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US Secretary of State John Kerry is in London today meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov to try to diffuse the on-going internal crisis in the Ukraine and, more importantly, Russia’s occupation of the Crimean peninsula. Crimeans are preparing for a referendum this Sunday on whether to formally become a part of Russia. The game of brinksmanship between the two major powers could escalate as the US joins the EU in considering sanctions against Russia, even as Russian forces are conducting military exercises near Ukraine’s border.

But what is at the heart of this conflict? Is Ukraine a proxy for a larger conflict between the US and Russia? After all, it has only been a few months since another clash between the two over Syria, was barely thwarted.

GUEST: Robert Freeman, is an historian and author of The Best One-Hour History series, which includes books on World War I, The Vietnam War, and other topics. He just wrote an analysis of the Ukraine stand-off entitled “Ukraine is About Oil. So Was World War I.”

Click here to read Robert Freeman’s article and click here to find his history series.