The war in waiting
One of the most serious threats facing the European Union today is the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Having left more than 13,000 dead in seven years of violence, the conflict is being used by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a stick to beat Ukraine and, at the same time, the EU.
It is not only a struggle over a part of the Ukraine that is mostly Russian-speaking in the east, but also a way for Moscow to make it clear to Kiev that Russia intends to maintain its influence over Ukraine and that it will not accept any pact the country might make with the EU under any circumstances. Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops on the border, which can only be interpreted as a threat of future invasion.
Russia had already annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, a move approved by a referendum that the international community has not recognised. Along with the EU, the United States is a strong ally of Ukraine, and US President Joe Biden has warned Putin that he will not allow an invasion. Yet Russia’s threat is real and, as most European countries depend on Russian gas, Moscow well knows how to keep up the pressure and gain ground in Ukraine.
