Gabrielle Rifkind
As the tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalate, the current Western narrative paints Russia as a Machiavellian power with an expansionist agenda. This perspective has shaped our response, where aggression is met with threats, and threats are countered with more aggression. However, what if we approached the situation from a different angle? What if, instead of escalating the conflict, we tried to understand the motivations behind the aggression? In doing so, could we offer Russian President Vladimir Putin a way out?
In the 1960s, the Cuban Missile Crisis nearly sparked World War III due to the proximity of Soviet missiles to the United States. Fast forward to today, and is Putin perceiving a similar encirclement from NATO? One of his primary demands has been that NATO ceases its expansion toward Russia’s borders, and specifically, that Ukraine not join the alliance. Russia’s argument is that the U.S. made promises to the Soviet Union about a cooperative European security framework, but instead, NATO emerged as a U.S.-dominated security organization, with thousands of U.S. troops stationed in Europe. Naturally, great powers view the presence of rival powers on their borders with suspicion and hostility.
For Putin, the dissolution of the Soviet Union has been a bitter pill to swallow. The 2014 annexation of Crimea and the support for separatist movements in Ukraine’s Donbas region are just the first steps in a long-standing resentment. Russia’s strategic approach today is not about building partnerships or alliances, but about exerting influence and maintaining control over its neighboring regions.
President Putin’s actions show he is prepared to use coercion, misinformation, and even the threat of war to push NATO back from Russia’s borders. The massive troop buildup along Ukraine’s eastern border — now numbering over 130,000 — is a direct challenge to Ukraine’s sovereignty.
The West needs to move beyond escalating tensions. Rather than responding with military threats, we must offer Putin an off-ramp, a “ladder” to climb down from the precipice of conflict. This could involve addressing his security concerns in a way that prevents further destabilization, while also ensuring Ukraine’s sovereignty and the broader security of Europe.
