Russia/Ukraine conflict #2

by Negin Nouri

Photo from The Guardian

Russia has placed thousands of troops outside the Ukrainian border, triggering major tensions that had begun since the cold war between Moscow and the West.

The Kremlin, the executive branch of the government of Russia, justified that their “military muscle-flexing” is to counter NATO expansion. Russia has stated that they will not allow Ukraine to embrace the NATO alliance. Russia also wants NATO to pull back from Eastern European countries that have joined the alliance since the 1990s.

At the start of 2021, a rise in ceasefire violations was seen between Russian troops and Ukraine, but the tensions relaxed as Moscow pulled back quickly in April.

Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, has said that 57 Ukrainian soldiers have been wounded and 20 have been killed since the start of 2022.