On Feb. 14, the United States announced its plans to move the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine from Kyiv to Lviv. Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine, relatively close to the border of Russia and the border of Belarus. Lviv is a city on the Western end of Ukraine, near the border of Poland. As of right now, the relocation to Lviv is expected to be a temporary solution to the amassing of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border.
This relocation is sudden and puts the Ukraine/Russia conflict into focus once again. Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, released a statement on Feb. 14 about the decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. He pointed to a dramatic increase of Russian forces as reasoning for the move. Blinken also encouraged U.S. citizens in Ukraine to leave the country as soon as possible to ensure their safety.
Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have been present for a while. After Russia’s 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine’s foreign relations focused more on the West. Crimea is a peninsula that borders Ukraine to the south.
In 2015, the first Minsk agreement was signed to reduce some of the tension between Ukraine and Russia resulting from the annexation of Crimea. This agreement called for a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia and included clauses for the withdrawal of weapons from both sides. The second Minsk agreement was formed a year later in 2015 after both countries violated the prior agreement. The second Minsk agreement offered steps that both countries were meant to follow to maintain peace. This agreement was also not successful. Russia and Ukraine remained mired in a conflict that involved both physical attacks as well as cyberattacks.
However, in 2021, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine escalated drastically. Russia placed troops near Ukraine’s southern borders and maintained them despite promising their removal after pressure from Ukraine. The United States became directly involved when President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a call in December of 2021. During this time, Biden emphasized U.S. support for Ukraine’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Shortly after this call, Putin put forth a set of demands which included barring Ukraine from membership in NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Since then, U.S. diplomats have met with those from Russia to try and reach an agreement. On Feb. 2, the U.S. moved 1,000 troops from Germany to Romania and deployed an additional 2,000 troops to Poland and Germany. Both Romania and Poland border Ukraine on the Southern and Western borders, respectively.
The relocation of the U.S. Embassy, combined with the urging of U.S. citizens in Ukraine to leave, could signal an increase or shift in the pre-existing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Two days before the relocation, President Biden, on a call with President Putin, stated that the U.S. is prepared to “impose swift and severe costs on Russia,” should Russia choose to invade Ukraine. The U.S. has made it clear that it still plans to work closely with the Ukrainian government despite the relocation.
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