POTSDAM, New York (WWNY) – A Clarkson University professor says he believes Russia isn’t going to budge when it comes to Ukraine unless some of its demands are met.
Tanks manned by Russian soldiers continue to train along the Russia-Ukraine border as talks stall among the two nations.
Russia says it has no intention on attacking its neighbors, but demands that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, bar membership to Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations.
Ukraine’s president in 2019 signed a constitutional amendment committing to join NATO and the European Union.
Clarkson Professor Alastair Kocho-Williams is an expert on Russian and Soviet history. He says the conflict between the two countries stems back decades and was heightened in 2014.
“Russia attempting to try to gain some stability and some control took the move to annex the Crimean Peninsula in the Black Sea, militarily,” he said.
NATO officials deemed that to be an act of war, ending all civilian and military cooperation with Russia
Kocho-Williams believes the current situation could be diffused if Russia and President Vladimir Putin were able to come back to the bargaining table and rejoin major international groups. These current measures are ways Russia is trying to apply pressure, says Kocho-Williams.
“In some ways one can think about it as this is the same way the mafia work in terms of trying to get people on side; it’s the bargaining chip that if you don’t do something, we may do something worse,” he said.
In response to the current tension, President Joe Biden has ordered 2,000 U.S.-based troops, including 200 soldiers from Fort Drum, to Poland and Germany. The U.S. is also shifting 1,000 more from Germany to Romania, showing America’s commitment to its NATO allies
As for the 200 Fort Drum soldiers about to deploy, we don’t know what unit they are with. It’s information not being given out due to safety concerns.
The Pentagon has also said that these will not be permanent moves, just a measure to bolster U.S. and allied defensive positions.
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