By JONATHAN PARK – March 3, 2022
Gregory Treverton’s views on the invention of Ukraine.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began Feb. 24, is the latest extension of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. At the time of publication, 874,000 Ukrainians have since fled the country and 361,000 Ukrainian military personnel, outnumbered three to one by the Russian military, continue to fight back. In Ukraine, hundreds are dead or injured as Russian missiles level major cities; in Russia, Western sanctions incited panic as Russia’s currency, the ruble, lost almost half of its value overnight.
The Daily Trojan spoke with USC international relations and cybersecurity experts, discussing the war and its impact on Ukraine, Russia and the world at large.
Gregory Treverton, who served as chair of the National Intelligence Council under the second Obama administration, identified Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea as one of the “immediate antecedents” to the current invasion.
“The Crimea operation was fairly simple,” said Treverton, a professor of practice of international relations and spatial sciences. “Crimea had long been a part of Russia, given to [Ukraine] by [Nikita] Khrushchev … I’m told by international lawyers that if Russia had gone to the international courts, they probably could have legitimized their claim to Crimea.”
Treverton also said the “stable, continuing violence” in Luhansk and Donetsk since 2015 as part of the “backdrop” of the conflict. Both are disputed territories currently controlled by Moscow-backed separatists whom the Ukrainian government considers terrorists. Putin recognized their independence in a Feb. 21 referendum, three days before invading Ukraine.
