Russian and Ukraine Conflict: Russian and US envoys have clashed at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), as tensions between Russia and Ukraine continue to rise.
Currently, Russia has around 100000 troops, along with tanka, missiles, and artillery stationed at the eastern borders of Ukraine.
The world is anxiously waiting to see whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will invade or not, with both the UK and US warning Russia will face severe sanctions if it launches an attack.
US President Joe Biden has warned that if Russia invades Ukraine it would be the largest invasion since world war two and would change the world.
Why conflict between Russia and Ukraine?
The source of conflict comes from Ukraine’s separation from the Soviet Union and ties with the Western countries.
Ukraine wants to join NATO countries, but President Putin sees this as a direct threat to Russia’s power in the East.
Ukraine was part of the Russian empire for centuries and was also a part of the USSR. It became independent when the Soviet Union dissolved after the Cold war in 1991.
Russia President Putin is keen to regain control of the country’s former territories. His favoured candidate Viktor Yanukovych was initially declared the winner in the 2004 Ukrainian election but the result was nullified amid reports of widespread fraud and voter intimidation and after widespread protests.
Mr Yanukovych did manage to retain power in the year 2010 but was ousted again in 2014 amid huge protests after he rejected an association agreement with the EU in favour of bolstering relations with Moscow.
Russia responded by seizing and annexing the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. More than 14000 people have died in the fighting in the Donbas region and at least two million people have been forced to leave their houses.
A 2015 peace agreement brokered by France and Germany helped to end large scale battles but the efforts to reach a political settlement have failed.
Russia has accused Ukraine of failing to honour a 2015 ceasefire deal and Ukraine accuses Russia and the separatists of breaking the deal and continuing to attack.