states, Ukraine has many large and small political parties that actively take part in the parliamentary elections. In accordance with the Ukrainian Law of 2002, The Ukrainian Courts have constitutional, legal as well as financial freedom from the government of Ukraine. The Ukrainian court justices are appointed for a term of five years after by the presidential decree. After the end of the initial term of five years, these court justices are appointed for life by the Ukrainian Supreme Council, in an attempt to minimize their chances of participating in Ukrainian politics. The Prosecutors in Ukraine have immense powers and their role and activities are not according to the typical standards of European Council. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is responsible for the organization and the supervision of Law enforcement agencies. These Law enforcement agencies are composed of national state police and diverse specialized agencies including the state border guard as well as the Coast Guard services. The Ministry of Internal affairs is also responsible for the enforcement and perpetuating of the State Security Service. Major Adversary – Ukrainian ideology has no major adversary. Minor Adversary – Minor Adversary to Ukraine’s ideology have been stemmed due to the criticism faced by Ukrainian police in response to their ineffective handling of the orange revolution of 2004. US Interests – US have always attached immense importance to the Ukrainian ideology and have always supported Ukraine in many ways to have a flourishing economy and transform into a complete Democratic country. National Interests The details regarding National Interests of Ukraine are listed as follows: Defense Interests – Following its Independence from the Soviet Union, Ukraine inherited a large amount of military power from the Soviet Union. Forces that guard the Ukrainian borders are part of the strategic echelon of the theater of operation. Ukraine received the world’s third largest collection of nuclear weapons and military equipment and approximately 40% of the Soviet Union’s army and navy personnel. However, the newly independent state was not capable of effectively handling such huge amounts of resources and this is where the Security Cooperation with the US comes in. Hence, working together with the US Ukraine is on the road to development. Due, to the US security cooperation Ukraine does not have any major external threats to its territory and people. Economic Interests – For the first ten years after its independence from the Soviet Union, Ukraine faced a major decline in its economy and the gross domestic product. But due to US intervention and guidance, Ukrainian economy has stabilized and it continues to flourish. The initial decline in Ukrainian economy was due to the presence of a large number of incompetent state-owned industries as well as various enterprises. The newly Independent state of Ukraine was not capable of handling and transforming the inefficient factories into competent factories capable of produces quality products at nominal prices which would have lowered the need for importing international products. Over the recent years, Ukraine has proceeded to the market economy, and this transition to market economy would have been impossible without the cooperation of US. Another reason for the rise in Ukrainian economy is the fact that it has reanalyzed its economic and political relations with Russia as well as the entire post Soviet Union Zone. However, there is still time before Ukraine starts to get long term profits out of the market economy, till then it has US support to back it up. Ukraine has its own national currency known as Hryvnia. In the year 2008, Ukraine’s economy secured 45th position in the world. However, Ukraine’s economy suffered tremendously during the economic crisis of the year 2008, and subsequently the unemployment rate increased from 3% to 9.4% by the end of 2008. Later in 2009, Ukraine’s economy stabilized and inflation rate remained stationery at 8%. However, the economy showed recovery in the year 2010. (Hajda., 1998) Ukraine is bestowed with an exceptionally fertile soil and therefore it is famous for its immense capabilities in the agriculture sector. Each year Ukraine produces millions of tones of wheat and wheat based products, grains and nuts. Ukraine is blessed with rich and abundant supply of natural resources such as iron ore, manganese, Uranium etc. however, Ukraine is low on gas and oil but apart from that, it is quite a self sufficient country. Ukrainian industries are involved in the manufacturing of diverse state of the art products including spacecrafts, ships and radars. The world’s largest Air craft Antonov An-225 is also manufactured in Ukraine. World Order Interests – Ukraine was a member of the UN Security Council from 1999 to 2001. Ukraine has also been responsible for making numerous contributions to the UN Peacekeeping acts. A major aim of Ukraine is to integrate with NATO and other Euro-Atlantic organizations. The European