Margaret Atwood, a Canadian poet, once said, “War is what happens when language fails.” Ukraine and Russia have been at odds since Ukraine left the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991. Part of their conflict stems from The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) involvement in Eastern Europe. When the Berlin Wall fell and East Germany joined NATO in 1955, western officials promised not to move an inch closer east. However, in 1999, Poland joined NATO. This is a problem for Vladimir Putin, Russia’s current president, because he views the NATO expansion as a threat to Russia’s borders. He claims Western officials have broken their promise after Bulgaria and Romania joined in 2004. Ukraine bid to join in 2008, however they were denied due to Russian nuclear threats. There is a lot of history behind why Russia has decided to put over 100,000 troops on the Ukraine Russia border since spring of 2021. As of November 2021, Russia’s foreign ministry published a private diplomatic correspondence with France and Germany. Later that month, movements by Russia on the Ukraine border caused concern to its allies. United States PresidentJoe Biden and Putin have spoken and held meetings between Russian diplomats and NATO but were unsuccessful in resolving the issue. Biden has called this conflict, “the most consequential thing that has happened in the world, in terms of war and peace, since World War II,” if Russia were to invade. Western officials have admitted that it is likely for Russia to invade. Putin claims he has no intention to attack unless Ukraine joins NATO. The overall goal for Russia is for NATO to return to its borders pre 1997. However, NATO’s 30 members have refused to back down. “This is not going to be a war of Ukraine and Russia. This is going to be a European war, a full- fledged war,” Volodomyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine, said.“Because no one is going to give away territories and people any longer.” Predictions say the fall out from a large-scale invasion ofUkraine could leave up to 50,000 civilians killed or injured. An invasion of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, would lead to a humanitarian crisis with five million refugees fleeing to Eastern Europe and a war between Russia and NATO. Ukraine officials, including Zelensky, do not want news coverage over the development of violence with Russia, as it couldcause panic and hurt Ukraine’s economy. It is believed that any day Russia could attack but, for now, this issue is unresolved. To keep up with this ongoing issue, check national and international news stations for more information.