Abstract The tepid relationship between Ukraine and the Russian Federation broadly represents only a fraction of geopolitical tensions between Western nations and Russia, particularly the United States and the European Union, following the demise of the Soviet Union. Russia’s loss of Warsaw Pact allies, especially Ukraine- a critical buffer country- created an ideological space and raised questions about its security, civilization, and identity. Ukraine’s strategic location acts as a buzzword to Russian ideological identity and economic resurgence, particularly in energy transit. The competing interests of the West and Russia over Ukraine snowballed into a crisis, culminating in the invasion of Ukraine. Opinions remain sharply divided in the literature on the root causes of the conflict. This paper interrogates the intersection of Russia’s securitisation of its ideological identity in Ukraine, which is essential concerning Western influence, encroachment and its implications for the conflict. Utilising the structural realism as a theoretical framework, the paper adopted secondary method of data collection and, content analysis. The study highlighted the primacy of Russia’s authoritarian ideology, like a religion its erosion is crossing the red line which European Union/NATO liberal values will bring to bear on Ukraine membership of the blocs. More importantly, the ideological securitisation stratagem was to protect its geopolitical interests and control over gas transit routes, which is fundamental to its economic resurgence. Therefore, the paper recommends dialogue platforms between Russia and NATO/EU to address Ukraine’s status and promote its economic development, while allowing Ukraine to maintain balanced relations with Russia and Western nations.
Dim et al. (Thu,) studied this question.