NOTE: Before answering the following questions, read the “Background” and watch the videos under “Resources” below.

1. List the who, what, where and when of the news item.

2. What action did the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell say the EU will take to address Russia’s massive buildup of troops on Ukraine’s border, and for human rights violations against Putin opponent Alexi Navalny?

3. Why does Mr. Borrell say the massing of Russian troops on Ukraine’s border is extremely dangerous?

4. What have diplomats of the EU said they won’t do? What will they do?

5. What is your reaction to the EU’s diplomatic efforts to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine?

6. From paragraph 8: More than 14,000 people have died in seven years of fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine that erupted after Russia’s 2014 annexation [military take over] of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. The EU has steadfastly opposed the annexation but has been unable to do anything about it.

No one country needs to “go it alone” or send troops against Russia, but there is great economic power in numbers. What effect do you think could be achieved if the 27 countries of the EU, (and even if NATO and the UN) agreed to sanction Russia?
Explain your answer.