What are the implications of Russia’s military build-up on Ukraine’s borders?

Ukraine expert available for comment

25 January, 2022

University of Sydney expert Dr Olga Boichak says the military build-up on Ukraine’s borders threatens sovereignty of newly independent/developing countries, energy security in the region, and global nuclear non-proliferation.

Journalist note: Dr Boichak is a Ukraine citizen and former Ukraine youth delegate to the United Nations. Her full biography below.

Dr Boichak says:

“In a violation of existing international treaties, Russia currently has 100,000+ troops and military equipment stationed at the Ukrainian border, in addition to the ones stationed in the parts of Ukraine it has illegally occupied: Donetsk, Luhansk, and Crimea. Despite these facts, Russia continues to deny a planned military incursion towards Ukraine, unwilling to claim responsibility for the humanitarian crisis (14,000 dead and 2 million internally displaced) caused by their ongoing occupation of parts of the country since 2014.

“What are the implications of these escalating tensions?

“Allowing Russia to step away from its international obligations and re-invade a sovereign state sets a dangerous precedent for new independent states that aspire for democratic governance and NATO membership.

“Contrary to Russia’s expectations, in the long term these actions will likely also yield a range of positive outcomes, from the flourishing of grassroots civic initiatives in the face of crisis to diversification of Europe’s energy sources toward a more sustainable future.”

Dr Olga Boichak, Centre for International Security Studies

Expertise: Ukraine crisis

Contact: 0414 865 335 and olga.boichak@sydney.edu.au

Bio for Dr Olga Boichak

Dr Olga Boichak is a Lecturer in Digital Cultures at the University of Sydney. She is a sociologist with expertise in information warfare, particularly in the areas of information operations, civil-military relations, and the use of crowds in open-source intelligence. She is an editor of the Digital War journal and has a track record of publications on contemporary Ukraine with a focus on volunteering, transnational mobilization, and diasporic humanitarianism surrounding the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Prior to becoming an academic, she managed political campaigns in Ukraine and ran the Centre for Public Opinion Research there (2005-2015), as well as served as Ukraine’s youth delegate to the United Nations (2014).