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After a relatively peaceful couple of months, the early days of 2015 saw another increase in violence in Eastern Ukraine.
Russian forces pushed into the country, upsetting the shaky ceasefire and reigniting the flames of war.
Russia’s westward move toward Ukraine shouldn’t be considered in a vacuum or regarded as an isolated conflict with no broader ramifications. The clear subtext (and even stated reasoning) behind Putin’s aggression is his contempt for NATO and other Western nations.
Russia’s recent history has seen it pushing away its Western allies in favor of stronger alliances in the Middle East and East Asia. Particularly troublesome for NATO states has been Russia’s support for the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria and Iran’s nuclear aspirations.
This trend should have the West on the alert. The British newsmagazine The Economist laid out a scenario that could be the possible culmination of Putin’s plan for Ukraine: “This warmongering is clearly aimed at the West, which is considering new sanctions, including cutting Russia out of the SWIFT banking system, something that could have a devastating impact on the economy.
“Dmitry Medvedev, Mr Putin’s prime minister, has warned that this would trigger unrestricted retaliation-and not just economically. The danger is not that Russia declares war on NATO, but that its recklessness could have unintended consequences” (“Understanding Putin’s Plans,” Jan. 31, 2015).
What could those unintended consequences be? Only time will ultimately tell, but it is interesting that the Bible talks about a time in the future when events to the north and east of the Holy Land will be a sign of great troubles to come (Daniel 11:44). What is immediately clear is that Putin’s Russia will focus on forming stronger alliances with Eastern powers at the expense of its historically troubled relationship with the West. (Source: The Economist. )
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Keywords: Russia, Ukraine Putin Iran
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