OP-ED

The Hill: Taiwan’s fate may be decided in Ukraine

By The Hill.

Published June 5, 2021 at 5:38 am

People are reflected in a puddle as they walk on Kyiv’s Independence Square on June 5, 2021. This already topsy-turvy summer of unusually cool and wet weather so far promises to bring some other jarring events for Ukraine. The nation will be on the outside looking in as G7 members, NATO members and U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet later in June. Meanwhile, Ukraine is drumming up political support for its August Crimean Platform in hopes of regaining control of the peninsula stolen by Russia in 2014. And, come Aug. 24, 2021, Ukraine will see who shows up for its 30th Independence Day festivities.

Photo by Oleg Petrasiuk

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently surged nearly 100,000 troops, along with significant numbers of aircraft and equipment, to his country’s common border with Ukraine. His message was clear: the continued existence of a vibrant, democratic, and independent Ukraine will always be threatened by Moscow’s whims.