176 - Russia's War Against Ukraine | Bruno Maçães | Velina Tchakarova | Velina's Talk

In March and April 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the  Russian military to begin massing thousands of military personnel and  equipment near its border with Ukraine and in Crimea, representing the  largest mobilization since the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014.  This precipitated an international crisis and generated concerns over a  potential invasion. Satellite imagery showed movements of armour,  missiles, and heavy weaponry. The troops were partially removed by June.  The crisis was renewed in October and November 2021, when over 100,000  Russian troops were again massed surrounding Ukraine on three sides by  December.  The ongoing crisis stems from the protracted Russo-Ukrainian War that  began in early 2014. In December 2021, Russia advanced two draft  treaties that contained requests for what it referred to as "security  guarantees", including a legally binding promise that Ukraine would not  join the NATO as well as a reduction in NATO troops and military  hardware stationed in Eastern Europe, and threatened unspecified  military response if those demands were not met in full.   NATO has rejected these requests, and the United States warned Russia of  "swift and severe" economic sanctions should it further invade Ukraine.  Bruno Maçães is a Portuguese politician, consultant and author. He is a  nonresident senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. He is a former  Secretary of State for European Affairs in Portugal. In this livestream,  he will speak on the Russo-Ukraine crisis and more.