While many see Russia's move to admit Crimea as an attempt to recreate a communist "supercountry" similar to the USSR and the Russian government and its pro-Ukrainian counterparts -Russians have committed multiple crimes against humanity, the United States should not intervene in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Severe sanctions risk severing ties with Russia and military intervention could well trigger World War III. This can be seen as an even more democratic imperialism, which the United States has recently tried to avoid. Until 1954, Ukraine was a crucial and highly profitable member of the USSR. Strategically positioned between Russia and the rest of Europe, Ukraine contains many valuable natural gas pipelines. Crimea is an autonomously governed peninsula owned by Ukraine, about two and a half times the size of the island of Hawaii. The number of ethnic Russians is approximately double that of Ukrainians, and the majority feel closer ties to Russia [1]. Anti-government protests turned violent, and in late February the Ukrainian government fired on protesters, killing dozens and wounding hundreds [2]. Crimean leaders declared on March 6 that they intend to join Russia and plan a vote on March 16 [3]. Vladimir Putin is the president-elect of the Russian Federation. The former KGB member is known to some as a torturer, a tyrant and a murderer and is known to have plans to recreate the Soviet Union. While claiming that letting Crimea become part of Russia means giving in to Putin's communist ideals, Crimea is largely Russian and is not strategically important to the European Union's goals. Yanukovych's (former Prime Minister of Ukraine) security forces shot and killed dozens of protesters. He was ousted... half of the document.../crimea-11000-pro-russian-troops-control-22794669>.[2] Tessitore, Matteo. "Ukraine crisis". The Guardian. Np, February 20, 2014. Web. March 7, 2014. .[3] Carbonnel, Alissa, and Luke Baker. “Crimea Votes to Join Russia, Obama Orders Sanctions.” Reuters. Thomson Reuters, March 6, 2014. Web. March 6, 2014. .[4] “A Quick Guide: What's Happening in Ukraine.” The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, February 23, 2014. Web. March 13, 2014. Gordon, Michael. “Crimea approves secession vote as tensions rise.” The New York Times. The New York Times, March 6, 2014. Web. March 13. 2014. .