This is the question that NATO and observers around the world are asking. Recent events in Ukraine have caused a lot of concern. Earlier this year protests against the then Ukrainian government, to which it responded with violence, ended with President Yanukovitch being overthrown. Many of the protesters had wanted closer ties with the European Union and less dependence on Russia; when the pro-Moscow government was gone Russia moved troops into Crimea, a region that belonged to Russia in the past and that still has a Russian-speaking majority. The official reason given was that they were protecting the Russian speakers there against attacks from anti-Russian forces in Ukraine. A very fast referendum followed (with no option of remaining a full part of Ukraine) which gave a Russia a large majority and they now fully control the region. Whether they will attempt to gain control of other areas with a Russian majority will probably become clear in the next few weeks or months.