More than 120,000 Russian troops massed near the Ukrainian border appear to be Russian President Vladimir Putin’s latest effort to contain Western influence on the former Soviet republic. Ukraine, a nation about the size of Texas whose history goes back hundreds of years, was under Soviet rule from 1922 to 1991, and has been seeking closer military and economic ties to the West. Officials from European nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the U.S. fear Russia will advance into Ukraine on a larger scale and start a new stage of the ongoing war, which could ripple beyond the two countries’ borders. American and Russian officials met Jan. 10 to search for a diplomatic solution. The eight-hour meeting, which did not include Ukraine, ended in an impasse over Ukrainian membership in NATO, a Western alliance. Subsequent meetings ended with the same result. Russia wants guarantees that Ukraine and other former Soviet nations will not be allowed to join NATO. It also wants NATO to reduce its presence in eastern Europe. To read more about the ongoing situation in Ukraine, visit the link in our bio. #russia #ukraine #putin #crimea #nato