Diplomacy of force and special military operation of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine: general and special

Abstract

Russia's conduct of a special military operation in Ukraine has brought back to the agenda a long-known discussion among experts in the fi eld of foreign policy and diplomacy about the role of force in international relations. Claims about the possibility of using force in our time arose as a result of the appearance of nuclear weapons. Today, US politicians continue to assert that war will remain an acceptable instrument of national policy of states at the level of international subsystems, that is, in various regions. In their opinion, the power of a major power is capable of exerting an effective psychological influence on how often such conflicts will arise and what their outcome will be. At one time, Russia clearly outlined the "red line" in connection with attempts to integrate Ukraine into NATO and repeatedly and unequivocally warned that it would take active actions in response to this, i. e. use "hard force". In response to this, the United States and NATO have been fueling anti-Russian sentiments in Ukraine for a long time, considering it as a tool to deter Moscow and turning it into antiRussia. One of the components of this policy was the reckless expansion of NATO to the east, despite the obligations of non-expansion of the alliance. All this forced Russia to announce the conduct of a special military operation in Ukraine, the purpose of which is the de–Nazification and demilitarization of the neighboring state.