The Ukraine crisis is a power struggle between factions within Ukraine. One of the factions wants to align with the European Union and the other with Russia. As one of the founding states of the Soviet Union, Ukraine had been an important contributor to the Soviet Union's economy between 1920–1991.1 In March of 2014, the current crisis erupted when Russian special forces occupied Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, claiming it was protecting its port access to the Black Sea.2 Ukraine had planned to develop Crimea's natural gas reserves in two years in a partnership with U.S. companies.