Serena Williams pitches a tantrum on the tennis court, Kanye West insults Taylor Swift, and South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson insists he will not apologize again for his angry outburst.

With so many thrilling events in current news, I guess some stories get lost in the shuffle.

Which is too bad, since there are exciting events in other parts of the world.

For starters, it looks like Russia is preparing for war with Ukraine.

About a month ago (almost on the anniversary of the Russian invasion of the nation of Georgia) Russian President Dmitry Medvedev wrote a threatening letter to Viktor Yuschenko – the Ukrainian president who nearly died of poisoning in 2005, when he ran against Russia’s favored candidate.

Among other accusations, the letter alleged that Ukraine has been supplying arms to Georgia and that Ukrainian military personnel fought against Russia during last year’s invasion of Georgia.

In addition to the letter, Medvedev announced that he was simplifying the process of deploying Russian military forces abroad. He further increased tensions by repeating his accusations in a video blog, where he appeared framed by Russian warships.

This past week, Russia and its ally Belarus began joint military exercises, similar to the Russian military action in the Caucasus region that provoked the Georgian war last year. The message to Ukrainians seems to be “Shape up, or else.”

The evidence that Ukraine was involved in the Georgia affair is weak, at best. And even if it is true, so what? Ukraine is a sovereign nation, and it has the right to determine its own course in international affairs.

The real reason Russia is spoiling for a fight has nothing to do with Ukrainian involvement in Georgia and has everything to do with Russian interests in Ukraine.

This past winter, the two countries fought a bitter trade war over natural gas prices (Ukraine controls much of the pipeline network that connects Russian producers with customers in Western Europe).

This year, Ukraine has announced that it wishes to raise the price of rent for Russian naval forces in Sevastopol – a former port of the Soviet Union, and the Russian Empire before it.

Moreover, Russia does not even seem to recognize Ukraine as its own nation.

When the subject came up in a 2008 meeting between then-presidents Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush, Putin announced, “You see, George, Ukraine is not even a state at all!”

So it must be particularly infuriating to Russia to have this upstart not only act independently, but stand up for its own national interests.

In many ways, Ukraine is an easy target. Its economy is broken, its government and other major institutions are widely viewed as corrupt or incompetent, and many of its citizens are jaded and cynical about their country’s prospects.

I also realize that there is not much American interest in Eastern European affairs. Nevertheless, Ukraine has a right to self-government without foreign intervention or intimidation. And left unchecked, Russia’s appetite for aggression will grow, perhaps until we find ourselves facing a renewed Cold War.

We owe it to the world, and to ourselves, to make a clear statement that Russia must respect the rights of its neighbors.

- Daniel Stockton is a senior from Atlanta majoring in political science