Why does Russia want Ukraine? What to know as US, NATO fear Moscow is planning for war

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken opened a hastily arranged visit to Kyiv as he and other administration officials step up warnings about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.Tensions between Ukraine and Russia, both former Soviet states, escalated in late 2013 over a landmark political and trade deal with the European Union.

The European Union and US have imposed a series of measures in response to Russia's actions in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, including economic sanctions targeting individuals, entities and specific sectors of the Russian economy. Putin has also said that NATO deploying sophisticated weapons in Ukraine, such as missile systems, would be crossing a"red line" for Russia, amid concern in Moscow that Ukraine is being increasingly armed by NATO powers.

"Any Russian proposals to discuss with NATO or the US any so-called guarantees that the Alliance would not expand to the East are illegitimate," it added. At the same time, Zelensky's government faces challenges on many fronts. The government's popularity has stagnated amid multiple domestic political challenges, including a recent third wave of COVID-19 infections and a struggling economy.

"We have a wide range of options: economic sanctions, financial sanctions, political restrictions," said Stoltenberg, in a December 1 interview with CNN. High-stakes talks between Russia and NATO in Brussels in mid-January were"not an easy discussion," according to Stoltenberg, who added that"differences will not be easy to bridge." However, NATO allies and Russia"expressed the need to resume dialogue," he said.President Joe Biden told Zelensky earlier this month in a phone call that the US and its allies"will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine.

One Ukrainian official told CNN he was"shocked that the US President Biden would distinguish between incursion and invasion" and suggest that a minor incursion would not trigger sanctions."This gives the green light to Putin to enter Ukraine at his pleasure," the official added. The US delivered roughly $450 million in security assistance to Ukraine in 2021, the Pentagon said, including a package of small arms and ammunition in December. The Biden administration is now weighing new options, including providing more arms to Ukraine to resist a Russian occupation, a senior US official told CNN.

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