Ukraine-Russia Conflict: Key Details

Ukraine-Russia+Conflict%3A+Key+Details

Milo Bobotas

After weeks of tension, Russia has finally declared war on Ukraine. The world was expecting this for quite some time. President Vladimir Putin has gained quite the reputation of being aggressive and abusive with his power. Not only does this create a massive threat for Ukraine itself, but the surrounding NATO affiliated countries, who have been at odds with Russia for various reasons in the past. Of course, for now the war only has two countries directly involved. However, wars with global superpowers involved can get very dangerous and harm many people because of the use of modern nuclear and chemical warfare.

The reason for this happening can be traced back to the origins of old conflicts re-surfacing. Ukraine used to be a part of the Soviet Union, and they have a long history together. Bottom line to the conflict is that Putin believes that Ukraine should be a part of Russia. The U.S is not stepping at the moment because of agreements with NATO and it would be very dangerous to have the two countries with the largest nuclear arsenals go to war again, and Ukraine is not a member of NATO so the United States does not deem it in compliance with its allies.

Biden’s attempts at talking down Putin were to no avail, right after the Winter Olympics, February 24th 2022, Russian troops spilled through Ukrainian borders with the only objective to seize the country. They began with about 13000 troops posted on the borders, ready for war. They eventually made their way to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and launched air raids into the city, destroying buildings, shelters, and taking lives. It is not even a week into the war and it has caused mass destruction.

So far there have been countless casualties and destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure. As of the 26th of february, roughly 13000 ukrainian soldiers have been killed and many civilians as well. There was the dismantling of navigation signs, signs telling Russian soldiers to go home. Protests against the war in both countries. There has been an uproar in support of Ukraine online, donations and charities for those displaced by war, and a spreading of hope for the war itself to end peacefully and quickly.

There is no distinct way to predict how this war will progress, it seems to be that Ukraine is using their best defense mechanisms they can allow. There are even rumors of a ‘ghost’ who is taking down Russian jets from the sky. There is hope for the Ukrainian people, because they have not lost yet. In the best case scenario, some sort of agreement or plea will be made between the presidents, or Ukraine will outpower Russia. Worst case scenario professionals are worried about is if Putin uses his large nuclear collection to threaten European countries to give him what he wants. Will he actually use the weapons? Most likely not, as it would mean more harm than good even for Russia. They are capable of destroying our very planet, nevermind when other countries become engaged in nuclear battle. Misinformation and hyper-dramatization of a scared world will make it seem like we are about to enter a nuclear war to end us all, but we have not reached that point at this time, and hopefully never will.