Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine, 2022

Early in the morning on Thursday, February 24^th, the historic tension between Russia and Ukraine came to a head when Ukrainian citizens woke to the sound of Russian artillery on Ukrainian soil. Prior to this, alarms had been raised seeing as Russia has steadily been increasing the number of military personnel along the border despite warnings from several other countries, including the U.S.

Vladimir Putin has claimed that Russia seeks to “de-nazify” Ukraine, these comments were made after a series of press interviews in which the Russian president has admitted to wanting to restore Russia to its former glory. In continuing with this narrative, Putin has also claimed several things that amount to a claim that the West has held Russia back and all actions are done with the intent to hurt Russia and its constituents. Putin has laid “all responsibility for possible bloodshed…” on the “conscience of the regime ruling on the territory of Ukraine”, which on an individual level sounds a lot like narcissistic abuse.

With the invasion of Ukraine, Russians were hoping for a blitz maneuver that would lay claim to major cities and the capital, Kyiv, in a matter of hours. Fortunately, they were met with fierce resistance from the Ukrainian military, slowing their plans down considerably. Presently, over a million Ukrainians have fled their homes and sought refuge in Poland, those who have stayed behind have taken up arms and can be marked by a yellow arm band. People who were bakers, businessmen, farmers, parents less than two weeks ago are now armed and standing at the ready to meet Russian soldiers in defense of their homes and families. Included in these militias on the front line is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has not been shy about posting his thoughts and demands as this invasion progresses. Although their efforts are noble, the Russians have claimed a few of their targets and have been making their way toward Kyiv.

It is also worth noting that the war with Ukraine is not a popular sentiment amongst the Russian people, who have been getting arrested for protesting the invasion. It has also been said that anti-war sentiments are being banned as well. In addition to this, there has been footage of Ukrainian militia capturing Russian soldiers and allowing them to call home, where their families never even knew that they had left training. In a recent report by Vice, militia outside of Kyiv have expressed that they have no desire to kill Russian soldiers, who they know are mostly 18-19 year old boys, but there is need to do so to protect their own children. Culturally speaking, this expression holds true considering the amount of mixed Russian and Ukrainian families that are colliding at this time, worrying over one another’s safety as communication, travel, and the digital world have been limited between the countries.

Since the 24^th, Russia has targeted several civilians, non-military zones such as hospitals and schools, and nuclear power plants. At the current moment, casualties are in the thousands on both sides, and it is presumed that Russia is low-balling the number of their own dead and wounded in order to keep up appearances. In terms of other damage, the cost up to approximately $10 billion.

The entire world is holding its breath as history unfolds, no one country wanting to be the aggressor in what very well could be the next world war. Another fear is that the “unprecedented consequences” that Putin threatened should anyone interfere with the seizing of Ukraine means nuclear war, this fear has been legitimized as Putin has put nuclear facilities on high alert. Ukraine, in the meantime, has only asked that other countries watch over their skies to prevent Russian reinforcements and air raids. The rest of the world, however, has responded with the strictest economic sanctions in history, such as the freezing of assets in Russia’s central bank and keeping other businesses and countries from dealings and delaying payment for or ending the oil trade. President Biden, after a meeting with the leaders of other countries who own 50% of the world’s GDP, tweeted: “[W]e are in full agreement: We will limit Russia’s ability to be part of the global economy. We will stunt their ability to finance and grow Russia’s military. We will impair their ability to compete in a high-tech, 21st century economy.”

In response, the Russian stock market has crashed, Russian currency value has hit a record low, leaving China to be Russia’s financial lifeline at this time. The sanctions imposed by the rest of the world, however, have extended toward any countries that support Russia which has made China, their long-standing ally, second guess their commitment.

Feelings in the U.S in response to the invasion have been divided between support for President Biden and his upholding of NATO unity and peace measures and those who claim he is projecting weakness for not standing up to Putin directly. There are more concerns for gas prices continuing to rise than the global crisis at hand.

Updates to come in the future.