The Russo-Ukraine war started in 2014 and has been going ever since. As of this week, there have been threats of a possible invasion on Ukraine made by Russian president Vladimir Putin. According to Tom Balmforth and Jeff Mason, “Russia has massed enough troops near Ukraine to launch a major invasion,” (Reuters). Although there are over 100,000 Russian troops near the Ukraine border, they have denied their plans to invade.
On Saturday, Biden and Putin spoke for around an hour, emphasizing on the fact that if Russia were to follow through with its assumed plans, “the United States together with our Allies and partners will respond decisively and impose swift and severe costs on Russia,” (Politico). Some of the U.S. forces were moved out of Ukraine and most of the embassy staff were ordered to evacuate. Although these actions did show that the U.S. does not trust Putin, the U.S. and Russian teams would keep in contact in the coming days. The U.S. was not the only nation to order evacuations of staff and citizens, with several other nations following in their footsteps to take proper precautions.
Biden took part in a virtual meeting with leaders from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, NATO, and others discussing the rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine. During this time, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has deployed troops in Poland and Romania as the U.S. continues to prepare for the possible attacks from Russia. On Saturday, Biden also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about how the U.S. would respond to Russian advances “swiftly and decisively”. They also confirmed the United State’s commitment to Ukraine sovereignty.
It is still not a sure thing that Russia will invade Ukraine even with the 100,000 Russian troops that are stationed near the border. Many still speculate that Russia will continue to pursue it’s diplomatic goals even with the wide response from other nations. The situation will continue to play out until either Russia attacks, or they retreat away from the border.
Questions:
Based on Russia's track record, can Putin be trusted to hold off on an attack?
No comments:
Post a Comment