Anyone who has seen the news over the past two weeks knows that tension in Ukraine is growing over a seemingly imminent invasion from Russia. As U.K officials prepare to enter crisis mode, the Secretary of State and Russia’s foreign minister met Friday, December 24 to discuss the crisis at hand. 

As the current situation stands, Russia has around 100,000 troops stationed near Ukraine’s border and has issued a high list of demands from the western powers. These demands are very unlikely to be met by the powers, further threatening war in Ukraine. NATO has stated that Russian aggression towards Ukraine will result in a united response and that they will consider an attack against a member of satellites in space as an act of war. 

What is the goal of this invasion? 

Well, the answer is we don’t really know. What we do know is that the US has intelligence stating that Russia will invade Ukraine in an attempt to take their capital Kyiv, and ultimately overthrow the government. This is seeming more and more likely as Russia places more troops in Belarus which lies only eighty kilometers away from Kyiv. Possibly hinting at what his next move could be, Putin evacuated Russians in its Ukrainian Embassy, to prepare for the almost certain invasion.

Why Ukraine?

 The best answer we have to why Russia would want to invade Ukraine is that since the fall of the ex-countries of the USSR,  the benefits of what being in the west has to offer has become more apparent. As the West expanded its influence across Europe, Russia has seen its influence reach its borders. This could be a follow-up to their invasion of Eastern Ukraine in 2014 which was an attempt to once again regain the control they once held over these countries. Many experts still disagree with this theory as Russia’s economy took a huge hit after this and Ukraine only grew closer to NATO. This theory is backed up by Putin’s demands that Ukraine be barred from joining NATO, NATO must not add any members, and Ukraine must not possess any kind of offensive arms. 

How does this Influence the US?

An invasion of Ukraine could take a toll on the US economy, affecting everyday Americans. The biggest change of all would be the spike in gas prices, taking a toll on both the US and Europe. Russia may be using Ukraine as a hostage to try and force the US into renegotiating terms settled after the Cold War. Either way, it seems that Russia is trying to involve the US and force our hand, getting us involved in any way they can. 

For now, this is all we know about the current situation with Russia and Ukraine. It seems that we will just have to wait and see what Russia’s next move will be.