As it stands, there are Russian forces beyond the Ukrainian border Western intelligence services believe they number up to 100,000. Is there a potential World War 3 lurking around us?
Old Habits
Russia has previously annexed Crimea and chances are that they could topple Ukraine in the blink of an eye. Seeing that, Germany would invade Poland and Barney Stinson would come out and say, “Sorry, force of habit!”
Jokes apart, the threat is very real as the Russian Federation sees Ukraine as a part of their own county with strong historical, social and cultural ties for it was a part of the former Soviet Union.
Geopolitical Scenarios
There are no talks about Russia’s President Vladimir Putin deciding on invading Ukraine for now, however, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned that tensions could lead to a situation akin to the 1962 Cuban missile crisis when the US and Soviet Union came close to nuclear conflict.
The US had made it clear that its priority is to help Ukraine defend its “sovereign territory”, and in the case of an invasion, President Biden spoke about measures “like none he’s ever seen”.
Other tools like disconnecting Russia’s banking system from the international Swift payment system seem a viable option in the event of an escalation in the region. A key aspect would be the prevention of the opening of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in Germany, which is under regulation by the German government.
Also Read: In Pics: How Filipinos Turned World War 2 American Jeeps Into Mass Transit Jeepneys
There was a scene like this way back in April, where the Russian forces were deployed in the same region and were later pulled back on the pretext of “training exercises”.
Russia knows too well that troop movement in the region would make people in Ukraine, Europe, and the States very nervous. Maybe, that was the point all along, a show of strength without any dire consequences to face?
Russia
A presidential aide insisted that “we have the right to move troops on our territory”. Russia’s armed forces chief Valery Gerasimov went on to say that NATO paid too much heed to troop movements and that “information circulating in the media about the alleged impending Russian invasion of Ukraine is a lie”.
They went on to counter by accusing Ukraine of building half its army in the east, with the intention to attack areas controlled by Russian-backed separatists.
What happens in the wake of tensions that could not be de-escalated? Are we headed to another World War? If so, Soviet.
Image Source: Google Images
Sources: BBC, Al Jazeera, First Post
Connect With The Blogger: Shouvonik Bose
This post is tagged under: Russia, Ukraine, Crimea, World War 1, World War 2, Japan, China, EU, USA, Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin, United Nations, NATO, World War 3
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