Emergency Declared in Kursk Region

Abstract

The said article delves into providing day-to-day information with regards to a state of federal emergency imposed in the Kursk Region which shares a due border-line with the State of Ukraine. The said article also provides the major reasons for the imposition of the said emergency. The said article also provides a quick over-view with regards to the reasons behind the invasion of the State of Ukraine by the State of Russia and also provides due information with regards to military aid provided to the State of Russia and Ukraine by neighbouring as well as Western Countries. Confidingly the said article duly provides an overview with regards to the possibility of World War 3 taking place due to the said invasion.

Keywords: Emergency, World War 3, Western Countries, Kursk Region, Invasion.

Introduction

A state of  federal emergency is being declared in the Kursk region which is a part of Russian Country, the said emergency is declared after Ukrainian troops took control of major areas in the said region vide crossing the international border  and sabotaging the Russian soldiers who were responsible for ensuring safety of the said region. The said incursion is considered to be a backlash from the State of Ukraine, which has almost turned into a State of devastation post invasion by its neighbouring country i.e. Russia. The said invasion is taking place for a period of two years and still continuing. Post the said incursion, the bombing in the State of Ukraine by State of Russia has increased and in retaliation the Ukrainian soldiers has bombed the nuclear facility present in Russia thereby raising concern of a nuclear attack on the State of Ukraine by the invading State, thereby leading to a circumstance of the beginning of World War 3.

Review of Literature:

Davis Jr., E. (2024) Explainer: Why did Russia invade Ukraine? The said articles enables us to understand the circumstances that lead to the invasion of the State of Ukraine by the State of Russia and how the western Countries played a key role in provoking the invading State and also what does the State of Russia actually want from Ukrainian State and also what repercussions were faced by the State of Russia post invasion of Ukrainian State.

Staff, A.J. (2024) Ukraine Peace Summit: Why some countries refused to sign the plan, Al Jazeera. The said article enables us to understand the major reasons why the said peace summit was organized and also how many delegations from various states attained the said summit and also the number of states who accepted the resolutions passed in the said summit and the number of states who neglected themselves from accepting the resolutions passed.

Research Methodology

This work used the Doctrinal Research technique as its research technique. This strategy was chosen specifically by the researcher because it focuses on methodically collecting and organizing important data from multiple sources, which is critical to the research's goals.

Emergency Declared in Kursk Region

Following a significant Ukrainian incursion in Kursk Region, Russia declared a federal-level emergency and dispatched reinforcements to the said region on August 9,2024,four days after hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers appeared to have launched the largest foray into Russian territory by Kyiv since the beginning of the war. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine's president, declared in a video message on August 11,2024, that the goal of the surprise operation, which began on August 6,2024 was to "push the war into the aggressor's territory" and "restore justice. "Social media videos of Ukrainian military personnel claiming to have taken control of various settlements in the Kursk region have surfaced. The soldiers captured footage of themselves smashing Russian flags in conquered villages and posed in front of road signs to signify that they had arrived in a town. According to Russia, more than 76,000 people have been evacuated from the area after local authorities declared an emergency.

In response to said invasion,  a Russian missile launched from a plane slammed into a Ukrainian shopping mall, killing at least 14 people and injuring 44.The said mall is located in Kostiantynivka, a residential district in Donetsk's eastern region. In over a year, the said neighbourhood had seen its second major strike. In September of last year, a Russian missile killed 17 people at an outdoor market. An assistant to President Zelensky stated that the attack on Kursk was intended to compel Russia to the negotiation table for peace negotiations, but the fighting in eastern Ukraine and Russian forces' advance toward Pokrovsk indicate that the conflict is not going to end.

Why did it seem that the Russian military was caught off guard of Kursk Region?

The Russian territories of Kursk, Bryansk, and Belgorod are 720 miles from Ukraine. This includes a 152-mile stretch in the Kursk area. Before Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022, the border was only nominally defended. Since then, it has been bolstered with field fortifications in certain regions and checkpoints on major roads, but developing effective defenses has proven to be a challenging task The strongest Russian battalions are fighting in eastern Ukraine, where they have made steady but modest gains by launching offensives in a variety of places. Moscow had utilized the territories in Kursk region  to undertake airstrikes and missile attacks on Ukrainian territory, but lacks sufficient ground forces.

