The action was fast and was well planned: five years Ago, soldiers appeared in uniforms without insignia in Crimea. They occupied strategically important places, and brought the Ukrainian Peninsula rapidly under their control. The Kremlin denied that there were Russian soldiers. First, when it was all over, Vladimir Putin, that it had been his troops.
In Germany was underestimated Russia’s actions at the time, massively. After the Emergence of the “green people” and said politicians and experts, Putin will not Annex the Ukrainian Peninsula. After all, why should he do that? The answer to this question is as simple as it is brutal: because he could.
The end of the time of the transformation
The events that took place in February and March 2014 in the Crimea, do not select only for Ukraine, a deep incision, but for the whole of Europe. With the annexation of Crimea, the post-reunification era, which began in 1989, so hope was over, finally. For the first time since the end of the Second world war, a state had increases in Europe to be the territory, to the detriment of the neighbors and against his will.
The Germans had become accustomed to the idea that security challenges were far away from them as far away as the Hindu Kush. However, after the annexation of Crimea and Moscow’s Intervention in Eastern Ukraine, the hope was destroyed, for the time being, that Russia would have developed to the Partner and to be expected from the Kremlin, no Aggression.
Targeted disinformation
Yet while the protesters on the Maidan in Kiev against security forces put up a fight, began in Germany, a struggle for the sovereignty of interpretation of the events. As Putin’s soldiers not to recognize the Crimea as the Russians took place, the battle for public opinion in Secret: targeted disinformation and “Fake News” as well as with campaigns in Social media. All of this has us up to today. Time to sow seeds of doubt and the truth only as one possible variant among many, times those who criticize Moscow’s role will be attacked personally. Actors from the right-most and left-most edge of the political spectrum put themselves on the side of the Kremlin – this is not a coincidence.
Destructive influences from the outside and the inside
politics, media, and society in Germany were not prepared for such a massive influence. Other States are also under appreciated in the following years, the vulnerability of liberal democracies to destructive influences from the outside and from the inside can be. Before the Brexit vote, hardly anyone had believed that Europe could win opponent. And as Donald Trump for the office of US President was a candidate, were those who laughed at the thought a victory was possible.
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Ukraine and Russia, How dangerous can it be?
Claudia of salts Anna Sauerbrey, Frank Herold
What are the Lessons from the events of 2014 are now? In the German Public of Ukraine-the war is forgotten, though he continues to this day and every week, people die. Germany should intensify efforts to find a solution to the Russian responsibility for the war, to more clearly designate. At the same time to finally start a public debate about how the German company can be more resistant to covert influence from the outside.
