There is a clear indication that hostility between Russia and the US is rising over the Ukraine crisis. This is a thorn in the west’s side because Russia’s annexation of Crimea has been seen as a ‘crime’, one that has made many an imperialist plan unsuccessful. Putin’s keen eye towards the dangers of a creeping NATO presence right up to Russia’s borders after the ‘Europisation’ of many East European countries forced his hand into intervening in Ukraine, preventing the inching in of NATO bases surrounding Russia. This has led to the issuance of a dire warning to the US and its allies of a military response if NATO continued its expansion toward Russia’s borders. Earlier, Moscow submitted draft security documents demanding that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and roll back the alliance’s military deployments in Central and Eastern Europe. These are bold ultimatums that are almost certain to be rejected by the US and its allies.
Moscow considers the presence of US military infrastructure in Ukraine as a direct threat to its security and doesn’t believe on the US guarantees so the situation is becoming perpetual day by day. On the other hand, the west accuses Russia of supporting eastern Ukrainian ‘separatists’ who rebelled against a government imposed by a western-backed coup and which contained within its ranks criminal and fascist elements at whose hands the ethnic Russians fear they will be slaughtered. Prominent EU leaders need to intervene in the situation and should pave the way for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis. It is a shame we have not learned from the past. We stand at a time of many global conflicts that threaten to blow up into full-scale war but we are unwilling to join together to resolve issues diplomatically.