Due to the porous border and manpower limitations, Russian soldiers were forced to retreat from Belgorod and Bryansk after secretive pro-Kyiv commandos fighting alongside Ukrainian forces raided those locations in the past. Little infantry battalions comprised of untrained conscripts and poorly armed Russian border guards were easily destroyed by battle-hardened mechanized forces. According to Ukrainian officials, hundreds have been detained. With minimal resistance, the Ukrainians stormed into the area in various directions, wreaking havoc and horror. Initially, the Russian military tried to stop the onslaught using bombers and helicopters. Two Russian helicopter gunships were damaged, with at least one shot down.

What hazards does Ukraine's incursion into Russia pose and the current situation of the said invasion?

While the said attack on the Kursk region is going on, Russia is concentrating its drones, surveillance technologies and intelligence resources in eastern Ukraine thereby supporting Kiev in quietly moving its forces toward the border while hiding behind dense forests.

Previously, Kiev did not declare whether it intended to retreat into Ukrainian territory or build a foothold in the Kursk region. As on August 18,2024 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the brazen military push into Russia's Kursk territory is designed to create a buffer zone to prevent Moscow from conducting future cross-border operations. Thus, for the first time since the operation began on August 6,2024, Zelenskyy defined its goal in clear terms. He had previously indicated that the operation's goal was to protect surrounding towns in the Sumy region from continued shelling. According to Zelenskyy, "destroying as much Russian war potential as possible and conducting maximum counteroffensive actions is now our primary task in defensive operations overall." In his nightly speech, he stated, "This includes our operation in the Kursk region—creating a buffer zone on the aggressor's territory. "According to sources, Ukraine disrupted supply lines of Moscow as it pressed the incursion this past weekend, collapsing a major bridge in the area and targeting another nearby.

Pro-Kremlin military bloggers agree that the collapse of the first bridge on the Seim River near the town of Glushkovo may limit supplies to Russian soldiers fighting Ukraine's onslaught, even though Moscow may still use pontoons and smaller bridges.. On August 16, 2024, Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk, the leader of Ukraine's Air Force, released a video depicting a strike that saw the bridge destroyed in half.

In less than two days, Oleshchuk and Russian regional governor Alexei Smirnov claimed that the Ukrainian military had destroyed a second bridge in Russia.

Zelenskyy called on Kyiv's allies on August 17,2024 to remove the last remaining barriers to attacking locations farther into Russia with Western weaponry, including as Kursk. He claimed that if given enough long-range capabilities, his men might rob Moscow "of any ability to advance and cause destruction."

"It is imperative that our allies take down obstacles that prevent us from undermining Russian positions as this conflict requires. "On the social media site X, Zelenskyy stated. The valour of our soldiers and the tenacity of our combat brigades make up for the absence of crucial choices from our partners. As per the head of the municipal military administration, Moscow appears to have escalated its attacks on Kyiv, as it launched ballistic missiles against the city on Sunday for the third time this month. In a post on Telegram, Serhii Popko stated that the August strikes on the capital, which were "nearly identical, most likely built using North Korean-supplied KN-23 missiles.”

On August 18,2024, Russia conducted a new wave of airstrikes, including one on Kyiv, and denied a claim that Ukraine's attack on the Kursk region had halted indirect talks with Kyiv to end strikes on energy and power plants.

At around seven in the morning of August 18,2024 , there was another attempt to strike Kyiv. "Now with Iskander cruise missiles," stated Popko. He said that Ukrainian air defenses intercepted every missile fired in the two attacks on the city.

In other news, on August 17, 2024, the chief of the UN nuclear watchdog group declared that the safety situation at the Russian-occupied nuclear power facility in Zaporizhzhia is deteriorating .

Rafael Grossi, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, urged "maximum restraint from all sides" after a team from the agency discovered that an explosive carried by a drone burst just outside the plant's restricted area. Grossi reported that the incident occurred "near the essential water sprinkle ponds" and about 100 yards (meters) from the plant's only power line. According to the plant's IAEA personnel, there has been a lot of military activity close over the previous week.

Belarus' autocratic president, Alexander Lukashenko, claims that his country has assembled "nearly a third" of its army along the Ukrainian border. Belarus is an ally of Russia. According to Lukashenko, Minsk was reacting to the deployment of around 120,000 Ukrainian troops along the 1,084-kilometer (674-mile) border, which was reported by Russian state television. The Belarusian army has more than 60,000 professionals.

Why and When did Russia and Ukraine's current conflict begin?

