The Conflict in Ukraine: The First Serious Confrontation between Russia and the West in the Post-Cold War Age

Abstract

Ukraine has become an unstable region plagued by conflict and nationalist resentment, initially encouraged from outside its borders In October 2013, Ukraine became a priority for Russian foreign policy and the basis for a serious diplomatic, commercial and economic confrontation with the United States and Europe. It is highly likely that as a result of its strategy in Ukraine, the West will achieve precisely the opposite of what it intended with regard to Russia: a strengthening of the latter’s leadership on the regional and global stage; a new escalation of military rearmament, especially in strategic aviation and aerospace defense; and that Russian nationalism will acquire more weight and influence at a national and regional level.