Why is Russia invading Ukraine

Washington, DC – The United States will impose sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin over his decision to invade Ukraine, the White House has said.

Those are not the conditions for real diplomacy.” Numerous rounds of talks between Russian, European and American officials had failed to end the impasse. “This is not real diplomacy. On Friday, the Kremlin said it was “ready” for talks with a Ukrainian delegation in the Belarusian capital Minsk, but Washington appeared to dismiss the offer for negotiations. Asked about US plans to penalise the Russian president for the invasion, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price had said earlier on Friday that Washington was looking closely at “additional options” to pressure Moscow and Putin. “In alignment with the decision by our European allies, the United States will join them in sanctioning President Putin and Foreign Minister [Sergey] Lavrov and members of the Russian national security team,” she told reporters.

The battle has begun for control of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, with fighting on the streets early Saturday. Explosions and gunfire were heard throughout the night as Russian troops advanced on the city. Russia's assault on Ukraine began Thursday and ...

Atlanta: Dozens of people gathered downtown for a “Stand with Ukraine” rally. And they're asking world leaders to stop Russia's attack. He described the demonstration as peaceful and “more pro-Ukraine than anti-Russia.” “Today, we are acting to show our solidarity with the Ukrainian people as they defend their country. And while these are important steps, it is incumbent upon President (Joe) Biden to take a stronger, more decisive leadership position to end this war.” “The invasion of Ukraine by Soviet dictator Vladimir Putin cannot stand, and the people of the Commonwealth are ready to rally in opposition to this senseless attack on a sovereign nation and western ideals,” Youngkin said.

After early morning missile attacks, Russian forces advanced to the city's outskirts from three sides on Friday as Ukrainian soldiers set up defensive positions ...

It is a lie; they do not distinguish in which areas to operate,” he said, vowing to continue defending his country and criticising world leaders for “watching from afar”. We need to choke the Russian system and in particular further target the oligarchs,” he said. In the village of Starognativka, near the frontline where separatists have faced off against Kyiv’s forces for years, a local official, Volodymyr Veselkin, said missiles had been raining down all morning and the power was out. Zelenskiy said in a televised address that Putin was targeting civilian as well as military sites. Witnesses said loud explosions could also be heard in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city, close to the border with Russia, while air raid sirens sounded over Lviv in the west. The US president, Joe Biden, and his Nato counterparts sought to reassure member countries on the alliance’s eastern flank, from Estonia to Bulgaria, that their security was guaranteed as Russian forces advanced on Kyiv. “Horrific Russian rocket strikes on Kyiv,” Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, tweeted. “Moscow bears sole responsibility for the deliberate, cold-blooded and long-planned invasion.” Streams of people – mostly women and children, since Ukrainian men aged 18-60 are forbidden to leave – crossed into Hungary, Poland and Romania, with 15-hour queues reported at border points. “When bombs fall on Kyiv, it happens in Europe, not just in Ukraine,” he said. “No one is planning to occupy Ukraine,” Lavrov said, insisting Russia’s troops were freeing Ukraine from “oppression”. “When missiles kill our people, they kill all Europeans.”

Gunfire has been heard in central Kyiv and there are reports of heavy fighting in the city's northern suburbs as Russian forces close in on the Ukrainian ...

We are not afraid of anything,” he said. Ukraine has said it is willing to discuss declaring itself a neutral country. Officials said a tower block had been set on fire. Amid Ukrainian anger at the bloc’s reluctance to cut Russia out of the Swift international payments system, EU foreign ministers are to approve further measures on Friday afternoon. “We are not afraid. Russian forces have taken the city of Sumy in north-eastern Ukraine, according to a resident who said there were Russian military vehicles in the streets.

A University of Rochester expert on international conflicts explains some of the reasons behind Vladimir Putin invading Ukraine.

Everybody in academia and most of the world thinks that nationalism is the justification and the basis of a state. He has puppets in Kazakhstan, he has puppets in Belarus and elsewhere that he can control. There is talk of giving Putin an “off-ramp” but that completely misses the point that Putin is afraid domestic enemies might overthrow and kill him, and there’s little the West can do to address those fears. He said the borders that were drawn by Lenin and by Stalin, partially as a result of the First and Second World War, are illegitimate and have to go. If Russia is successful, the world will change and NATO will have to rearm and all countries will have to spend more on defense. GOEMANS: One thing he said in his speech, which is just stunning, is that nationalism cannot be the basis of a state. That’s why he may do some very risky things—which is called “gambling for resurrection”—in the hope it’ll keep him in power. And the reason for that, from the theory of warfare and from a leader perspective, is that he does it to ensure his personal survival. It could still be considered a war over territory but only in the sense that he wants to annex the entire Ukraine, which seems to me unlikely to succeed. He wants to prevent more of these revolutions and prevent a democratic encirclement of countries around him, which could provide a safe haven for Russian dissidents who’d be dangerous to Putin’s political survival. Both of these goals overlap in the sense that he is seeking regime change, which is a dangerous game. At the same time, Russia can’t promise credibly not to ask for more if Ukraine made some concessions now, whether it be territorial concessions, regime change, or a promise not to join NATO.

Ukraine is now fighting a multi-axis war against an invading Russian army with an estimated 200000 personnel. Western allies respond to Russia's attack.

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