Hi everyone,
Hope you’re doing well. I will be discussing the Russian-Ukrainian relations today regarding the Sputnik V vaccine, the Russian-made vaccine. Last week’s blog post provided the context of Russian-Ukrainian relations after the collapse of the Soviet Union up until the Crimean war. Because their relations are fraught with tension in the present, I thought it was a good idea to slow down and look past to the past, to see why there are trust issues even after Ukraine gained independence after the USSR. Last week’s blog post helps answer the “why?”- why are there trust issues between Ukraine and Russia?
If Ukraine is geopolitically aligned with the West and the EU (and technically still at war with Russia), it would make sense why they are refusing to import Sputnik V, the Russian-made COVID-19 vaccine. Unfortunately, Trump announced an export ban, which leaves Ukraine with less options which means that they are facing pressure to reconsider, especially as COVID-19 created a “disastrous situation for a country being battered by the novel coronavirus” [and] is reliant on a dysfunctional health system that has been beset by corruption for three decades.“
“Of course, it is impossible to explain to Ukrainian society why, when America and Europe are not giving you vaccines, you shouldn’t take vaccines from Russia”
President Zelensky
Ultimately, Ukrainian President Zelensky asserted that the reason wasn’t entirely political and that it was because Sputnik V was not 100% effective. Now, fortunately for the world (and unfortunately for the Russophobes), the Russian Sputnik V vaccine was proven to be safe and effective with a 91.6% efficacy rate. You can read more about it here from the CBC, or here from the New York Times. With results published in The Lancet (the world’s most renowned medical journal), the Russian vaccine lived up to its name-sake’s success; Russia became the first country to develop an effective vaccine just like it became the first country to launch a satellite (‘Sputnik’) to space.
However, Lithuania’s Prime Minister is skeptical: “They say, Sputnik V is good but Putin doesn’t care to use it as a cure for the Russian people — he offers it to the world as another hybrid weapon to divide and rule.” Ukraine’s government would agree too, though they are in a more desperate situation as the poorest country in Europe with close to 1.3 million cases and 25,000 deaths. As Russia’s neighbour, I wondered if they would reconsider and adjust their policy with Russia to prevent more COVID-related deaths in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s stance remains the same: they are not cooperating with the aggressor. According to Ukraine’s health minister:
“I’d like to remind everybody who might have forgotten this, there has been a war [with Russia] for almost seven years already…”
Maxym Stephanov
I think they are being consistent and firm, that they will not cooperate with Russia. I respect that. Remember in the last blog post, when I wrote how Russia stopped oil and gas exports three times to Ukraine when they didn’t do exactly what Russia wanted? It seems almost like an abusive relationship when Ukraine wanted to leave Russia’s arms for the EU. Cooperation takes two sides, and doesn’t involve coercion and force. What makes me worried is how the vaccine is already being used as a hybrid weapon; the vaccine is being rolled out in Eastern Ukraine where the fighting is between Ukraine and the Russian-backed Ukrainian nationalists. What would I have done if I were an ordinary Ukrainian living in Eastern Ukraine, and the Russian-backed rebels said “join us, and you will get the vaccine?”
I also enjoyed this interview, with Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna, which you can read here. It’s so different than Western politicians and how they beat around the bush sometimes. The eastern European way of communication (compared to the West) is more blunt, less concerned with niceties, and more open to conflict and differing opinions. She states that Sputnik V is a hybrid weapon, and describes how exactly:
“the Russian vaccine has become another instrument of propaganda and a hybrid threat, integrated into the propaganda narrative that Russia stands beside you, while Europe has left you alone. “
Olha Stefanishyna
I have a hard time forming an opinion on this topic. If I were Ukraine, would I cooperate with Russia? For Russia, trade and policy are intertwined. Business wouldn’t just be business, and Russia has shown Ukraine throughout the years that it couldn’t be trusted. If natural resources were a commodity used to wield control over Ukraine, why wouldn’t the Sputnik V vaccine be any different? Also, Ukraine is technically still at war with Russia. However, with thousands already dead, their geopolitical alliance with the West and EU is not helping them during this crisis. To prevent more deaths, would a political reorientation towards Russia be worthwhile for consideration?
Thanks for reading,
Guest
