World News

[SERIOUSLY THOUGH*]

So appearently Russia is trying to start world war 3. Also, they said there getting all of there military defenses ready, including nukes (If needed).

Should we worry?

First of all, we should stop reading sensationalist headlines.

Russia is proceeding with the gradual annexation of the Russian-speaking parts of Ukraine. Sucks to say it, but they're playing it very well, just edging bit by bit and backing off when the West gets too angry.

Will this be WW3 ? No. Are they going to nuke the West ? No.
The West isn't doing much because Europe is so dependant on Russian Gas/Oil.
Russia isn't going to risk a full-blown war because there is no way they could possibly win against those who would ally against them. For example, Ukraine isn't part of NATO, but a neutral, far-away country (Portugal, Iceland...) may then unilaterally declare war on Russia in order for that country to then call on NATO under the premise that an attack on one NATO member is an attack on all NATO members.

This is why I say that Russia is playing its cards very well -- it's slowly gnawing away at Ukraine without starting conflict. It's denying all ties to rebel movements and cannot be held accountable unless the West finds tangible proof of their involvement.

Outcomes ?

1 - Russia push too far, Ukraine declares their incursion an invasion and a brief war breaks out. Other countries (with NATO and the OSCE) condemn Russia's actions, but don't act (see the 2008 Georgia crisis).
2 - Russia continue to annex eastern Ukraine bit by bit to 'respect the will of the people in the oblasts that seek to join our federation'.


In any case, the world is very intent on keeping borders as they are, and making sure that nothing changes. And that may be part of the problem. We don't want to create, say, two countries based on ethnic divisions. One pro-European Ukrainian nation, and one pro-Russian state. These past decades, the mot d'ordre has been 'unity, unity, unity'. But at what cost ? So many countries in the world nowadays have ethnic violence because two different people are being forced to co-exist. It's happening a lot in Africa due to artificial colonial borders, and it's happening elsewhere in the world.
The world is scared of major change, and leaders don't want to see their country cut in half. But what if that's the best solution to the current crisis?