Five Things You Need To Know About The Russia-Ukraine Conflict
The West is accusing Russian of preparing to invade its pro-Western neighbor. For the United States and Europe, Ukraine is important because they see it as a forerunner for their own influence, and for Russian intentions in the rest of Europe.
What You Need to Know About the Tensions:
- The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it is disengaging its diplomatic staff from Ukraine “to protect their lives and safety”.
- Boris Johnson -Prime Minister of the United Kingdom- stated that the UK is imposing sanctions on five different Russian banks and three wealthy individuals: Gennady Timchenko for being a major shareholder in Bank Rossiya- a bank that supports Russian policy which is destabilizing Ukraine, Boris Rotenberg for being a prominent Russian businessman with close personal ties to Vladimir Putin, and Igor Rotenberg for also being a prominent Russian businessman with close familial ties to President Putin.
- Biden claims “total unanimity” on how to deal with Russia. The Pentagon has placed 8,500 US troops on standby for an Eastern European deployment while NATO stated that it sent resources such as jets and ships to strengthen the region’s defenses.
- Chancellor Olaf Scholz announces that Germany is postponing the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia.
- According to BBC, Volodymr Zelenskyy -The Ukrainian President- stated that he is considering discontinuing diplomatic relations with Russia.
If Russia chooses to invade Ukraine, the United States and European allies have implied that this will affect Russia financially like never before. Possible consequences include cutting Russia off international financial transactions such as gas and oil production which account for at least 40% of the country’s revenue, blocking Russia from access to the US dollar, and cutting Russia off from the high tech that contributes to the production of their warplanes, powers smartphones, and passenger jet flies. Both these actions would prove detrimental to Russia’s economy.
