THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE CRISIS: "THE RED LINES" AS FOUNDATIONS FOR MOSCOW'S ACTIONS

The year 2022 started with the world's eyes turning towards Eastern Europe. The imminent threat of war between Russia and Ukraine carries several layers of actors and interests, encompassing economic, political, strategic, and having the capacity to overflow from the regional to the global scope. Still, it reverberates a clear message from Moscow about protecting its national security: move the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) away from its borders, shielding its territory. This Policy Brief seeks to shed light on Russia's policies and positions in the current crisis, analyzing it from Moscow's understanding of what it characterizes as its strategic surrounding's "red lines". Likewise, it seeks to clarify the atmosphere of "Russophobia" that hovers in the contemporary International System (IS).