Australian International School Model United Nations
Forum:
The Security Council
Issue:
The Situation in Ukraine
Student Officer: Michael Leung
Position:
Chair of the Security Council
Introduction
Late November 2013 marked the beginning of numerous demonstrations by Ukrainian
civilians, who voiced opposition against former President Yanukovych’s abandonment of an
agreement promising closer ties with the European Union. Since then, escalated tensions have
fuelled violent clashes between Ukrainian protestors and the police, and the Autonomous Republic
of Crimea is under dispute. The current situation in Ukraine is extremely volatile, and it is crucial that
the humanitarian crisis and the political strife present are addressed.
Definition of Key Terms
Crimea
The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is located south of the Ukrainian mainland and west of
Russia. Its territorial rights are currently in dispute between Russia and Ukraine.
Agreement on the Settlement of Crisis in Ukraine
A document signed by former Ukrainian President Yanukovych and Opposition leaders
agreeing to “refrain from the use of violence” following months of demonstrations which have turned
violent, and to “withdraw from administrative and public buildings for the normalisation of life in the
cities and villages”.
Crimean Status Referendum
The referendum regarding Crimea’s secession from Ukraine and joining the Russian
Federation, which was voted in favour of from 97% of voters on March 16, 2014. Following the
announcement of the referendum results, Russia recognised Crimea as a sovereign state. The
referendum is not formally recognised by the United Nations.
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General Overview
History and causes of the conflict
Demonstrations were
held
right
after
President
Ukrainian
Yanukovych
announced
his
abandonment
cabinet’s
of
a
trade
agreement with the European
Union (EU) which was under
negotiation in favour of closer
ties
with
Russia.
Violent
Caption #1: A map of Ukraine, Crimea and its main cities
clashes between protestors
and police broke out, resulting in the deaths and arrests of many. An agreement was reached
between the demonstrators and the government in mid-February, where both parties agreed to
cease all violent activity. Following the escalated conflicts sparked from demonstrations in Kiev and
all over Ukraine, unidentified gunmen began to seize control of key government buildings in Crimea;
provoking the Russian parliament to authorise President Putin’s requests to deploy Russian troops
into Crimea to “protect Russian civilians”. Numerous sources have claimed the Russian military to
have advanced even further into Crimea; however this has not been validated yet.
Stakeholders
Ukraine
Paramilitary
activity has increased
profusely in the Eastern
regions
of
Ukraine,
which has forced the
Ukrainian government to
deploy troops to such
regions
and
to
the
border of Crimea as
preventive
against
measures
the
militants.
Caption #2: 2010 Ukraine presidential elections vote distribution
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Ukraine has sought the backing of other parties such as NATO the United States for further
military support. There is a general divide in the views of Ukrainians on the issue, which
could be seen in the 2010 presidential vote distributions throughout the country (see above);
with Yanukovych supporters considered to be aligned with Russia’s views, and Tymoshenko
voters considered to be pro-EU. Yanukovych won the election with the majority of his
support from those in the Eastern regions, with most regions in the West favouring
Tymoshenko. This is a possible explanation for the increased occurrence of pro-Russian
demonstrations in Eastern Ukraine, however this has not been validated. Many pro-Russian
rallies in several Ukrainian cities outside Crimea have been held; such as in Kharkiv, where
numerous people were injured from clashes between pro- and anti-Russian protestors
during their demonstrations.
Russia
Russia
intense
has
pressure
Ukrainian
concerning
placed
on
the
government
the
territorial
rights of Crimea, to cut off the
supply of gas and oil to the
country. This has negative
impacts for other European
countries such as France and
Italy, who share the same gas
pipelines
from
Russia
as
Caption #3: A map of Russia’s main gas pipelines to Europe which run
Ukraine (as seen in the map
through Ukraine
to the left). Russia has also
frozen a $15 billion package promised to Ukraine for rejecting the trade agreement with the
EU. Russia has existing military relationships with Crimea, and stations its Black Sea fleet in
Sevastopol – a city off the South coast of Crimea. The results of the Crimean status
referendum have also been openly accepted by Russia.
The international community
The international community is actively aware of the current situation in Ukraine and
urged for democratic and non-violent ways of reaching an agreement. Some members of the
international community have also imposed sanctions on certain individuals and government
ministers; and some others have halted economic talks with Russia and/or Ukraine
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temporarily due to the conflict. The EU is currently negotiating a free trade agreement with
Ukraine to show their support for Ukraine in the crisis. EU leaders have also made attempts
to reduce their energy dependence on Russia, after threats were made by them to cut off
gas to Ukraine, effectively cutting off supply to the rest of the EU as well. Other organisations
such as NATO have also shown major interest in putting an end to the conflict. The
international community has been hindered by the fact that in the Security Council, no
resolutions on the issue have been passed to this day, one due to a vote against by Russia.
The international community has expressed deep concern over the exacerbated tensions
between Russia, Ukraine and other involved nations; which could lead to detrimental
consequences in the future if no measures are taken to prevent the possibility of armed
conflict.
Timeline of Events
Date
Description of event
November 21, 2013
President Yanukovych cancels a trade agreement with the EU
November 24, 2013
December 17, 2013
February 21, 2014
February 22, 2014
March 1, 2014
March 15, 2014
March 16, 2014
An estimated 100,000 people attend a demonstration in Kiev, police fire tear
gas at crowd and arrest 35
Russian President Vladimir Putin agrees to buy $15 billion of Ukrainian debt
and reduce the prices of gas supplies to Ukraine by about 30%
President Yanukovych and opposition leaders sign an Agreement on the
Settlement of Crisis in Ukraine
President Yanukovych flees Kiev for Kharkiv and protestors take control of
major government buildings
Russian parliament approves troop deployment into Crimea
Russia vetoes a US-drafted resolution which challenged the validity of the
Crimean status referendum
Crimean Status Referendum held, 97% of voters voted in favour of
secession from Ukraine
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UN Involvement, Relevant Resolutions, Treaties and Events
A draft resolution was presented to the Security Council that declared the Crimean status
referendum on its secession from Ukraine illegal; which was vetoed by Russia. In further response,
the UN General Assembly passed a non-binding resolution which does not recognise “any alteration
of the status of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea” by vote of 100 in favour, 11 against and 58
abstentions.
Bibliography
BBC. (2014). Timeline of Ukraine Crisis. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middleeast-26248275
BBC. (2014). Huge Ukraine Rally Over EU Agreement Delay. Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-25078952
CNN. (2014). A Divided Ukraine. Retrieved from
http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2014/02/world/ukraine-divided/
Evans-Pritchard, A. (2014). Europe Braces for Gas Showdown with Russia, Helped by Japan’s
Nuclear Restart. Retrieved from
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/10781229/Europe-braces-forgas-showdown-with-Russia-helped-by-Japans-nuclear-restart.html
Tisdall, S. (2014). Ukraine Shows Restraint Even as Fightback against Russia Begins. Retrieved
from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/08/ukraine-restraint-fightback-russia-moscow-kiev
United Nations. (2014). Backing Ukraine’s Territorial Integrity, UN Assembly Declared Crimea
Referendum Invalid. Retrieved from
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=47443&Cr=ukraine&Cr1=#.U1ZPXPmSyT0
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