{"id":7547,"date":"2021-05-11T14:49:37","date_gmt":"2021-05-11T11:49:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disinfo.md\/?p=7547"},"modified":"2025-02-12T08:24:47","modified_gmt":"2025-02-12T06:24:47","slug":"putins-posturing-is-a-test-of-western-resolve-the-threat-to-ukraine-is-far-from-over-europe-and-the-u-s-should-give-kyiv-the-support-it-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disinfo.md\/en\/putins-posturing-is-a-test-of-western-resolve-the-threat-to-ukraine-is-far-from-over-europe-and-the-u-s-should-give-kyiv-the-support-it-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"Putin\u2019s Posturing Is a Test of Western Resolve.The threat to Ukraine is far from over. Europe and the U.S. should give Kyiv the support it needs."},"content":{"rendered":"

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken\u2019s visit to Ukraine this week reflects the Biden administration\u2019s concern about the danger of Russian aggression against its western neighbor. Though President Vladimir Putin has temporarily eased tensions by ordering Russian troops to\u00a0pull back<\/a>\u00a0from the border, he remains determined to undermine the Ukrainian government\u2019s control over its own territory. The U.S. and its NATO allies should meet the threat with a coordinated response \u2014 which begins with providing Ukraine with the weapons necessary to defend itself.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In recent weeks, the seven-year-old conflict between Ukrainian troops and Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine\u2019s Donbas region has intensified, with Russia nearly doubling the size of its forces along the Ukrainian border and in Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. Russia\u2019s\u00a0deployment<\/a>\u00a0of more than 100,000 troops to the region \u2014 along with tanks, warplanes, amphibious assault ships and reconnaissance drones \u2014 raised the specter of an offensive against Ukraine, a country of more than 40 million. Ukraine\u2019s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said in an address to the nation that he was \u201cready\u201d for war with Russia, while offering to meet with Putin \u201canywhere\u201d in the conflict zone. After delivering a bellicose\u00a0speech<\/a>\u00a0of his own, Putin announced that troops sent to the border region would retreat to their bases, though it\u2019s unclear when and how quickly they plan to do so.<\/p>\n

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Western leaders should make clear their commitment to Ukraine\u2019s security \u2014 and back up their words with action.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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