The Wire

Ukraine is sitting on the brink of chaos, and Russian and Ukrainian troops are facing off in Crimea. The media has largely framed the situation as a contest over Ukraine’s political allegiances. A question of whether Ukraine should it pivot towards Europe or Russia. But there may be another layer to this conflict. Like many recent struggles, it could all boil down to oil. Russia is one of the world’s largest petrostates, and it supplies around a third of European demand through it’s pipelines in the Ukraine.