World War III (Atlantic Resolve)



NATO Operation: Atlantic Resolve and increasing aggression from the Russian Federation ignites the Third World War III.

February-June 1954
Nikita Khrushchev, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, directed the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet to transfer Crimean Oblast from the Russian Federative Soviet Socialist Republic over to the Ukrainian SSR.

December 1991 - January 1992
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics broke up, with newly independent Ukraine maintaining it's hold on Crimea. The following month, the Supreme Soviet of Russia declared the transfer of Crimea to Ukraine as illegitimate and even went as far as to accuse Khrushchev of treason.

Euromaiden Protests
The Euromaiden was a wave of demonstrations and civil unrest which began on November 21, 2013 when Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych choose to suspend the signing of the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement in favor of maintaining closer ties with the Russian Federation. The movement was initially limited to minor protests until a police crackdown led to a full-scale riot.

Ukrainian Revolution
The increasing unrest eventually led to the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution which ended with the ouster of President Yanukovych from power. Masked Russian soldiers without insignias took over the Supreme Council of Crimea and occupied strategic sites across Crimea. The Russian Federation annexed Crimea a few weeks later. In July 17, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down after flying over separatist airspace in eastern Ukraine. It was alleged that Russian forces or pro-Russian separatists were responsible. In August 2014, Russian intervention in the War in Donbass became more visibly apparent due to numerous border crossings by Russian military forces into eastern Ukraine without permission from the Ukrainian government.

Operation Atlantic Resolve
In response to Russian intervention in the internal affairs of Ukraine, NATO launches Operation Atlantic Resolve. American troops and vehicles are deployed throughout Eastern Europe, most notably the Baltic States.

Russian Snap Drills
On March 16, 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the military to go on full readiness alert in snap drills throughout Russia and the Arctic. This order was given just one day after Putin revealed in a Russian television documentary that he was prepared to order a full nuclear alert in the event of NATO intervention in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea the previous year. The Russian military snap drills including the deployment of bombers and ballistic missiles to Kaliningrad and Crimea.

Latvian Airspace Skirmish
On March 17, 2015, seven Russian military aircraft were intercepted by NATO aircraft over the Baltic Sea. Despite warnings one of the Russian aircraft strayed into Latvian airspace. The intruding aircraft was quickly shot down; the others acted almost immediately and an intense air battle commenced. The battle was swift and ended in a matter of minutes. The Russians lost three fighter aircraft while NATO lost only one. The surviving Russian aircraft disengaged from the skirmish and returned to Kaliningrad where the incident was reported.

Diplomatic and Economic Consequences
Russia is expelled from the G-20 and will not be invited to take part in the upcoming summit in November. This expulsion further isolates the Russian Federation diplomatically and the country is threatened with a possible economic recession. The United States and other NATO countries leveled a new series of trade embargoes and economic sanctions against the Russian Federation.

Heightened Military Patrols
Immediately following the March 2015 Latvian Airspace Skirmish, NORAD had upgraded its alert status to DEFCON 3. NATO aircraft and ships increased their patrols of the Baltic and Black Seas while the U.S. deployed additional troops to Europe. The Russians also stepped up construction of their base in the Arctic as well as increased aerial and submarine patrols throughout the region. Russia's Airborne Troops and Spetsnaz ran additional series of drills. Russian bomber interceptions off the coasts of NATO countries became more frequent then ever.

More Russian and NATO Exercises
Starting on May 4th, NATO commenced Operation Lightning Strike, a four-day military training mission designed to test troop readiness to react to a clandestine military incursion similar to the one the Russians used in Crimea in 2014. When the 2015 Moscow Victory Parade was held on May 9th to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the capitulation of Nazi Germany, the United States and the European Union refused to take part in the parade due to Russian intervention in the Ukraine over the past year as well as the  March 2015 Latvian Airspace Skirmish. On May 26th, NATO launched massive Arctic military drills in the Nordic countries; Russia responded by commencing its own Arctic war games.

Novorossiya War
Tensions increased on June 14th when tens of thousands of Russian troops backed by armored vehicles, gunships, and fighter aircraft invaded Ukraine. The invasion force quickly  linked up with pro-Russian separatists already fighting government troops. While NATO and the EU didn't outright go to war with Russia, additional material support was sent to the Ukrainian government. The Novorossiya War lasted over a month with Russian military forces occupying all of "Novorossiya" which consisted of Ukraine's eastern and southern Oblasts. The fighting ended with Ukraine begrudgingly signing an armistice.

Proxy War in Syria
The Syrian Civil War was slowly transforming into a proxy war between Russia and the West. At the request of the Syrian government, the Russian military began to launch attacks against the Syrian Opposition in September. In response, President Obama ordered additional military assets to be moved into the Persian Gulf and eastern Mediterranean. The U.S. increased support for the Syrian opposition and threatened to shoot down any Syrian aircraft that threatened Free Syrian Army positions which resulted in a harsh rebuke from Russia.

2015 G19 Summit
The G19 (formally G20 prior to Russia's expulsion) held it's tenth annual summit in Antalya, Turkey on November 15-16, 2015. Included in the discussion was the world's biggest political and security crisis including Russian aggression, the Syrian Civil War, and the mass migration of refugees. While political issues seemed priority, economic issues were also discussed to determine how the world economy could adapt to hypothetical economic embargo against Russia. That discussion while seemingly insignificant did lead to the United States, the European Union, Japan, etc. leveling a total economic embargo against the Russian Federation. China, Brazil, India, and South Africa while not actively supporting Russian expansionist activities declined to embargo Russia out of fear that doing so could lead to war. Unfortunately the general mindset throughout the West was that war with Russia could very well be inevitable regardless.