This thesis is a deep analysis of Russia’s aggression against and full-scale invasion of Ukraine, commonly referred to as the Russo-Ukrainian War. This is the largest conflict in Europe since WWII with devastating implications for Europe and the world. First it examines the root causes and political ideologies at play to understand why Vladimir Putin decided to launch his invasion in the first place. Then it puts together a chronological history of the war broken up into the post-Euromaidan period including the Russian annexation of Crimea and war in the Donbas (2014-22), and Russia’s full-scale invasion (2022-present). Next it reviews the horrific war crimes and violations of international law committed against Ukraine, a significant part of Russia’s toolkit. Afterwards it focuses on international support for both Ukraine and Russia, detailing the military and financial support delivered by Western allies, NATO, and the EU for Ukraine as well as the assistance provided by the other members of CRINK to Russia. My analysis relies on a combination of books, journal articles, news outlets, official websites of IGOs, and an interview as my main forms of methodology.
This war provides lessons for how a smaller democracy (State A) can maintain its sovereignty and independence from a more-powerful authoritarian neighbor (State B) who has a prior history of exerting its influence on State A. This is accomplished by unwavering leadership, strong national unity which in turn boosts national morale, robust militaristic and diplomatic international support which levels the power imbalance, and an independent domestic defense industry to enhance defensive capabilities.
As Russia continues its war of aggression and American leadership on the world stage is tested, autocratic countries are increasingly working together to subvert the West and the liberal international order. The world is watching this conflict closely as its implications will affect countries in similar situations to Ukraine, such as Taiwan.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis is a deep analysis of Russia’s aggression against and full-scale invasion of Ukraine, commonly referred to as the Russo-Ukrainian War. This is the largest conflict in Europe since WWII with devastating implications for Europe and the world. First it examines the root causes and political ideologies at play to understand why Vladimir Putin decided to launch his invasion in the first place. Then it puts together a chronological history of the war broken up into the post-Euromaidan period including the Russian annexation of Crimea and war in the Donbas (2014-22), and Russia’s full-scale invasion (2022-present). Next it reviews the horrific war crimes and violations of international law committed against Ukraine, a significant part of Russia’s toolkit. Afterwards it focuses on international support for both Ukraine and Russia, detailing the military and financial support delivered by Western allies, NATO, and the EU for Ukraine as well as the assistance provided by the other members of CRINK to Russia. My analysis relies on a combination of books, journal articles, news outlets, official websites of IGOs, and an interview as my main forms of methodology.</p> <p>This war provides lessons for how a smaller democracy (State A) can maintain its sovereignty and independence from a more-powerful authoritarian neighbor (State B) who has a prior history of exerting its influence on State A. This is accomplished by unwavering leadership, strong national unity which in turn boosts national morale, robust militaristic and diplomatic international support which levels the power imbalance, and an independent domestic defense industry to enhance defensive capabilities.</p> <p>As Russia continues its war of aggression and American leadership on the world stage is tested, autocratic countries are increasingly working together to subvert the West and the liberal international order. The world is watching this conflict closely as its implications will affect countries in similar situations to Ukraine, such as Taiwan.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Braslavsky, Daniel"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of International Affairs (M.I.A.)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"International Relations","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Jean Krasno","Mario Baez"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:58:07Z","subjects":["Russo-Ukrainian War","Ukraine","Russia","Zelensky","Putin","war crimes","Donbas","Crimea","Defense and Security Studies","Eastern European Studies","Global Studies","International Humanitarian Law","International Relations","Peace and Conflict Studies","Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/1236","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Jean Krasno","Mario Baez"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Braslavsky, Daniel"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-09-28T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["International Relations"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of International Affairs (M.I.A.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Russo-Ukrainian War","Ukraine","Russia","Zelensky","Putin","war crimes","Donbas","Crimea","Defense and Security Studies","Eastern European Studies","Global Studies","International Humanitarian Law","International Relations","Peace and Conflict Studies","Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/1236"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis is a deep analysis of Russia’s aggression against and full-scale invasion of Ukraine, commonly referred to as the Russo-Ukrainian War. This is the largest conflict in Europe since WWII with devastating implications for Europe and the world. First it examines the root causes and political ideologies at play to understand why Vladimir Putin decided to launch his invasion in the first place. Then it puts together a chronological history of the war broken up into the post-Euromaidan period including the Russian annexation of Crimea and war in the Donbas (2014-22), and Russia’s full-scale invasion (2022-present). Next it reviews the horrific war crimes and violations of international law committed against Ukraine, a significant part of Russia’s toolkit. Afterwards it focuses on international support for both Ukraine and Russia, detailing the military and financial support delivered by Western allies, NATO, and the EU for Ukraine as well as the assistance provided by the other members of CRINK to Russia. My analysis relies on a combination of books, journal articles, news outlets, official websites of IGOs, and an interview as my main forms of methodology.
This war provides lessons for how a smaller democracy (State A) can maintain its sovereignty and independence from a more-powerful authoritarian neighbor (State B) who has a prior history of exerting its influence on State A. This is accomplished by unwavering leadership, strong national unity which in turn boosts national morale, robust militaristic and diplomatic international support which levels the power imbalance, and an independent domestic defense industry to enhance defensive capabilities.
As Russia continues its war of aggression and American leadership on the world stage is tested, autocratic countries are increasingly working together to subvert the West and the liberal international order. The world is watching this conflict closely as its implications will affect countries in similar situations to Ukraine, such as Taiwan.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["An Analysis of the Russo-Ukrainian War"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Jean Krasno","Mario Baez"],"dc:creator":["Braslavsky, Daniel"],"dc:date.available":["2025-09-28T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis is a deep analysis of Russia’s aggression against and full-scale invasion of Ukraine, commonly referred to as the Russo-Ukrainian War. This is the largest conflict in Europe since WWII with devastating implications for Europe and the world. First it examines the root causes and political ideologies at play to understand why Vladimir Putin decided to launch his invasion in the first place. Then it puts together a chronological history of the war broken up into the post-Euromaidan period including the Russian annexation of Crimea and war in the Donbas (2014-22), and Russia’s full-scale invasion (2022-present). Next it reviews the horrific war crimes and violations of international law committed against Ukraine, a significant part of Russia’s toolkit. Afterwards it focuses on international support for both Ukraine and Russia, detailing the military and financial support delivered by Western allies, NATO, and the EU for Ukraine as well as the assistance provided by the other members of CRINK to Russia. My analysis relies on a combination of books, journal articles, news outlets, official websites of IGOs, and an interview as my main forms of methodology.
This war provides lessons for how a smaller democracy (State A) can maintain its sovereignty and independence from a more-powerful authoritarian neighbor (State B) who has a prior history of exerting its influence on State A. This is accomplished by unwavering leadership, strong national unity which in turn boosts national morale, robust militaristic and diplomatic international support which levels the power imbalance, and an independent domestic defense industry to enhance defensive capabilities.
As Russia continues its war of aggression and American leadership on the world stage is tested, autocratic countries are increasingly working together to subvert the West and the liberal international order. The world is watching this conflict closely as its implications will affect countries in similar situations to Ukraine, such as Taiwan.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/1236"],"dc:subject":["Russo-Ukrainian War","Ukraine","Russia","Zelensky","Putin","war crimes","Donbas","Crimea","Defense and Security Studies","Eastern European Studies","Global Studies","International Humanitarian Law","International Relations","Peace and Conflict Studies","Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies"],"dc:title":["An Analysis of the Russo-Ukrainian War"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["International Relations"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of International Affairs (M.I.A.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:58:07Z"}