THE STRUGGLE OF GREAT AND REGIONAL POWERS IN THE WAR OF UKRAINE: RUSSIA'S PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

This study investigates the Ukraine-Russia War, which started in February 2022, from the perspective of Russia. In the study, why Russia declared war on Ukraine, Russia's policies, official documents and official discourses were examined. Despite the end of the Cold War, enlargement of NATO, which is a military structure, and the Eastern European enlargement of the EU as an economic-political structure has been closely followed in Russia since the Yeltsin period. In the Putin period, it was reflected in the official documents that this was a threat. At this point, it was deduced that this war emerged not only with the influence of Russia's but also the West's policies. Ukraine-Russia War had global effects, for this reason, it has been inferred that Ukraine has become a battleground of major and regional powers. Another finding of the research is that Ukraine is subject to a war that is a reflection of a struggle between great powers. As a result of the research, it was concluded that Russia declared war on Ukraine due to a threat perception coming from the West, especially with the expansion of NATO, its struggle with the USA, and its efforts to preserve its influence in the former Soviet region.