February 17, 2022

The Ukraine-Russia crisis is at a pivotal moment. Ukraine accused pro-Russian separatists of attacking a village near the border. In the U.S., meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking at the United Nations, made an urgent appeal against an invasion.

For months, the U.S. and its Western allies have watched a steady buildup of Kremlin forces along Ukraine’s border with Russia and Belarus. The increased military presence mimics Russia’s playbook ahead of its 2014 illegal annexation of Crimea, a peninsula on the Black Sea, which sparked international uproar and triggered sanctions against Moscow.

President Joe Biden has warned Russian leader Vladimir Putin of extraordinary and crippling economic sanctions if the Kremlin proceeds with an attack on Ukraine, Russia’s ex-Soviet neighbor.

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