What is Ukraine? How is it related to Russia?

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe, with the capital in Kyiv. Ukraine used to be a part of the Soviet Union until 1991, and as the Soviet Union fell, it became fully independent. As recently as 2013, Russia had a great influence on Ukrainian politics, at least, until the Russian-backed president was ousted and he fled the country. This happened the month before Russia annexed Crimea (February 2014).

What is NATO?

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, is a military alliance between 30 countries. According to the NATO website, “If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military power to undertake crisis-management operations.” The first time that it was used was following the 9/11 attacks. Ukraine is not a member of NATO, but would like to be. NATO doesn’t have a military, but simply relies on its members’ militaries.

Why doesn’t Russia want Ukraine to join NATO?

Russia doesn’t want Ukraine to join NATO, because of the treaty that they have. This states that if one of the nations is attacked by a third party, all of NATO will help defend said nation. That means that if Russia invades Ukraine, they would feel the full force of NATO. That being said, although President Biden has said that they wouldn’t stop Ukraine from joining NATO, there’s nothing to show that Ukraine will join NATO anytime soon.

So… what’s going on in Ukraine?

Russia has amassed as many as 130,000 troops along parts of the Ukrainian border. Although Moscow has said they don’t plan on invading, they appear to be preparing for war. This is not just about Ukraine though, but about Russia amassing more power and trying to get back to USSR levels of power. It’s not definitive about whether or not Russia plans to invade.

What’s the rest of the world doing?

The United States and NATO rejected Russia’s demands, although there’s no plan for Ukraine to become a NATO member anytime soon. Many countries are on the side of the United States, although no clear actions have been taken quite yet.

Sources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/01/21/ukraine-russia-explain-maps/

https://www.britannica.com/place/Ukraine

https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/2014/9/3/18088560/ukraine-everything-you-need-to-know

https://www.nato.int/nato-welcome/index.html

https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/story/Article/1650880/what-does-nato-do/

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/27/world/nato-explainer-intl-cmd/index.html

https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/22917719/russia–ukraine-invasion-border-crisis-nato-explained