Ukraine War and Implication for Europe

 The war in Ukraine has triggered the fissures in the security framework by exposing their differences. The Russian expansion in the region has increased, after the annexation of Crimea.  Ukraine has the backing of the US and NATO. The European countries have expressed their concern and opposed the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. They have protested through a ban on the import of oil gas from Russia. The focus of the policymakers of European countries has shifted from Russia towards the Gulf Countries for the energy sector. The question is would they able to contain the military escalations in Eastern Europe?

The US has labeled Russia as Madman to oppose the Russian invasion in Ukraine, experts have questioned the US strategy. The tactics of Demonizing Putin and declaring him madman, would it work? They have been unable to prevent the invasion of Ukraine and block the oil and gas import from Russia. The failure of US policies in Afghanistan and the Middle East has earned them criticism from experts of politics. The decision of Russia to invade was unexpected for the US and Europe. The conflict in Ukraine was an attempt to pressure them to lift the sanctions on Russia.

The complex trilateral relations between Russia, Europe, and Eastern Europe have been disrupted after the invasion of Ukraine.  The growing inclination of Eastern European states to distance themselves from the Russian intervention in their internal matters has a basis in opposition to their autocratic practices. The tilt of Eastern European countries towards NATO was to ensure their security or to limit the role of Russian influence at the regional level. The role of NATO is crucial in providing collective security of all of its members from potential threats to disturb the balance of power.

The balance of power is based on the principle of balancing off the power of potential aggressors to prevent the actions that destabilize the stability of countries. The analysts have described the situation of Ukraine as a flashpoint of conflict for power rivalry. The conflict in Ukraine is the result of power rivalry or limiting the role of Russia to disrupt the status quo. The sanctions on Russia are the only reason for their invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine's plans to join the Western security bloc in form of NATO were to retaliate and opposed the Putin policies towards Eastern Europe and their tilt towards NATO.

The Western bloc has gained significance for the countries in Eastern Europe due to Russia’s interventionist policies in the internal policies of Eastern European states. The Eastern European states take refuge in the Western bloc to ensure their security from overriding their power within the regional context. The Eastern European states have had reservations about Russian intentions since the annexation of Crimea. Ukraine has opposed the policies of Russia through the inclination to join NATO and to become part of the Western collective security umbrella.  The war between Russia and Ukraine has raised concerns for the Eastern European states and Baltic states from Russia.