Ukraine and Russia are currently at a stand still; tensions are increasing by the day. Russian troops have been placed around three sides of Ukraine, and are awaiting orders from Vladimir Putin. The tensions between Russia and Ukraine are trying to be negotiated. It doesn’t seem like even if these demands are met that Putin will back away from Ukraine. 

According to CNN.com, Putin said, “Russia had not seen ‘adequate consideration of our three key demands regarding NATO expansion, the renunciation of the deployment of strike weapons systems near Russian borders, and the return of the [NATO] bloc’s military infrastructure in Europe to the state of 1997, when the Russia-NATO founding act was signed.'” The US and NATO have said Putin’s demands, “which include a promise to never expand eastward to countries including Ukraine…violate NATO’s open-door policy and are non-starters in negotiations” according to that same CNN article.

In general Putin doesn’t want NATO to assist Ukraine against Russia but it’s unlikely Ukraine will be able to join regardless due to their weak democracy and being corrupt. Although Ukraine isn’t officially a member of NATO, its alliance with the organization is strong because NATO has been giving Ukraine weapons strong enough to combat Russian tanks and aircrafts. Putin essentially wants to regain the sphere of influence that the Soviet Union had in the Cold War era.

According to The New York Times, The Russian president views Ukraine not as a separate nation but as a land that was negotiated away after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Putin shows us that he doesn’t believe that Ukraine is its own nation, and is willing to go towards war in order to secure the land that they once had. The fighting during the Cold War era was dominated by threats of nuclear war and Putin has been talking with officials in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba, and this might possibly mean nukes returning within the Western hemisphere.

There are many possibilities as to where the conflict may go, however, it’s certain that President Biden will use every ounce of his Presidential influence to stop an all out nuclear war. Hopefully tensions between Ukraine and Russia are settled.

Read more here: Putin says the West Ignored Concerns.