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine's president, expressed his desire to join NATO to US President Joe Biden in early January 2021.Russia, outraged by Ukraine's leadership, began increasing its military presence in and around Ukraine in late 2021, citing a variety of reasons and with no clear goals in mind. This was especially true in Belarus, the country's closest ally to the north. By December 2021, tens of thousands of Russian soldiers had effectively surrounded the country, escalating tensions to the point where Putin and US President Joe Biden spoke over the phone. Fears rose as additional Russian military personnel stationed themselves near Ukraine in early 2022, and when Russian forces launched a military assault on Ukraine in February of that year.

What's happened since Russia invaded Ukraine?

According to a declassified US intelligence assessment received by Reuters in December 2023, the overall number of soldiers who suffered atrocities throughout the aforementioned war—including death or injury—has apparently risen to 3,50,000..The New York Times expects that by August 2023, 100,000-20,000 people would have been injured and over 70,000 will have perished in Ukraine. But the losses do not stop there. Since the invasion, over 500 children have perished in Ukraine, with the UN estimating 10,000 civilian casualties. International politicians and groups, including the United Nations, have accused Russia of war crimes and human rights breaches. Additional money for Ukraine was also halted due to conservative Republicans in the US Congress rejecting increased funding for the country's military efforts.

Conservative Republicans in the United States Congress opposed further financial support for the nation's war effort, causing additional financing for Ukraine to be halted as well. According to data monitored by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the United States has provided Ukraine with the most military aid of any nation as of January 2024. On February 13, 2024, Biden warned that failing to enact an aid package would be "playing into Putin's hands." Military analysts also predicted that withholding US assistance would make it more difficult for Ukraine to win the conflict.

However, Zelenskyy was hopeful in a message he made in late February 2024 on X, the defunct Twitter network. “I thank everyone in the world who helps us,” he wrote. “I am grateful to everyone who defends Ukraine, our people, and our absolutely fair principles. No one in the world has the right to destroy independent nations, No one and we will not let Russia destroy Ukraine.”

Military Aid provided to Russia amidst the on-going Russia-Ukraine War:

According to a Carnegie Endowment think tank study of Chinese customs data, China has been giving military assistance to Russia by delivering over $300 million in dual-use goods—items having both military and economic applications—to Russia each month

In 2024,North Korean leader Kim Jong Un referred to the new relations as a "alliance" when he and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty on Wednesday that expands military cooperation and includes a mutual defense guarantee to defend one another in the case of an attack.

Is There Any Military Aid Provided by Western Countries to Ukraine for prohibiting Russia’s territorial advancement in the State of Ukraine?

More than two years after Russia started a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian troops, artillery, and the air force are still fighting the Ukrainian army, particularly on the eastern and southern fronts.

Without the military assistance of other nations, Ukraine would cease to exist. It regularly asks for more ammo and air defense supplies from its allies.

The Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IFW) releases regular reports on the amounts of financial, military, and humanitarian aid pledged and delivered to Ukraine, including weapons, ammunition, and equipment.

The United States has vowed and supplied the most significant military aid to Ukraine in its fight with Russia.According to the IFW, since February 2022, US President Joe Biden's administration has pledged Ukraine military help worth approximately €42 billion ($44.7 billion).However, the US Congress has approved less money, and Republicans have been blocking Ukraine from obtaining new aid totalling €55 billion for months. A fresh vote is expected soon. Germany is second in terms of military aid to Ukraine, having provided €17.7 billion to date. The German government recently stated that a third Patriot missile system would be deployed to shore up the country's air defense. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine's president, thanked the German government directly. Zelenskyy has already criticized Germany for its aid delivery delays. The United Kingdom has announced a further €2.9 billion in military aid, raising its total commitment to €9.1 billion. The IFW reports that the equivalent of €4.8 billion has already been given. Denmark ranks among the top donors based on its GDP. Since November 2023, the little nation has increased its pledges by €3.5 billion. At least €4.5 billion of the €8.4 billion in military funds pledged has been allocated. Equipment, weaponry, and ammunition worth €5.6 billion have long been promised. Following months of deliberation, EU nations agreed to contribute an additional €5 billion by the middle of March,2024.

The Netherlands has agreed to offer Ukraine with military assistance worth €4.44 billion.. Early in March, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte signed a security agreement that includes a €2 billion military budget allocation until 2024.

Norway, Europe's northernmost nation, has committed a total of €3.8 billion, with €1 billion already put aside.