Union’s Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Ukraine has been effective since March 1998. Ukraine is also a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) since January 1992. Furthermore, Ukraine is also the member of North Atlantic Cooperation Council since March 1992. In addition, Ukraine has cordial relations with NATO and is a member of the Partnership of Peace. Moreover, Ukraine has cordial and close relations with all its neighboring countries. Ideological Interests – Ukraine is a unitary country with a strong democratic government. The foremost priority of the Ukrainian government is to unite its people so that they can collectively work for the betterment of the country. Major Adversary – Ukraine has cordial relations with each neighboring country but its relations with Russia are often complex due to the issues of energy payment along with payment arrears so this serves as a major adversary to Ukraine’s national Interest. Minor Adversaries – The minor adversaries to Ukraine’s national interest are ingrained corruption of the public sector. US Interests – US has always supported the development and Ukrainian National Interest due to various reasons. Apart from US investments in Ukrainian natural resources, Ukraine is a strong American ally in the war against terror. National Power One of the major national powers of Ukraine is its sea power. Ukraine has the longest coastline among all the other Black Sea Littoral Countries. It has a total coastline length of approximately 2,782 Km and therefore has 18 seaports and has 8 massive shipyards. The country is equipped with its own maritime training and educational system. Geographic Element a. The average population density of Ukraine is about 45,724,242. 13.9% of the Ukrainian population falls in the age group of 0-14 years. While the age group 15-64 years accounts for about 70% of the whole Ukrainian population and people above 65 years account for 16.1% of the general population. b. Generally, Ukraine has a temperate continental climate and while on the southern Crimean coast a more Mediterranean Climate is experienced. Towards the northern and western sides of Ukraine there is high precipitation while it is low towards the eastern and southeastern areas of the country. Winters in Ukraine ranges from cool to cold, cool in the areas adjoining the Black Sea while rest of the country experiences cold winters. c. Ukraine’s land mass covers about 603,700 square Km with a coastline of around 2,782 Km long, making it the world’s 44th largest country. (Lindskog et al., 1994) Demographic Element: a. Ukrainian government exercises control over its public sector through the activities of various Law maintaining agencies. b. Ukraine is a unitary state and is divided into 24 provinces (oblasts) while Crimea is the only autonomous republic (administrative division which is similar to a province). These 24 provinces are subdivided into 490 districts or raions. City mayors and city councils elected by the Ukrainian people are responsible for local development and budget. c. Ukraine has a birth rate of 10/1000 population while it has a death rate of 15.2/1000popultaion. More than 70% of Ukraine’s population falls between the age group 15-64 year’s .According to the census of 2001 Ukraine’s population was 48,416,000. 67% of the Ukrainian population is settled in the urban areas, and eastern Ukraine is more densely populated than the western parts of the country. According to a recent statistical estimate, approximately 2.6 million people live in Kiev which is Ukraine’s largest city. Due to immense loss of young males during the World War II, women constitute 53% of the population. Political Element: a. Ukraine is a Democratic state and consists of an elected President and a Prime Minister and the Ukrainian legislative branch is composed of a unicameral parliament. Prosecutors in Ukraine have more power than in any other European country. b. The public of Ukraine unanimously support a democratic government. Moreover, the Ukrainian government exercises strict monitoring over the public sector through the enforcement of numerous Laws in an attempt to control corruption. c. Ukraine played a major role in the economy when it was part of the Soviet Union however, soon after independence Ukraine’s economy experienced a severe downfall for ten years. Ukraine’s aim is to become an economically stable country. d. Due to US financial and economical support Ukraine has developed tremendously. Currently, Ukraine is manufacturing radars, ships, latest aircrafts and a wide range of state of the art products. Ukraine’s agricultural products are famous worldwide and it is the world’s largest sunflower oil producing country. Military element: a. Following its independence, Ukraine inherited the world’s third largest nuclear weapons and equipment. Ukraine also inherited about 40% of Soviet Union’s army and a large amount of ammunition and other latest military equipment. b. In 1992, Ukraine’s army consisted of 780,000 military men but this number