MILITARY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The paper analyzes the military strategic objectives of the Russian Federation during the three years of military operations in Ukraine.
Although most analysts tend to see the Russian Federation as dangerous because it has been imperial, thus irrational in a Nation’s Age, the author of the article tends to see it having been engaging its military forces in operations meant to bring about only achievable military strategic objectives.
Should we compare the pictures – Russian Federation being irrational or rational – we believe that the latter is the more dangerous. One the one hand, while irrationality could cause grave threats to the other actors, it tends to cause the more serious danger to the irrational actor itself, danger provoked be all of the irrational costs. On the other hand, a rational approach will cause painful, unwanted, unplanned costs for the other actors, while bringing mostly strategic
advantages to the Russian Federation.