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Russia has launched a devastating air, land, and ocean attack on Ukraine, a 44 thousand European democratic republic. Vladimir Putin had denied for months that he would invade his neighbor, but then he ripped up a peace deal, sending forces across Ukraine's borders in the north, east, and south.
As the body count rises, he is now accused of shattering Europe's peace, and what happens next could jeopardize the continent's entire security structure. paraphraser changes your sentences, allowing you to quickly and efficiently rework and rewrite your content!
Where but why have Russien troops attacked?
Airports and military headquarters were targeted first, near cities throughout Ukraine, including Kyiv's main Boryspil international airport.
Then tanks and troops rolled into Ukraine in the north-east, near Kharkiv, a 1.4 million-person city; in the east, near Luhansk, from neighboring Belarus in the north and Crimea in the south. Russian troops also landed in Ukraine's major port cities of Odesa and Mariupol after seizing a key airbase just outside Kyiv.
President Putin went on TV moments before the invasion began, declaring that Russia could not feel "safe, develop, or exist" because of what he called a constant threat from modern Ukraine.
Many of his claims were erroneous or irrational. He claimed that his goal was to protect people who had been bullied or subjected to genocide, as well as to "demilitarize and de-Nazify" Ukraine. Ukraine is a vibrant democracy with a Jewish president. There has been no genocide there. "How could I be a Nazi?" asked Volodymr Zelensky, who compared Russia's invasion to Nazi Germany's invasion during WWII.
Since Ukraine's pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, was ousted in 2014 after months of protests against his rule, President Putin has frequently accused the country of being taken over by extremists. Russia retaliated by seizing Crimea's southern region and sparking a rebellion in the east, supporting separatists fighting Ukrainian forces in a war that has claimed 14,000 lives.
He began deploying large numbers of Russian troops close to Ukraine's borders in late 2021. Then, this week, he canceled a 2015 peace agreement for the east and declared rebel-controlled areas independent.
Russia has long opposed Ukraine's accession to the European Union and NATO, the Western military alliance. He accused Nato of endangering "our historic future as a nation" as he announced Russia's invasion.
How far is Russia willing to go?
Russia has refused to say whether it wants to destabilize Ukraine's democratically elected government, despite its belief that Ukraine should be "liberated, cleansed of Nazis." Mr Putin stated that "those who committed numerous bloody crimes against civilians" would be prosecuted.
It was a thinly veiled hint, and by invading from Belarus and seizing Antonov airport near Kyiv's outskirts, there's little doubt that the capital is in his sights.
He had focused his attention on the east in the days leading up to the invasion, when up to 200,000 troops were close to Ukraine's borders.
He had already decided they were no longer part of Ukraine by recognising the Russian proxy separatist areas of Luhansk and Donetsk as independent. Then he said he agreed with their claims to a lot more Ukrainian land. The self-proclaimed people's republics only cover about a third of Ukraine's Luhansk and Donetsk regions, but the separatists want the rest as well.
Is this invasion dangerous to Europe?
For the first time since World War II, a major power is invading a European neighbor, which is terrifying for the people of Ukraine and terrifying for the rest of Europe.
Hundreds of civilians and soldiers have already died in what Germany refers to as "Putin's war." This invasion has brought Europe's leaders some of the darkest hours since the 1940s. It was a watershed moment in European history, said France's Emmanuel Macron. Volodymyr Zelensky, recalling the Soviet Union's Cold War days, spoke of Ukraine's efforts to keep Russia isolated from the rest of the world.
There will be anxious days ahead for families of both armed forces. Ukrainians have already been through an eight-year conflict with Russian proxies. All reservists between the ages of 18 and 60 have been called up. The size of Russian forces, according to top US military official Mark Milley, would result in a "horrific" scenario involving conflict in densely populated areas.
Many other countries bordering Russia and Ukraine have been affected by the invasion. Latvia, Poland, and Moldova have stated that they are anticipating a large influx of refugees. In Lithuania and Moldova, where tens of thousands of women and children have already crossed the border, a state of emergency has been declared.
This is not a war for which the Russian people were prepared, as the invasion was approved by a largely unrepresentative upper house of parliament.
What can the West do in this situation?
NATO has activated its warplanes, but the Western alliance has stated that it has no plans to send combat troops to Ukraine. Instead, they've offered field hospitals, advisers, and weapons. Meanwhile, NATO has deployed 5,000 troops to the Baltic states and Poland. Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Slovakia could each receive 4,000 more.
Rather, the West is concentrating its efforts on Russia's economy, industry, and individuals.
Russia's access to capital markets will be limited, and its industry will be cut off from cutting-edge technology, according to the EU. 351 MPs who backed Russia's recognition of rebel-held regions have already been sanctioned.
Germany has put a hold on Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which is a major investment for both Russia and European companies.
According to the US, Russia's government will be cut off from Western financial institutions, with high-ranking "elites" being targeted.
All major Russian banks' assets will be frozen, and 100 individuals and entities will be targeted, according to the UK. Russia's national airline, Aeroflot, will also be barred from landing in the UK.
Ukraine has urged its allies to refrain from purchasing Russian oil and gas. The three Baltic states have demanded that Russia's banking system be disconnected from the international Swift payment system. This could have serious consequences for the economies of the United States and Europe.
St Petersburg, Russia, will no longer be able to host the Champions League final this year due to security concerns. Uefa, Europe's football governing body, is also considering new measures.
What is Putin's goal?
President Putin cited Nato's eastward expansion as a factor in his decision to attack. He had previously complained that Russia had "nowhere else to go" and that "do they think we'll just sit here idly by?"
Ukraine is seeking a clear timetable for joining Nato, and Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated, "It is absolutely mandatory for us to ensure Ukraine never, ever joins Nato."
President Putin wrote a long essay last year describing Russians and Ukrainians as "one nation," and he has referred to the Soviet Union's disintegration in December 1991 as the "disintegration of historical Russia." He claims that modern Ukraine was entirely created by communist Russia and that it is now a puppet state under Western control.
President Putin has also claimed that if Ukraine joins Nato, the alliance will attempt to reclaim Crimea.
Russia, on the other hand, isn't solely concerned with Ukraine. It wants NATO to revert to its pre-1997 borders.
Mr Putin wants Nato to withdraw its forces and military infrastructure from member states that joined the alliance after 1997, as well as refrain from deploying "strike weapons" near Russia's borders. Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Baltic states are included in this category.
According to President Putin, the West promised in 1990 that Nato would not expand "even an inch to the east," but did so anyway.
However, because this was before the Soviet Union fell apart, the promise made to then-Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev only applied to East Germany as part of a reunified Germany.
"The topic of Nato expansion was never discussed" at the time, Mr Gorbachev later stated.
What has Nato said about this?
Nato is a defensive alliance that welcomes new members with open arms, and its 30 members are adamant that this will not change.
Ukraine's membership is unlikely for a long time, as Germany's chancellor has stated.
However, any current Nato member giving up their membership is a non-starter.