was reduced was 300,000 after it signed of the Treaty of Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. c. In 1992 Ukraine had 5 armies, 1 army corps, 3 airborne bridges and 3 artillery divisions. The Ukrainian Air force had 4 air armies and the Ukrainian air defense army consisted of 1 air defense army and 3 corps. Ukraine had 34 military colleges and 78 military facilities at various universities throughout the country. d. At the time of independence Ukraine had 6500 battle tanks, 7000 combat vehicles, 1500 combat aircrafts, 350 combat ships and 270 attack helicopters. Economic Element: a. Ukraine’s primary raw materials are agricultural products including grains, nuts, sugar, rye, barley and corn. b. Ukraine is the world’s largest sunflower oil producing country. c. Ukraine has immense reserves of natural resources like minerals which have been largely responsible for its industrial development. d. Steel and iron are the major products of Ukrainian industries. Ukraine has various industries including chemical, light and metal work industries. e. Ukraine is a major exporter of agricultural products and construction equipments. f. Ukraine has low oil reserves which is the reason why it is a major importer of oil, gas and wood products. National Will: a. The national will of Ukraine is to integrate with NATO and other Euro-Atlantic organizations. b. It is the national will of Ukrainian people to protect Ukraine from any possible foreign invasion. c. Furthermore, it is the national will of Ukraine to become an associate member of the European Union. Major Adversary – Russia is the major adversary to the national power of Ukraine. Minor Adversary – Ukraine’s minor adversaries to its national power is its deep rooted corruption of the public sector. US Interest – the US provides immense financial and military assistance to Ukraine in order to transform it into a strong democratic country. Threat Owing to its security cooperation with the United States of America, Ukraine has no direct military threat. The country had economic threats during its initial ten years but due to US assistance the country’s economy is flourishing. However, corruption possesses a significant threat to the political and economical stability of Ukraine. Capabilities – the strong Ukrainian military is capable of efficiently defending its territory and people in case of foreign invasion. Intentions – Ukraine has recognized the fact that the key to its economical and industrial development is through the proper utilization of its agricultural and natural resources. Risks – though Ukraine has no external threat but the relations between Russia and a lot of post Soviet Union countries are likely to deteriorate which will also have a substantial effect on Ukraine. Major Adversary – Ukraine has become a self sufficient country so there no major Adversaries to Ukraine. Minor Adversaries – apart from corruption, Ukraine has no minor adversaries. United States Interest – the US is working with Ukraine in order to transform it into an economically strong democratic US ally. Ukraine has no territorial threats due to the security cooperation with US. Domestic Factors Business - Ukraine has immense business opportunities, ranging from agriculture to the machine industry. The agricultural sector provides a wide variety of business opportunities and the major agricultural products of Ukraine are sugar, sugar beet and grains. Ukraine has a large number of chemical, light and machine industries which employs a large amount of Ukraine’s population. Other industries in Ukraine are coal, ferrous metal and non ferrous metal industries which are also responsible for providing employment to a large amount of Ukrainian population. Ukraine imports oil, natural gas and rubber consumer products from Germany, Russia and Turkmenistan. A huge amount of Ukrainian products are exported to Italy, Russia, turkey and the US. Interest groups –most of the domestic influential interest groups in Ukraine are based on the concept of corporatism. Two of the major interest groups in Ukraine are Sectoral Lobby and Regional groups. The former are mainly orthodox while the latter have undergone changes to adapt to the new conditions. Media – Ukraine exercises freedom of speech therefore the most vocal interest group in Ukraine is its mass media. Ministry of Statistics of Ukraine states that since the independence, more than 30,000 state registration certificates have been issued to print media. In Ukraine there are about 8 news agencies 13 non public television and radio channels. Ukraine has more than 12 daily local newspapers. Majority of the newspapers and magazines are printed in the English language. Public opinion – throughout history Ukrainian people have been famous for their hospitality, kind heartedness. These people are hard working which is reflected in the immense speedy development of Ukraine in such a short span of time. Ukrainian people fully support their government ideology in establishing cordial relations with the neighboring