Moscow has long invoked what it says is its obligation to protect ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine. The uptick in hostilities came as the United States and Russia traded conflicting claims about whether Russian forces were really pulling back from the Ukrainian border, as Moscow has insisted. But Russia repeated its threat of unspecified “military-technical measures” if the United States did not accede to its demands for sweeping changes to security arrangements in Eastern Europe. And it says that even the distant prospect of Ukraine joining NATO represents an existential threat. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine made it clear once again that NATO membership is key to his country’s long-term security.

Source: New York Times February 18, 2022 05:46 UTC