Log onto Facebook, and one of the first posts you will see is of a man with piercing blue eyes and a sewn-on frown accompanied by a witty comment about taking over the world. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been in the news spotlight for the last few weeks due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Doused in propaganda, the situation has only gotten more complicated with each coming moment. Is it truly Putin against the world?

At a panel regarding the crisis in Ukraine earlier this week, it was evident that when a worldwide crisis arises there are multitudes of differentiating views. It became clear that each spokesperson at the panel all had a completely different outlook on the situation. One can be persuaded to agree with the perspective of each person that spoke, whether it was a Russian native, a Ukrainian descendant, a journalist sitting in Kiev during this crisis, or an American student. Ultimately, the panel discussion begs questions like this: is Ukraine truly in need or did the big bad Putin bust into Ukraine uninvited? Was Ukraine in such disarray that this crisis was unavoidable? Was the nationalism in Ukraine already concocting an inevitable catastrophe?

In my opinion, it blatantly looks like Russia bullied Ukraine and is attempting to annex the land they lost during the collapse of the Soviet Union. But that is only an exterior view to this complicated ordeal. While the president of Ukraine was striking a deal with the European Union, Putin swooped in and bailed out Ukraine with $15 billion. While Ukraine is already split by the west being more Ukrainian and the east more Russian, Russia invaded the area known as Crimea. Although there is a divide between cultures via politics and ethnic backgrounds in Ukraine already, the Ukranians were not a fan of former President Viktor Yanukovych, especially due to his new anti-protest laws. These factors rendered Ukraine weak and unprepared and threatened their sovereignty. This made the Russian invasion easier than ever.

While I agree that invading Ukraine was too aggressive, I also think that Ukraine needed someone to intervene. I can see why Russia would invade, and further, how they felt a need to defend the people that still identify with the Russian culture, mainly the people in Crimea. Russia took this initiative, although it may have been due to the Russian initiative to create a Eurasian Union. The lack of national identity within Ukraine also creates a breeding ground for a civil war, which could be possible since Yanukovych is enraged by Putin’s withdrawal of his $15 billion proposal. However, I fear economic backlash could result in the U.S. economy taking a blow due to this complicated ordeal. If the situation is monitored properly by the United Nations and others, I don’t think that this will result in bloodshed, but rather a restructuring of an unorganized and fractured country. But until then, are the Facebook memes true? Will the world be Putin the blame on Russia?