In recent times, it has increasingly appeared as if the world is closer to a third major global conflict that at any other time since the height of the cold war. The American President, Joe Biden has done very little to alleviate international tensions. The international climate poses an equal threat to America’s well-being in comparison to the country’s domestic problems. Following Biden’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, Vladimir Putin and Russia invaded the eastern European nation of Ukraine in the winter of 2022. The two nations have been locked in a bloody stalemated conflict since its commencement. While Russia made initially swift gains in territory, a strong resistance from Ukrainian forces caused the country to change its objectives, and the conflict has been concentrated in the eastern portion of the country for over a year.
In an address at a summit in Spain, the leader of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed about fifty leaders of respective European nations. Zelenskyy continued to call for assistance from the EU and claimed that the Ukrainian war effort must be supported by every western nation in the region. Zelenskyy asserted that if Ukraine should falter in the conflict, that Russia would threaten neighboring nations and poses the threat of invasion. Tensions in Europe continue to rise. Recently, the state of Albania made the military decision to turn a Soviet era military base into a hub for NATO operations. The base, now refurbished, is NATO’s first aerial installment in the general western Balkans European region.
As the conflict drags on, rumors surrounding Ukraine and an admittance to NATO remain common. Vladimir Putin has claimed Russia has no interest of attacking NATO nation’s or the west. One group of foreign policy experts advised NATO experts to avoid moving towards the admittance of Ukraine as a member- claiming that once this occurs, Russia will have greater incentives to continue fighting the costly conflict.