The First Crisis in Ukraine

When Russia annexed Crimea and invaded eastern Ukraine in 2014, Foreign Affairs writers offered a range of explanations for the incursion, from NATO’s eastward enlargement and the United States’ and Europe’s growing influence in Kyiv to President Vladimir Putin’s rash response to domestic political pressures or his aim of “reestablishing Russia as a resurrected great power.” They predicted more trouble ahead—including a sharp decline in Russia’s relationship with the West and Moscow’s continued “pursuit of a Eurasian sphere of influence.” All were concerned that the broader conflict would not end with the crisis in Crimea. And on that score, at least, they were correct.