BLACKSBURG, Va. (WFXR) – On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, a war that Dr. Gerard Toal, a professor of government and international affairs at Virginia Tech, said was a long time coming.
The Biden administration fueling the conflict as they have authorized Ukraine to use powerful long-range American missiles inside Russia, in response to the deployment of North Korean troops in. Dr. Toal calls this a “provocative move” by the Biden administration.
“From Russia’s perspective, what you have are missiles from an enemy country, the United States, guided by enemy satellites over Russia to target in Russia,” said Toal, “Putin has said that this means the United States and its allies are at war with Russia. So that has to give anyone pause, anyone who is a responsible leader in in the west, has to give them pause as to what Russia will do to retaliate.”
Dr. Toal said Russians and Ukrainians were eyeing the presidential elections for one main reason: the differing support from each side. He says the Biden/Harris administration was invested in a Ukrainian victory, meaning Ukraine would regain all territory Russia took. However, the Trump administration wants an end to the war, meaning in effect, Russia would keep those territories.
He believes the trump administration’s solution is appealing, but it would be a “negative peace,” and in the long term, Ukraine would not accept that about 20% of its land had been taken by Russia.
Dr. Toal also said this conflict will be felt for generations in Eastern Europe with the amount of land and lives lost, and he hopes negotiations some begin soon.