STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCE OF COUNTRIES PART OF THE FORMER SOVIET BLOCK

Abstract

The war in Ukraine, which is characterized by Russia as an existential battle against the West, which in turn wants to weaken, destroy and defeat Russia, and indirectly economically undermine China, is treated as the first European war after the Second World War, after the Cuban Missile A 1962 crisis aimed at toppling the communist government of Fidel Castro, the war in Ukraine has left tens of thousands of soldiers dead on both sides and sparked the biggest confrontation between Moscow and Washington. Otherwise, all other wars from the 1990s onwards that took place on the territory of the former Yugoslav republics are considered local wars. The war in Ukraine seems likely to have even greater implications in Europe, especially in Eastern European countries that were part of the Warsaw Pact. Automatically, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, they gained independence, which led to the creation of new states in the European space. The chainsaw situation of the creation of new states also happened with the disintegration of the former Yugoslav state into six independent states. A large part of these countries joined the Euro-Atlantic processes in stages from 2004 onwards, with a large part of them becoming members of the NATO pact. Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine is gaining momentum by the day and there are fears that it could escalate further into the neighborhood, especially since Putin has changed the strategy and objectives of the "special operation" in Ukraine and called for the use of tactical nuclear weapons in the attempt to oppose NATO. In this paper, we will address the military, political and security significance of Moldavia, Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania, the Visegrad Group and the connection with current events in Ukraine.