Russia has been attempting to annex Ukraine since 2014.
On October 26th, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he would be withdrawing the majority of his troops from the Ukrainian border. This move comes as a surprise to many, as Putin has been threatening an invasion of Ukraine for years. The move also comes just days after he claimed that Russian troops had successfully occupied all of Ukraine’s oil fields and gas fields in a “bloodless invasion”. It is unclear whether or not this announcement will mean that Russia will no longer try to annex Ukraine.
What is Russia’s goal in Ukraine?
The main goal of Russia in Ukraine is to annex the country, which it has attempted to do since 2014. The annexation would be part of a larger plan by Putin to create a new country called Novorossiya (New Russia). The region would include all areas that were once part of the Russian Empire, including modern day Moldova and parts of Poland and Romania. If this plan were successful, it would give Russia control over a large portion of Eastern Europe.
Why does Russia want Novorossiya?
The first step towards creating Novorossiya was taking control over Crimea in 2014. After Crimea was annexed by Russia, Putin then began pushing for an invasion into eastern Ukraine so that he could occupy more land and make his plans for Novorossiya more feasible.
