Russia, Ukraine tension

Russia and Ukraine are at loggerheads even as Russian President Vladimir Putin has been threatening to invade the country to which the western powers, particularly, the United States have reacted sharply. However, there does not seem to be anything stopping Kremlin from acting as over 1 lakh Russian troops have already been moved to Belarus bordering Ukraine.
Things are messy between the two countries, while the Russian President has preferred to remain adamant because of the relaxations, lack-of-will-to-act shown by the western powers from time to time, despite violations committed by Kremlin.
The reality is that Russia does not consider Ukraine as an independent country; rather it usually refers to the country as its ‘Sphere of Influence’.
After the toppling of the pro-Russia Government in Ukraine way before 2019, the matters became more clear and fathomable. While things used to be different earlier, there now is a majority in Ukraine which has a leaning towards Western Europe while a nominal percentage inclines Russia.
As of now, Ukraine is trying hard to acquire the membership of the European Union while it is also aspiring to become a member of NATO—something that does not go well with Russia which has now put forth several demands before the US before it could call its troops back from Belarus and that includes a ban on Ukraine from entering NATO as well as the removal of NATO troops from Eastern Europe.
Russia has been adamant and has already annexed part of Ukraine known as Crimea, however, the western world has not been able to act sternly and limited itself to the so-called hallow sanctions and restrictions. The ground reality, on the other hand, remained unchanged and Russia was emboldened to launch a full-fledged invasion of a country that came to being after the fall of the Soviet Union 30 years ago.
While US President Joe Biden already cautioned Vladimir Putin that he “will regret having done it,” after building tension between Russia and Ukraine, what follows next needs to be seen keenly.