5 Facts Everyone Should Know About Russia and Ukraine
5 Facts Everyone Should Know About Russia and Ukraine It is feared that a conflict could break out in Ukraine triggered by the concentration of Russian troops near the border with its neighbor. By Roberto R. Díaz Blanco Why does Russia want to invade Ukraine? After Russia, Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe by area, and both share a land border. Although Ukraine enjoyed a brief period of independence between 1918 and 1920, it later joined the Soviet Union, which collapsed in 1991. Since then, Ukraine has enjoyed full political independence. A history of foreign invasions, from the Mongols to Nazi Germany, has made many in Russia want a wall of buffer states, including Ukraine, surrounding the country. While the United States and OTAN view Ukraine's independence as a positive for the Ukrainian people, Russia continues to build its forces around Ukraine; the prospect of a broader war there is dire to contemplate, and the West continues to threaten dire consequences.