The U.S. president also ordered sanctions against the Russian-built Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline company and its corporate officers on Feb. 23, prior to the invasion. I think NATO, and the invitation for Ukraine to join NATO at some point in the future, is simply just a pretext to potentially invade Ukraine, he says, referring to Russia. Across Ukraine the population has long been divided between those who look towards Russia, and those who look towards an independent Ukraine. Moscow specifically called for the removal of NATO forces and weapons from alliance members like Romania and Bulgaria, the latter of which doesnt even border Ukraine. Earlier in February, Fiona Hill co-author of the best Putin biography to date, and a key former American official focused on Russia affirmed Moscows broadening focus. Othercountries, most prominently the Baltic states, but also other USSR successor republics, will have every reason to think they are next. He is the author of the forthcoming book "American Kleptocracy." So its a very difficult tightrope to walk. Putin made it clear he felt the West had failed to meet Russias demands, but left the world hanging about what he might do next. If those borders have to go, well, then there is no obvious stopping point, says Hein Goemans, a professor of political science at the University of Rochester, pointing to the Soviet successor republics. The Crimean War was a conflict between 1853 and 1856 in which Russia fought an alliance of the UK, France, the Ottoman Empire and Sardinia - partially over Russian expansion. Rather than watching independent countries make decisions about their own security arrangements, Putin and his inner circle envision one broad, U.S.-led conspiracy to supposedly encircle Moscow. Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab told Sky News on Wednesday: The Russian statement is unlawful and what were doing is lawful, were entitled, all states are entitled to provide military support to any state exercising the right of lawful defence against an aggressive invasion. Crimea. His criteria for reversing history and going back to Russias status as it was over 100 years ago also directly affects other neighbors of Russia that are now full-fledged members of the Western community of nations and of the European Union and of NATO, he added. Ask an adult to send your question to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. Putin is concerned over NATO's expansion and has falsely said Ukraine is committing genocide. But experts and Western officials said that the Russian leaders security demands were ultimately just a cover for his true ambition. But the losses dont end there: The United Nations estimates that about 8,000 civilians including more than 400 children have died in Ukraine since the war began. For months, the world was left guessing about what Russian President Vladimir Putin was up to with Ukraine. Its capital was the city of Kyiv the same Kyiv that is now the capital of Ukraine. And the reason for that, from the theory of warfare and from a leader perspective, is that he does it to ensure his personal survival. Total casualties, including the wounded, on Russias side are thought to be closer to 200,000, according to The New York Times, citing Western officials. If Russia is successful, the world will change and NATO will have to rearm and all countries will have to spend more on defense. Just days later, Putin conducted apparently staged consultations with senior Kremlin officials. In imperial Russia, some saw Ukrainians as brothers to the Russians because they shared a culture dating back to medieval times. Many countries, such as Canada, the U.K. and others in Europe, have followed suit. With Ukrainian capital Kyiv already rocking from explosions, the military reporting an air attack by Russia and the first deaths being reported, we've looked at the causes of the conflict and what Russia wants. We wont be able to answer every question, but we will do our best. People waving Russian flags in Donetsk (Alexei Alexandrov/AP). Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine early Thursday morning. He said the borders that were drawn by Lenin and by Stalin, partially as a result of the First and Second World War, are illegitimate and have to go. While there is no evidence that Ukraine is trying to acquire nuclear weapons, The New York Times reported that Putin had spewed conspiracy theories to talk up the threat and use it to justify an invasion. And because I'm more powerful than you, Ukraine, I can tell you what to do and with whom to associate, Bowman says. Earlier this month, Putin claimed genocide was being committed against ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine, particularly in the Donbas region, where Kremlin-backed rebels have been fighting with Ukrainian forces since 2014. We know that he genuinely reviles the expansion of NATO eastward. Something went wrong, please try again later. This has never been about Ukraine and NATO per se, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as the crisis reached fever pitch. Many are protesting against it. He has also said that Ukraine as an independent country is an