{"id":65453,"date":"2021-11-24T17:24:44","date_gmt":"2021-11-24T17:24:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/11\/24\/will-russia-invade-ukraine\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:38:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:38:06","slug":"will-russia-invade-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2021\/11\/24\/will-russia-invade-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Russia invade Ukraine?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MOSCOW (AP) \u2014 Ukrainian and Western officials are worried that a Russian military buildup near Ukraine could signal plans by Moscow to invade its ex-Soviet neighbor<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kremlin insists it has no such intention and has accused Ukraine and its Western backers of making the claims to cover up their own allegedly aggressive designs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s unclear whether the Russian troop concentration heralds an imminent attack<\/a> or represents an attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to persuade the U.S. and its NATO allies to refrain from sending soldiers and weapons to Ukraine, and drop plans for its eventual integration into NATO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv issued an alert to U.S. citizens, warning them of \u201cconcerning reports of unusual Russian military activity near Ukraine\u2019s borders and in occupied Crimea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a look at the current tensions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the roots of the Russia-Ukraine war?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Russia annexed Ukraine\u2019s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 after the country\u2019s Moscow-friendly president was driven from power by mass protests. Weeks later, Russia threw its weight behind a separatist insurgency that broke out in Ukraine\u2019s east.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine and the West accused Russia of sending its troops and weapons to back the rebels. Moscow denied that, charging that Russians who joined the separatists were volunteers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 14,000 people have died in the fighting that devastated Ukraine\u2019s eastern industrial heartland known as Donbas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 2015 peace agreement brokered by France and Germany helped end large-scale battles, but efforts to reach a political settlement have failed and sporadic skirmishes have continued along the tense line of contact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this year, a spike in cease-fire violations in the east and a Russian troop concentration near Ukraine fueled war fears, but tensions abated when Moscow pulled back the bulk of its forces after maneuvers in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest Russian military buildup<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
The Ukraine military’s assessment of a how a potential attack by Russia would play out. (Courtesy of Ukraine military).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine complained this month that Moscow has kept about 90,000 troops not far from the two countries\u2019 border following massive war games in western Russia in the fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said units of the Russian 41st army have remained near Yelnya, a town about 160 miles north of the Ukrainian border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Lt. Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhny, said Russia also has about 2,100 military personnel in the rebel-controlled east and that Russian officers hold all commanding positions in the separatist forces. Moscow has repeatedly denied the presence of its troops in eastern Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine\u2019s military intelligence, claimed in a weekend interview with Military Times that Moscow has more than 92,000 troops arrayed around Ukraine\u2019s border and was preparing for an attack from several directions, including from Russia\u2019s ally Belarus, in late January or early February.<\/p>\n\n\n\t