The conflict between Ukraine and Russia has been going on for more than 7 years. Two weeks ago, due to rising concerns, Putin denied any whispers of a plan to invade Ukraine, saying the troops around the border are strictly defensive. Over the years, Ukraine has denied Russian supremacy over them and does not believe Russians and Ukrainians are “one people”. As Ukraine joined the U.S. as a NATO partner country in 1994, Putin became more enraged at their collaboration. Now, with Russian military troops at the Ukrainian border, President Biden voiced support to Ukraine and warned Russia about “severe sanctions” that may be put in place against them for crossing the border (Biden). Biden said that Putin did not disagree with the three Russia-NATO councils coming up, so there is hope for Ukraine’s safety from a Russian invasion as Biden and Putin discuss strategies. On Thursday’s (Dec 30) call with Putin, Biden urged him to ease the tension on the border with Ukraine, because otherwise, the two countries would not work together. Biden presented another consequence for invading Ukraine: economic sanctions against Russia. Over the past few months, Moscow has increased its troops around the border, and even now about 100,000 troops are settled around Ukraine’s border despite Biden’s warnings to Russia, worrying the White House.

Works Cited:

Klein, Betsy. “Biden to Speak with Zelensky as US Warns against Russian Invasion of
Ukraine.” CNN, Cable News Network, 31 Dec. 2021,
www.cnn.com/2021/12/31/politics/biden-volodymyr-zelensky-call-ukraine/index.html.

Mirovalev, Mansur. “What’s behind the Conflict between Russia and Ukraine?” News | Al
Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 16 Dec. 2021,
www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/16/what-you-should-know-about-the-conflict-between-r
ussia-ukraine.

Image credit to NBC