Russia vs. Ukraine: Is It Our Fight?
In early November of 2021, a world already preoccupied by the coronavirus pandemic was jolted anew by the sudden announcement of a massive Russian military buildup along Ukraine’s eastern border. The long-simmering territorial dispute over the Donbas, a region in eastern Ukraine that is culturally and linguistically Russian, almost overnight became a potential theater for a major war between East and West.
American and European leaders lined up in support of Ukraine and its charismatic young president, Volodomir Zhelensky, even as Russia’s longtime strongman President Vladimir Putin drew a line in the sand. Ukraine, Putin insisted, was historically part of Russia, and would never be permitted to join NATO alongside fellow former Soviet republics Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
The West, in turn, accused Russia of threatening Ukraine’s sovereignty and vowed resolute action against Russia — including possible military involvement — should Putin opt to invade. President Biden himself hinted at drastic economic sanctions, including perhaps cutting off Russia from the Belgium-based SWIFT (Society of Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication), a system that allows international trade, money wiring, and currency convertibility. As a result of this conflict, in tandem with the growing crisis over Taiwan in the Far East, the world is facing the first real threat of a major war between nuclear-armed superpowers since the Cold War, and the first use of nuclear weapons since World War II.
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