UPDATE 2/25/2022 write-through
Professor Terry Clark, a Russia expert and political scientist at Creighton University, spoke with 3 News Now on Thursday afternoon about the escalating conflict in Ukraine. He said that there are several outcomes the Russians may have in mind by invading Ukraine.
One option, says Clark, is that the Russians would divide Ukraine between the pro-Russian east and the pro-European west. That option would leave a smaller, NATO-friendly country in the western regions of the country where there is a strong Ukrainian national identity.
He thinks it's more likely that Russia will install a government in Kiev that aligns with Russian interests.
“They’re going to seize the capital of Kiev. They’re going to install a government that they want. They’re going to back it with Russian military forces and they’re going to reconstruct the Ukrainian military and intelligence services so they are pro-Russian. And then they are going to, you know, not really formally integrate it, but they will have cowed it and they will make sure that Ukraine is a pro-Russian state,” said Clark.
He also believes that the United States has misunderstood the Russia-Ukraine relationship and the intertwined history of the two countries for at least the last three decades.
Clark is more concerned about the effect this will have on the U.S. relationship with China. He says that China views Taiwan much the same way that Russia views Ukraine — as a natural part of its nation. The Chinese, he says, are watching the situation in Ukraine and the response by the United States and its NATO partners.
“The reality is that we just don’t have any interests in Ukraine, but we have very great interests in Taiwan. Taiwan is the global leader in microchip integration, development and production. If we lose Taiwan to the Chinese, then the effect on us going forward in the future is that we will likely lose our dominant position in technology.”
SEE MORE FROM PROF. CLARK: Ukraine invasion is personal for those in Omaha area with close ties to the country
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