Ukraine Crisis | Various aspects of the Ukraine crisis; What are the goals of Biden and Putin?

The relationship between Ukraine and Ukraine is small for the current geopolitical crisis between Russia and the United States (USA). On the contrary, the current crisis reflects a wide range of issues between the world’s major power centers, Washington DC and Moscow. These issues are centered on what US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin want in relation to northwestern Europe, and more precisely Germany.

To understand the present crisis accurately, one must look back to the past. A few months after President Joe Biden came to power in the White House in 2021, a dispute with Russia over the Ukrainian border erupted and an atmosphere of war ensued. Separatist rebels in the Donbass region of Ukraine have been fighting Ukrainian forces for eight years with Russian support. All these years, pressure from Moscow has prevented Ukraine from launching a major military operation to retake Luhansk and Donetsk from the rebels. The change in 2021 is that Biden has decided to face Vladimir Putin. That added to the crisis.

At the same time, Russia’s military equipment, US diplomatic support, and strong pressure to oppose Putin have kept Ukraine in a state of war, albeit at a distance, in favor of Europe. Subsequently, Putin and Biden held a meeting and things escalated. Later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selensky was isolated.

In 2021, something else happened. About five months ago, Europe began to face a severe energy crisis. Only Russia can solve it, because they were the cause of the energy crisis. Gasprom, owned by the Russian government, has a significant influence on Europe’s energy supply. Gas prices in Europe are soaring as supplies from Russia fall. Putin’s message to Europe is that Russia has a decisive influence on the European continent and will not hesitate to use it as a tactic or punitive measure. But what exactly is Putin’s goal?

What does Putin want?

Putin, who strongly disagrees with the USA, is aware of three key demands. The first is that there should be no NATO military expansion into the eastern regions. It also includes the denial of entry into the US-led military alliance by former Soviet countries such as Georgia and Ukraine. The second is that weapons of attack should not be deployed near Russian borders. The third demand is to restore NATO’s military infrastructure in Europe to its 1997 level.

Even as Russia increased its military presence on the Ukraine border, such a proposed agreement was not feasible for the US. Instead, the United States offered Putin two options – either to negotiate and reach an agreement, or to go to war. The Biden administration has portrayed Russia’s diplomatic and military stance as a plot to invade and overthrow Ukraine.

At the same time, why did Putin prepare for such a drastic move in the first place when such demands were made? First, Russia has locked the hands of Europe with the gas crisis. Russia sees this as an excellent opportunity to persuade Europe to put pressure on the US to accept Putin’s demands. Russia should expect Germany’s new chancellor Olaf Scholes to take a more positive approach. The Social Democratic Party (SPD), the current ruling party in Germany, is known to be soft on Russia. Former SPD chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has joined the board of Russia’s Gazprom and befriended Putin. In addition, Ukraine is unlikely to be welcomed into NATO soon. But in the future, it remains a strong military threat to Russia. Therefore, Putin’s demands are in line with Russia’s long-term goal of subjugating Ukraine.

With these demands, Putin showed that he would have to pay a high price to establish peace with Russia. Europe is directly affected by this. It should be noted that 50 to 75 percent of the gas required for Germany comes from Russia.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, owned by Gazprom, is set to pump 110 billion cubic meters of Russian gas per year to Europe. This is twice the amount of gas currently pumped by Nord Stream 1. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany passes through the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea. This is a massive project that will increase Russia’s influence in Europe’s energy sector, bypassing existing pipelines through the Middle East and Eastern Europe. It is noteworthy that this pipeline goes beyond Ukraine.

The US and Ukraine strongly opposed the pipeline for their own reasons. If this plan is implemented, US influence in Europe will be further weakened. Ukraine will lose its geographical diplomatic value. That is why former US President Donald Trump has previously called for sanctions against companies involved in the pipeline. And put pressure on Germany to abandon the project. But Germany is backing the plan, both under Angela Merkel (formerly German chancellor) and now under Scholes. Biden devised another strategy to resolve matters with Germany. Germany was instrumental in preventing Ukraine from gaining some important geostrategic and geo-economic advantages in the pipeline project. But Biden’s demand is not to take part in the Russian occupation of Ukraine. In order to assess the sincerity of Germany, Biden wants a Russian occupation of Ukraine.

What does Biden want?

For US President Joe Biden, this is a good time to spread the word about war and to spread Russian stories in the American media. Inflation in the country is at an all-time high in the run-up to the 2022 by-elections. The deaths in the country related to the corona virus have significantly affected the president’s acceptance. Not to mention the military retreat in Afghanistan, which shocked even his staunchest followers. Despite these circumstances, Biden was able to counter Putin’s strategy around Europe and put Europe behind the USA. What Biden still has to gain is Putin’s withdrawal and Germany’s decision to cancel the Nordic pipeline.

The question is whether Putin will fall for Biden’s tactics and attack Ukraine. Or will Putin step back and abandon his influence over Europe? Both of these things do not seem to be happening. This crisis is likely to continue.