Pro Caster

The question often asked is what Vladimir Putin wants to accomplish in Ukraine by his extreme calculated steps? The answer before the invasion seemed comparatively easy. First, he wanted Ukraine to become a friendly state within Russia’s sphere of influence and not seek membership of NATO. He would have then liked the West, particularly the United States, to acknowledge Russia’s special status and acknowledge the change in Crimea’s status, which would have led to lifting of economic sanctions. While achieving these aims he also wanted to restore Russia’s place amongst the power elite. However, as this was not possible; he set about recognising the areas of Donetsk and Luhansk and sending in his troops as peacekeepers. This area, known as the Donbas region, has been in control of separatists since 2014 and apart from being Russian speaking, the currency in place was the rouble, the school curriculum was the Russian system, and government salaries were paid by Russia. One of the causes f...

  The Russia-Ukraine war doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon. Four rounds of talks have failed. Allegations and counter-allegations of war crimes have been cast by each other, including use of chemical weapons and human rights violations. CBRN (Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) expert Colonel Ram Athavale talks to  Firstpost  on the probabilities and use of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons in this war. Excerpts:   Ukraine has alleged that Russia has used chemical weapons in Mariupol. How can it be verified? Russia, or any country signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention, is duty bound  not  to produce, store or use chemical weapons. As of today, there are no indications or proofs that chemical weapons (CW) have been used in Mariupol or any other place in Ukraine. In any incident where CW are used, the victims shall show specific symptoms based on the type of CW used. Till now, no such casualties have been seen or reported anywhe...