Poland, a country bordering both Russia and Ukraine, has provided Kyiv with military assistance worth over €3 billion.. Furthermore, the country has evolved into an important logistical hub for the transportation of military equipment to Ukraine from the West.

Furthermore, by the end of the year, Canada and Ukraine will have reached an agreement on security issues. Canada has pledged more than €2 billion in military support to Ukraine. This year, on the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the two countries reached an agreement. Sweden has also committed more than €2 billion in military support to Ukraine. This was originally merely protective gear, but it has since expanded to include tanks and cutting-edge weapons.

How have other countries including the US reacted to Russia's invasion?

The North Atlantic Council, NATO's political decision-making body, convened an emergency meeting on February 24, 2022, to initiate defensive strategies, including the construction of the NATO Response Force. Prior to Russia's strike, Biden stated that more US troops would be dispatched to Eastern Europe to safeguard NATO members such as Poland; however, he has since stressed that no US military will be sent into Ukraine. Other countries had already responded to Putin's actions in the Donbas, which the US described as the "beginning of an invasion. "On February 23, 2022, just before the invasion, the president of the United States levied fines on the corporate officers and corporations in charge of Russia's Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project. Although the disputed project, which runs from Russia to Europe, is not yet operating, it is critical to Moscow and Western Europe, which are increasingly reliant on Russian energy supplies to fulfil their growing energy demands. Prior to Biden's announcement of the fines, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had already stated that his country will discontinue approving the pipeline due to Russia's actions. Unknown circumstances caused explosions at the pipeline in late 2022.In 2024,an Ukraine Peace Conference was called out intended to create a route that, in the opinion of many participants, may lead to the termination of Russia's conflict with its smaller neighbour. Although the majority of delegates signed the brief communiqué issued following the summit, a few key countries chose not to. Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris joined leaders and diplomats from numerous other nations, including the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan, at the two-day diplomatic conference held at the Burgenstock resort in Stansstad, Switzerland. A "common vision" on "crucial aspects" was emphasized in the communiqué, and these included the following:

All nuclear facilities, including the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, are governed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and are required to maintain safety in compliance with its regulations. Concerns about the possibility of a nuclear explosion have grown as the largest power station in Europe has served as the centre of combat between Russia and Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict. It should be permissible for third nations to express interest in buying agricultural products from Ukraine. The news release states that "continuous production and supply of food products is necessary for global food security." Attacks on civilian port facilities and trade ships in the Black and Azov Seas were declared "unacceptable". Every prisoner must be swapped, and each lawfully displaced Ukrainian civilian must be returned to their homeland. "All Ukrainian civilians who were unlawfully imprisoned and deported, as well as any children who were forcibly removed from their country, must be returned to their motherland.," according to the declaration. Ukraine alleges that throughout the battle, Russian authorities kidnapped 20,000 children. The communiqué was endorsed by 82 delegates in all. At a news conference, Swiss President Viola Amherd announced that the agreement had been endorsed by the "great majority" of attendees.

The European Commission, the European Council, the European Parliament, Australia, Austria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Kosovo, Latvia, Norway, Palau, Qatar, Serbia, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom are a few countries. 

Would Invasion of Ukraine by Russia lead to the beginning of World War 3?

The prime minister of Ukraine warned the BBC that if his nation loses its conflict with Russia, there will be a "Third World War," and he pleaded with the US Congress to approve a foreign aid package that has been on the table for some time. On August 19,2024, Yuri Ushakov, an advisor to the Russian president, stated that although Moscow was not abandoning its previous peace initiatives, it was not currently prepared to engage in peace negotiations with Ukraine due to Kyiv's invasion of Russia's Kursk region. The remarks were delivered by Ushakov in a video message that the news site SHOT aired.

"At this stage, given this venture (Kursk), we will not talk," Ushakov added.

Since the said intervention was the largest foreign military intervention into Russia since World War II, Ukraine's rapid incursion started on August 6,2024 when hundreds of Ukrainian forces crossed Russia's western border, severely embarrassing the Russian military.

Conclusion

Thereby looking towards the current situation it would not be incorrect to conclude that Russia, after taking note of the military aid provided by the Western Countries to Ukraine and threat duly caused to its nuclear power point as mentioned herein above, it would likely see the current situation as Entire Western Countries against One Country and seeming less opportunities to safeguard its mother-land, Russia, might sabotage the Ukraine State by using small scale nuclear attacks which would likely lead to inclusion of various countries in a war against Russia.

Author:

Sudeep Dilip Kothvade

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj University