Europe, Power & Security, Russia It’s time to let Russia know once and for all that Ukraine is off limits

Is the United States ready to defend Taiwan against an attack by China? What about Russian attempts to militarily subdue Ukraine? Will Washington limit its response to Moscow to sanctions and other nonmilitary measures? 

When it comes to these geopolitical questions, no one should be ready to make any assumptions — that would add more destabilizing risk to a very delicate diplomatic situation.

For China and Russia, the two situations might not be too dissimilar. For Beijing, getting control over Taiwan would be a belated conclusion of the Chinese Civil War fought between 1927 and 1949. For the Kremlin, getting Ukraine and Belarus would effectively mean going back to the Czarist Greater Russia of the 19th century.

In both cases, neither country has made much of a secret of its intentions. Chinese President Xi Jinping returns repeatedly to his ambition to establish "one China" under the authority of Beijing.

Read more in The Washington Post >>