Topic: Ukraine
Country: South Korea
Delegate Name: Kevin Portinga
School: Grand Rapids City High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All South Korea position papers GLIMUN 2018 committees
Since 2014, the nation of Ukraine has been engaged in a bloody civil war in the region of Donbass. One of the easternmost provinces of the Ukraine, Donbass holds one of the highest percentages of non-ethnic Ukrainian populations in the Ukraine, and has faced civil strife and feelings of isolation from the rest of the country for many years, even before the outbreak of hostilities. Tensions have run high between powers in the region over the conflict. Ukrainian government officials such as Valentyn Nalyvaichenko have accused the Russian Federation of directly invading the Ukraine, while Russian President Vladimir Putin has countered that only certain military specialists are deployed in Donbass, and only for defensive purposes. It should be clear to both sides that a military solution to the conflict is not at all feasible. Ukraine has been unwilling to mount a full-scale offensive against the separatists in Donbass, and the separatists lack the ability to advance against the government of Ukraine. Despite this, no ceasefire has been able to hold for more than six weeks, with each one being violated by one side of the conflict after a short period of time. According to Ertugrul Apakan, this comes largely from lack of political will on both sides to create a permanent state of peace. Any resolution passed by this assembly that does not begin to foster mutual trust in peace between all parties involved is not worth passing. Resolutions that do nothing but attack one side of the conflict or condemn one group for causing the war are simply not worth passing. The delegation of the Republic of Korea calls upon all delegations in the Disarmament and International Security Committee to work in unison in order to find a long-term solution.
