Tsereteli & Carafano: Putin threatens Ukraine – here's the danger and what US, allies should do about it

With unrest in his backyard, Europe preoccupied with COVID and a U.S. president who looks disengaged and distracted, Putin appears to be on the prowl again. This time, in his old hunting ground: Ukraine.  

An unprecedented military build-up on the Ukrainian border suggests Putin plans to use Russian forces in a full-blown military engagement with that already war-torn country. The goal would be to gain significant territories, giving Moscow direct, in-land access to Crimea – the territory he forcefully wrested from Ukraine in 2014.   Ukranian sovereignty and territorial integrity (along with that of Georgia) should be elevated to top-level priorities in U.S. European policy. If this endeavor succeeds, and if costs (both financial, but military) allow, Putin might also set his sights on taking Odessa and everything to the East of river Dnepr.