Dr Trevor McCrisken comments on Ukraine
Dr Trevor McCrisken, Reader in US Foreign Policy in the Department of Politics and International Studies, said:
"Now that Russia has launched a military attack upon targets in Ukraine, the US and its allies will impose the 'devastating' economic sanctions on Moscow they have been threatening. They will also authorise a significant increase in the NATO military presence in Eastern European member states that border Russia and Ukraine, the opposite of what President Putin has been demanding. Military aid to Ukraine will also be increased but depending upon the rapidity of the Russian offensive that may come too late.
"The US, UK and their NATO allies have made clear, however, that they will not be committing any forces directly to defend Ukraine and fight against Russian forces. A full Russian invasion does run the risk of spilling over into a NATO member that could trigger the alliance's Article 5 collective defence clause. But there are distinct limits to the action that President Biden and other western leaders are willing to take currently because they do not want to fuel the significant risks of an escalatory war that would bring the US and its NATO allies into direct military confrontation with Russia."
24 February 2022
Broadcast commentary from Dr McCrisken can be accessed on our YouTube channel here:
- LBC News, 23 Feb: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl7xDdDy_eo1D2r3tylkVPA
- BBC CWR, 22 Feb: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qas4laq2lA&t=9s