One Year of the Ukrainian War… Liberalism vs. Authoritarianism

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Ukraine’s predominance in the fight for cause, Western leaders visit one after another
Aiming at least 920 trillion won for reconstruction projects
NATO chief presses “Korea to provide weapons too”

In the year since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the international community has been divided into the ‘liberal camp’ of Ukraine and the West versus the ‘authoritarian camp’ of Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, Syria and Belarus. Except for the two warring countries, no country has dispatched ground troops, but all of them are fighting a bloody battle that is as good as participating in the war. This is why the Washington Post (WP) and the US political media The Hill diagnosed that each country is fighting a fierce proxy war on the side of Ukraine and Russia, respectively.

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Until now, in the battle between the two camps for ‘justice’ and ‘money’, the opinion that the free camp is ahead is dominant. Immediately after the invasion, Russia massacred civilians and sent prisoners serving time for murder into the war. This created anti-Russian public opinion everywhere. In Central Asia and the countries near the Caspian Sea, which were regarded as Russia’s backyard, the wind of ‘post-Russia’ is strong.

Western leaders such as the UK, France and Germany visiting Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, where shells are pouring in one after another, and pouring astronomical money into it are also interpreted as an attempt to imprint the image of the leader of the free world in a situation where they have the upper hand in the fight for cause. In particular, the purpose of using this situation as a showcase for the latest domestic weapons and taking part in the Ukraine reconstruction project, which is counted at least 750 billion dollars (approximately 920 trillion won) according to Reuters, can not be overlooked.

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● ‘Justice and Money’ VS ‘Anti-American Solidarity’

According to the German ‘Kiel Institute’, as of November 2022, 46 countries in the free camp provided at least 108.8 billion euros (approximately 146.88 trillion won) in military, economic and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Heads of state also visited Ukraine one after another. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed his support for the visit three times while in office and a total of four times in his personal capacity in January this year. Current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also visited Ukraine in November last year, less than three weeks after taking office. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited on the same day in June last year. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also came four times.

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin walked around Kiiu, a civilian massacre site, in May last year wearing a bulletproof vest. Two months later, Magdalena Andersson, then Prime Minister of Sweden, came to Kiu. The fact that the two countries, which remained neutral between the West and Russia, decided to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and came to Ukraine shows the winner in the fight for cause. The leaders of the three Baltic countries, Canada, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and the three Eastern European countries, Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovenia, also visited Kieu.

After the invasion, Russia received weapons from North Korea and Iran, but it is evaluated that it was not at the level of changing the game of war. In particular, even Belarus, which has been a supporter of Russia ever since the invasion, has not participated in the war yet. Last month, the Canadian media ‘National Post’ reported that anti-Russian public opinion was significant in Georgia, which also belonged to the Soviet Union. At a restaurant in Tbilisi, the capital, a sign that read, “When Putin dies, borscht soup (a soup enjoyed by Eastern Europeans) is free.”

However, not only China and Iran, but also Venezuela and Brazil, the largest economy in Latin America, oppose Western sanctions against Russia. The movement of the authoritarian bloc and the Third World against the US-led world order is highly likely to continue in one way or another. The actions of Iranian President Ebrahim Raishi, who visited China on the 14th and 16th to meet with President Xi Jinping, also show the solidarity of anti-American solidarity.

There is also an analysis that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had the effect of lowering the ‘threshold of invasion’ to authoritarian camps such as China and North Korea. Jeon Jae-seong, a professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Seoul National University, said in a thesis published last month that “Taiwan is attracting attention as Asia’s Ukraine, and concerns about the possibility of China militarily annexing Taiwan (because of the war with Ukraine) have grown.”

● Korea deepens arms support

As the West, which provided defense weapons to Ukraine at the beginning of the invasion, has recently increased support for offensive weapons such as tanks and missiles, South Korea, which only provided munitions, is also struggling with arms support. The concerns of President Seok-yeol Yoon, who visits Washington for the first time after taking office in April and holds talks with US President Joe Biden, are also expected to deepen.

According to the Dong-A Ilbo on the 12th, the government reviewed the expected effects and aftermath of last year’s arms aid, and it is known that support was withheld due to concerns that it could provoke North Korea and Russia. However, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who visited Korea on the 30th of last month, said, “Some NATO members, including Germany and Sweden, have changed their policy of not exporting weapons to belligerent countries.” .

(This part can be omitted if it overflows) Considering this, there is a possibility that President Yoon will announce his intention to provide weapons during his visit to the United States at the request of the United States. However, there are also quite a few objections that Russia’s fierce opposition is inevitable, so it should be cautious.

Source: Donga

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