What the Russian leadership wants from its neighbors is that they defer to Moscow on issues that the Kremlin defines as key to Russian interests. Putin does not seek to recreate the Soviet Union, as the Russian economy is not prepared to subsidize the economies of the other former Soviet states. First, the Kremlin seeks a Russian sphere of influence-or a “sphere of privileged interests,” as then-President Dmitry Medvedev called it in 2008-in the post-Soviet space, with the possible exception of the Baltic States. Russia is pursuing several goals in Europe. They have sought to undermine that order and define Russia in opposition to the United States and the West. They appear to have concluded that the European security order that developed in the aftermath of the Cold War disadvantages Russian interests. In recent years, however, it has become clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin leadership have chosen a different course. In the 1990s and early 2000s, many analysts assumed that Russia wanted to work in a cooperative manner with the United States and Europe and, if not integrate into, develop cooperative relationships with key European and trans-Atlantic institutions such as the European Union and NATO. It would be a mistake to let the Kremlin conclude that the kind of tactics it has employed against Ukraine could be applied elsewhere against another member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). It is important for European security that the United States and the West support Ukraine and stand up to Russia. The Kremlin appears to see value in maintaining a simmering conflict as a means to put pressure on and destabilize the government in Kyiv, in order to make it harder for Ukraine to get on with needed domestic reforms and implement its association agreement with the European Union. There is little evidence to suggest that Russia and the separatist forces under its control want to end the conflict. Unfortunately, and despite the efforts of the leaders of Germany and France, the conflict in Donbas shows no sign of settlement. Russian involvement in the Donbas has included the provision of leadership, financing, ammunition, heavy weapons, supplies and, in some cases, regular units of the Russian army to support armed separatism against the Ukrainian government, also in violation of Russia’s Final Act commitments. Russia military and security service personnel have been deeply engaged in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine since April 2014, where fighting has claimed some 10,000 lives.

Russia’s actions in Crimea have violated all of those commitments. The principles also include the principle that borders can be changed only by peaceful means and agreement. Those principles include the commitment of participating states to respect each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence, and to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or independence of any state. The Russian seizure of Crimea in March 2014, followed by its illegal annexation, violated fundamental principles of the Final Act. From the perspective of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine has been the most shocking development in Europe since the end of the Cold War and collapse of the Soviet Union.

Moscow victory day parade 2017