What About Ukraine?

US and Russian diplomats have been discussing Ukraine’s future as a state - without Ukraine

• “Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine”, this is what was stated on an official White House fact sheet from January 10th, regarding the (then) pending talks with Russia.
• However, over the past week Western diplomats and their Russian counterparts have been discussing Ukraine’s future and Ukrainian representatives were nowhere to be seen.
• Over several months, Russia has been assembling military forces at the Ukraine border and there are now allegedly over 100,000 troops present there.
• Ukraine is a key piece in the political game being played between Russia and the West. Russia wants to intimidate the EU and US, threatening confrontation, to halt their spread into the East.
• Yet, the Ukrainian perspective tends to be overlooked when it comes to discussing matters of it's own future indepedence and defence capabilities - particularly within media and political spheres.
• Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Kiev’s “powerful” army was “entirely prepared” in the case of an attack.
• Although most Ukrainian’s have been unsurprised by the behaviour of Russia, many are prepared to fight for their fatherland if the time comes. A third of the country has already enlisted to fight.