U.S. Foreign Policy and the Legacy of the Cold War:

Abstract

Ukraine’s strategic location is a double-edged sword, as it is the link between two superpowers, Russia and the European Union, which is the ally of the United States. Due to its location and abundance of natural resources, Ukraine has been contested between regional powers for centuries that struggled but failed to assimilate the minorities. The independence of Ukraine came as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union and Ukraine has been unexpected nation to the rest of the world in general and to the United States in particular. Following Ukraine’s independence in 1991 from the Soviet Union, the United States established diplomatic ties with it. The Budapest Memorandum committed London, Moscow and Washington to respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, but Russia has violated those commitments and seized Crimea. Since the Ukraine crisis erupted, the United States has provided non- lethal military aid as well as economic and political support to Kyiv. It has also worked with the EU to impose tough sanctions on Russia. This crisis is the Obama administration’s biggest challenge that is the only outlet for the Obama administration to prove the merit of its foreign policy and ensure their global standing. Ukraine is a trump for the Obama administration because it is a form of pressure on Russia, to which the USA wants Ukraine to be a substitute in the Black Sea Region after the successive failures of its foreign policy.