RUSSIA UKRAINE WAR AND THE SEARCH FOR GLOBAL PEACE AND SECURITY

The study examined the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on global peace and security. The Russia-Ukraine war, which began in February 2022, significantly affected global peace, security, and international relations. This conflict not only posed a direct threat to regional stability in Eastern Europe but also had far-reaching implications for global geopolitics, economic stability, and the principles of international law. The war disrupted energy supplies, escalated global food insecurity due to blocked grain exports, and led to significant refugee flows, creating humanitarian crises across Europe. Additionally, the conflict strained relations between major world powers, rekindled Cold War-era tensions, and challenged existing global security frameworks such as NATO and the United Nations. To achieve the study's objectives, the researcher employed a descriptive and qualitative research design, drawing exclusively on secondary data sourced from academic databases through a systematic search strategy. The data were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The study uncovered the multidimensional nature of the war, revealing a complex interplay of historical, geopolitical, economic, and cultural factors. Findings showed that Ukraine’s Western orientation, Russia’s regional ambitions, and the symbolic and strategic value of contested territories like Crimea and Donbas were central to the conflict.The war triggered global economic disruptions, energy crises, humanitarian displacement, and environmental degradation. It also highlighted ideological rifts reminiscent of Cold War dynamics and exposed systemic weaknesses in global governance frameworks. The study concluded that the Russia-Ukraine war transcended bilateral disputes, reflecting broader structural tensions in the international order. It recommended preventive diplomacy, diversification of global supply chains, integration of environmental considerations into peacebuilding, and institutional reforms to strengthen international conflict resolution mechanisms.