Editor’s Note: Since this article was originally written, Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Ukraine has since declared martial law, and according to NBC News, Russian military operatives are closing in on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv as this article is being published on February 25th. This article provides crucial background on why the conflict is currently taking place.

“It would be the largest invasion since World War II. It would change the world.” These words were uttered by President Biden when discussing the impending clash between Russia and Ukraine. War and conflict are nothing new to us, yet the entire world has been shocked with news regarding the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. 

Tension has been brewing between the two countries for years, and it all started when Ukraine won its independence from Russia in 1991 and has taken strides to individualize itself and forge stronger relations with the West. 

In 2014, Russia invaded Ukraine, annexed the Crimean Peninsula, and backed a rebellion started by pro-Russian separatists. The annexation of Crimea was considered illegal since Russia gave away the territory to Ukraine decades ago. 

The motive behind this action was when Kremlin-leaning Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was removed from power due to rejecting an agreement with the EU because he wished to form ties with Moscow instead. 

During the next 8 years, more than 14,000 people have died in the ongoing conflict, which has devastated Donbas, Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland. Both Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of supplying the rebels with weapons and troops, fueling the fire. 

In response to this, Moscow has been vehemently denying its relations with the separatists, stating that the Russians who joined the movement did so voluntarily. 

A year later, France and Germany mediated a peace agreement after it became apparent that the two countries wouldn’t arbitrate this problem themselves. The agreement was coined the “Minsk-2 Agreement,” where Ukraine would provide autonomy and amnesty to separatists regions, but also regain its land near the Russian borders. Though it may seem like a plausible offer, Moscow claims that they have had no role in the conflict, so they don’t need to adhere to these terms. 

Flash forward to December 2021 when US officials discovered that there is a prospective attack near Ukraine’s border that could happen in 2022. Russia’s current President Vladimir Putin has denied these claims and has rebuffed a meeting to discuss the situation. France’s President Emmanuel Macron even met Putin at the Kremlin to de-escalate the situation, but to no avail. 

There is a motive behind Putin’s actions and why this conflict is being further instigated. Putin values Ukraine because the dissolution of the Soviet Union left Russia with a depleted economy, resources and power. Ukraine was a pivotal part to their former glory and Putin wants to regain what they lost in the Cold War. He has stated that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people, a single whole.” 

This is also why Putin is so fervently opposed to Ukraine joining NATO. NATO (The North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is a political and military alliance between 30 different countries in North America and Europe. Ukraine has already received weapons and aid, so if Ukraine officially joins NATO, Russia will be at an even greater disadvantage and would not be able to take over. 

Though there haven’t been any official orders from Biden to send American troops to Ukraine, he recently decreed the Pentagon to prepare 8,500 soldiers for potential deployments to NATO-allied countries in Europe. 

Though the future of this crisis may not be tangible, this situation can be summed up by Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesperson’s statement, “For now, the atmosphere remains extremely tense.”