The new battlefield opening in Ukraine
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The United States has repeatedly warned of a Russian offensive and asked staff at the U.S. embassy in the capital, Kyiv to return home giving indications of clouds of war gathering in Ukraine, one of the largest countries on the Black Sea coast in Eastern Europe. Russia fears that Ukraine, which seceded from the former Soviet Union and became an independent republic, would join the Western alliance, while the United States and NATO have accused Russia of taking advantage of Ukraine's internal insecurity and preparing for an invasion. The United States cites evidence that Russia, which has opposed Ukraine's membership in NATO, is carrying out a massive military deployment in the name of countering separatist terrorist attacks. Western media reports quoting Washington say that Russia will order an invasion on Wednesday, but without citing any concrete evidence to substantiate that. Although the date and time are not precise, the Ukrainian government does not rule out either the possibility of Russian occupation.
The United States has accused Russia of plotting to overthrow Ukraine through the help of pro-Russian insurgents over the past decade and imposing its consequences on Ukraine. The separatists fighting for the Donetsk and Luhansk republics accuse the Ukrainian government of mass mobilization in the Donbas region, its stronghold in the eastern region. Russia has deployed 130,000 troops along its border, according to official reports. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky warns that occupation is imminent and he is seeking the help of the NATO-US Western alliance against it. In response, Biden convinced Zelensky in a 50 - minute phone conversation that diplomacy and offensive defence could go hand in hand. Biden has stated that he will join forces with allies to give an instant strike in the event of an attack on Ukraine.
Observers opine after analysing available evidence that President Putin's plan is to expand communist totalitarianism, which collapsed with the disappearance of the Soviet Union, and annex the republics that seceded from Russia. In addition to annexing Ukraine, his dream is to have a larger Russia, including independent states such as Georgia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Belarus. What Russia stands to lose with the secession of Ukraine that was once an integral part of Russia, and with with its joining NATO and the European Union, is a symbol of the old Cold War-era. It has to show the world that it has not been outdone by modern superpowers, despite its being mediocre in terms of nuclear power and geographical position. It has also to put an end to the fear that the open space in Ukraine, where everything is decided in a free and democratic manner and where media and freedom of expression exist, will go beyond its borders to the larger region and break the Russian Iron Curtain. Thus Putin's move is a test case for both the United States and NATO, which failed miserably in Afghanistan and who have yet to prove themselves in this opportunity to keep Ukraine afloat. Putin also calculates that the move will serve to highlight the damage caused by Western sanctions in the name of the Crimean invasion in 2014 and cover up state corruption.
For that, Russia is simultaneously negotiating with Kyiv and the West, using the sword of aggression against Kyiv and the western forces. As per the Russian demand, it is not enough to simply reject Ukraine's plan to join NATO, but the NATO alliance should also withdraw its reserve forces from neighboring countries of Poland, Romania and Bulgaria. Russia also demands that the Donbas region should be given autonomy and the United States should stop or scale down its deployment of medium-range missiles in Eastern and Southern European countries. Putin also aims at redesigning Europe's 'security architecture'. But the United States is determined not to change the status quo and let Russia regain its lost influence and increase the scope of its occupation. Thus the two great powers stand face to face in a new war front in eastern Europe. When Russia expands its military presence by forcible occupation and the United States threatens retaliation, the world is left to hope and pray that the war clouds may weaken somehow.