artificial construct and lamented the breakup of the Soviet Union as the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.. It could still be considered a war over territory but only in the sense that he wants to annex the entire Ukraine, which seems to me unlikely to succeed. In a recent surprise visit to Kyiv over the Presidents Day holiday, Biden highlighted just that, walking along the capital citys streets with Zelenskyy as air raid sirens blared. These voices, however, missed the forests for the trees. When the Russian Empire collapsed in 1917 Ukraine declared itself a state of its own - but it quickly became part of the Soviet Union as a founder member of the USSR in 1922 - until the Union itself collapsed in 1991, and Ukraine was again an independent country. Putin likely also viewed the West including the U.S., specifically as weak, Pomeranz adds, which could have impacted how much help he thought Ukraine would actually get. There will be rounds of arming andrearming. After hours of frenzied rumors and reports of Russian troop movements, Putin delivered his address and launched his attack. The U.N. General Assembly gathered on Feb. 23, 2023, and called for an end to the war and demanded Russias immediate withdrawal from Ukraine. Artie W., age 9, Astoria, New York. The industrial region of Donbas, internationally recognized as Ukrainian but partly controlled by the separatists, quickly became the flashpoint in a broader standoff that the U.S. and its allies had feared. After much speculation, Putin clarified that he had recognized the breakaway regions claim to the borders that existed when they proclaimed their independence in 2014 and that included vast swaths of territory held by Ukraine. Some Russians, Putin included, feel Russia has a claim to the former Soviet state. Russia and Ukraine have a long-standing history and there has been tension between Moscow and Kyiv since 1. "Let me emphasize once again that Ukraine for us is not just a neighboring country. Ukrainians are now fighting the Russian army, trying to defeat what they say is an occupation. Putin, as it were, appears ready to snatch victory from the shadow of post-Cold War defeat. But theres no doubt that a change of government in Ukraine would be entirely satisfactory to Russia because it would allow the installation of a more compliant regime that would meet all of Russias demands, instead of resisting it.. So I think he wants to end that independence., The Russian president, however, might not have predicted the type of strong response from the international community he saw to the buildup on the Ukraine border. All the while, the Kremlin denied it had any such plans. But that agreement, Minsk 2, has never been implemented to Putin's satisfaction - he wants more control over the regions and the policy of Ukraine as a whole. It was an independent Soviet state from 1921 to 1945, then a province of Russia from 1945 to 1954 and then a province of Ukraine - until it was annexed by Russia in 2014. Even now, Russia's leader describes the biggest European invasion since the end of World War Two as a "special military operation". In response Russia illegally annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea, which caused international outrage and reignited tensions between the Kremlin and the West. 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Mr Lavrov insisted Russia wants to reduce all chances of artificially elevating the risk of nuclear conflict to avoid world war Putin has criticized NATO for expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Stay up to date with what you want to know. I think Ukraine has always been a sore spot for Vladimir Putin, Pomeranz says. It all could have come down to Russias resources at that moment, Pomeranz says. Its hard to know where to begin, but one thing is clear: The war shows few signs of ending anytime soon. That followed an executive order he issued prohibiting new investment, trade and financing by U.S. persons to, from or in Donetsk and Luhansk. The dangerous thing that is difficult to grasp is that the West may not be able to do anything to counter the logic of gambling for resurrection. They tried to form their own country. Putin has also incorrectly stated that Russia gave Ukraine the right to break away, when in fact, the Ukrainian people voted overwhelmingly for independence in a 1991 referendum, The Washington Post reported. Rochester political scientist Hein Goemans, an expert on war termination, applies possible scenarios to Russias invasion of Ukraine. The UK has supplied anti-tank weapons to the Ukrainian army and other support is being considered. There are a number of theories, principal among them is his aim to restore Russias influence in eastern Europe. as well as other partner offers and accept our. Goemans warns that a Russian victorybut also a Russian defeat or stalematecould have dramatically bad consequences for the West, and indeed the whole world. But, by all appearances, Putin increasingly wants to rewrite Europes security order wholesale: to roll back the democratic, NATO-led gains of the past two decades, all to redound to Moscows benefit. 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