countries. Major Adversary – Ukrainian nation has no major adversaries to its domestic factors. Minor Adversary – the economic decline of 2008 was the minor adversary to Ukraine’s domestic affairs, however now the economy has started to stabilize. US Interest – US is actively involved in guiding Ukraine to appropriately use its domestic resources. Geostrategically, the location of Ukraine has placed it in immense competition with the entire post soviet zone and US aims to help Ukraine in using this competition in a positive way to move towards development. Comments Declaratory – Ukraine has no declaratory agreements with any country. Contractual – Ukraine joined the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in the year 1992 and became a member of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council in the same year. Ukraine is also a member of the Common Wealth of the Independent States (CIS) and it has also actively participated in the formation of GUUAM. Major Adversary – None Minor Adversary – None US Interest – US actively supports the Ukrainian policies and relations with the neighboring countries. Military Strategy Ukrainian military policy has two major aims. Firstly it aims to eliminate the threat of disobedience of the army and its subsequent involvement in the country’s national affairs. Secondly, it wishes to strengthen the army in such a way that it becomes capable of protecting Ukraine’s territory and its people. Ukraine’s political philosophy reflects these aims. However, with the advent of US Strategies in the form of security cooperation has changed the emphasis of these aims. However, now the Ukrainian army is no longer seen as a security threat as it was perceived during the early days of Independence. Therefore, Ukrainian government along with US cooperation is trying to strengthen the army so that Ukraine’s sovereignty and integrity is guaranteed. Currently, the Ukrainian army is not involved in political affairs of the country. However, US security cooperation with Ukraine allowed the implementation of a hierarchy of US strategies and many military institutional development techniques. Joint military programs like IMLT and FMF as well as combined military exercises are routine procedures of the Ukraine US security cooperation. Ukraine now possesses immense military strength which is sufficient to prevent any foreign invasion. In addition, in accordance with the security cooperation several high profile security programs such as the CTR and PfP and military to military cooperation programs such as US European Command Joint Contact Team Program and Army National Guard State Partnership Program have also been launched. Major adversary – there are no major adversaries to Ukrainian military strategy. Minor Adversary – the demoralization and disintegration of discipline in the Ukrainian army are the minor adversaries to the country’s military strategy. US Interest – US has always supported Ukraine’s military agenda with the aim of strengthening it and as well as diminishing the possibility of a nuclear war. International Strategy Ukraine has no specific international strategy. Ukraine has friendly, cordial relations with all its neighboring countries. Major Adversary – none Minor Adversary – none US Interest – US has always supported Ukraine’s intention of having friendly relations with all the countries of the world. Foreign Policy The primacy objective of Ukraine’s foreign policy is to amalgamate with various Euro-Atlantic organizations including the NATO. Ukraine has efficiently balanced its relations with all its neighboring countries and has strong relations with Europe, US and Russia. The European Union Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) began its implementation in Ukraine in the year 1998. Ukraine has friendly and constructive relations with the entire entire post Soviet Union zone. Ukraine has strong relations with Poland and Russia. Ukraine has always supported the concept of peace and negotiations to solve disputes and disagreements. Ukraine engaged negotiations during the conflict of Moldova and the dispute of the state of Georgia. Major Adversary – Ukraine has no major adversary to its Foreign policy Minor Adversary – none US Interest – the US completely supports Ukraine in strengthening its relations with the world. (Garnett., 1997) References: Garnett, S. W. (1997). Keystone in the arch: Ukraine in the emerging security environment of Central and Eastern Europe. Washington, D.C: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Lindskog, L. G., Hoatson, A., & Olof Palme International Center (Sweden). (1994). Nuclear weapons and the security of Ukraine: Report from a seminar held in Kiev, Ukraine, October 26-28, 1993. Stockholm: Olof Palme International Center Hajda, L. (1998). Ukraine in the world: Studies in the international relations and security structure of a newly independent state. Cambridge, Mass: Distributed by Harvard University Press for the Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University. Read More