If diplomatic efforts cannot avert further conflict between Ukraine and Russia, a dramatic shift in international relations could occur that would have huge consequences for NATO.
Europe relies on Russia for about 40% of its natural gas.
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The U.S. army conducts a military training exercise for emergencies in Germany on Jan. 27, 2022.
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President Joe Biden is deploying 3,000 troops to support NATO in Eastern Europe. By doing so, Biden enters both a regional conflict and tangled legal territory.
The empty seat for Ukraine’s foreign minister is shown before a NATO foreign ministers meeting on Dec. 1, 2021, in Riga, Latvia.
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One of Putin’s demands for de-escalating conflict with Ukraine is NATO blocking Ukrainian membership. Understanding what NATO is, and why Ukraine wants to join, clarifies why Putin wants this.
Never forgotten: a memorial to the Great Famine of the 1930s in Kyiv, Ukraine.
EPA-EFE/Sergey Dolzhenko
Ukraine was once known as the breadbasket of Europe, yet it suffered a devastating famine as a result of collectivist plans. That and other Soviet-era grievances have bred resentment toward Russia.
Russian tanks take part in drills at the Kadamovskiy firing range in the Rostov region in southern Russia in January 2022. Tens of thousands of Russian troops are positioned near Ukraine.
(AP Photo)
Pro-democracy uprisings in Slavic states were unsuccessful, but there’s festering discontent in the region. Russia attributes it to western interference, and intends to reverse the trend in Ukraine.
A Ukrainian soldier sit in the trench on the line of separation from pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine in January 2022.
(AP Photo/Andriy Dubchak)
It is worthwhile trying to see current Ukraine-Russia tensions from a Russian perspective. Moscow has hardly gone out of its way to look for compromise and good will, but neither has Kyiv.
Russian soldiers take part in military drills in the Rostov region of Russia, near Ukraine’s border, on Dec. 10, 2021.
Associated Press
Russia appears inching closer to invading Ukraine, despite warnings from the US and other Western powers. Here are a few key ideas to help better understand what led to this looming crisis.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stands alone.
Alexey Druzhinin/AFP via Getty Images
The Russian government, under President Vladimir Putin, has stepped up repression at home and aggression abroad in an effort to consolidate power within the country and on the world stage.
Ukranians hold a ‘Day of Dignity’ in Kyiv to commemorate the eighth anniversary of the ‘Euromaidan revolution’ that toppled the former Russian-backed regime.
EPA-EFE/Stepan Franko
Negotiations between Western democracies and Russia over the fate of Ukraine took place against a backdrop of Russia troops entering Kazakhstan. It’s a reminder that Russia is willing to play tough.
Vladimir Putin at a concert in March 2021 marking the seventh anniversary of its annexation of Crimea.
Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Image
As Ukraine wrestles with the latest threat from its larger neighbor, two scholars explain how the independent country is often viewed as part of a greater Russia – and why that inflames tensions.
What’s on the table during Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Washington visit?
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to seek commitments from his US counterpart, pledging support in his country’s ongoing battle with the Russian Federation.
Pipes for Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline are loaded onto a ship at a German port, June 1, 2021.
Stefan Sauer/picture alliance via Getty Images
Nord Stream 2 is a pipeline that will deliver Russian gas to Western Europe – and, by extension, increase Putin’s influence across the continent. That makes Ukraine and some other countries nervous.
Combat ready? Colonel General Oleg Salyukov, the head of Russian Ground Forces reviews troops ahead of the 76th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS/Alamy Live News
Associate Professor of Instruction in the School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies, Affiliate Professor at the Institute for Russian, European, and Eurasian Studies, University of South Florida