The Hill: The war in Ukraine is fueled by Russian natural gas

As the frigid winter air begins to descend upon Ukraine, it is accompanied this year by a different chill from the north, as Russian President Vladimir Putin last week sent additional columns of tanks, artillery and combat troops into sovereign Ukrainian territory, thus doubling down on his invasion of the largest nation in Europe, with recent reports indicating that Russia is eyeing further advances into yet another eastern Ukrainian city, the port city of Mariupol.

The move of forces into Ukraine, the largest-scale move in many months, came within hours of Russian warships approaching Australia’s borders, of Russia threatening reconnaissance flights over North American waters and, importantly, of the beginning of the Group of 20 summit that concluded Sunday. It seems Putin relishes his role as the defiant ruffian in a room of flustered schoolmarms, seizing the opportunity to look world leaders in the eye even as he brazenly defies every strongly worded letter and breathless admonition they can muster.

Fittingly, this month also marks the anniversary of the beginning of the protests on Kiev’s Maidan, protests that ultimately led to the Ukrainian people’s overthrow of Russian-controlled President Viktor Yanukovych.
MORE