Another conflict U.S. officials are watching is in Ukraine. It's a nation divided between East and West. On one hand, many Ukrainians want closer ties with the European Union, the West. Their new government sees that as the future of Ukraine. But other Ukrainians, especially in some eastern regions are aligned with Russia. Some have been fighting for independence from Ukraine. Western leaders accuse Russia of supporting these rebels with troops and weapons. Russia's denied that repeatedly. But the U.S. official says as many as a 1,000 Russian troops cross the border into Ukraine Thursday, to fight alongside the rebels. The U.S. is warning Russia of new sanctions, economic penalties if it doesn't pull back. Putin's annexation of Crimea and his support for the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine has raised his popularity with the Russian people. His ratings haven't been so high since he went to war with another former pro-Western neighbor, Georgia, in 2008. For years, Putin has made keeping Ukraine from joining the European Union and NATO, a major strategic goal. But the recent ouster of pro-Russian president, Victor Yanukovych, has really weakened his influence there. One way to stop Ukraine from joining the West is to make it too unstable by keeping this insurgency running.
美国官员关注的另一个冲突发生在乌克兰。乌克兰处于东方和西方的交界处。在一方面，很多乌克兰人都想要和西方的欧盟搞好关系。他们的新政府将其视为乌克兰的未来。但是其他的乌克兰人，尤其是在一些东部地区，都想和俄罗斯结为联盟。有人是为了从乌克兰中独立出来而战斗。西方领导人指责俄罗斯从军队和武器上支持叛乱者。俄罗斯反复否认。但是美国官员说有大约1000名俄罗斯军队在周四穿越了乌克兰边境，去对抗叛乱者。美国正在警告俄罗斯新的制裁，如果不撤回，就会有经济惩罚。普京对于克里米亚的烦恼，以及他对于乌克兰东部的亲俄派，都让他在俄罗斯人民中备受欢迎。他的评价从来没有如此高，高潮是自从2008年以来跟佐治亚开战以来的最高峰。很多年来，普京都组织乌克兰加入欧盟和NATO，这是一个战略性目标。但是最近支持俄罗斯总统的放逐者，Victor Yanukovych，他的影响力大幅下降。防止乌克兰加入西方的办法之一就是使其不稳定，保持叛乱的存在。
