Russia and Ukraine: What is Happening?
A deep dive into the confusing details.
by ISABELLE BERGSTEIN ★ MARCH 1, 2022
The Russia/Ukraine conflict has taken over the news cycle for the past few weeks and explaining it here allows young people like you and me to fully understand what is happening and why it is so important.
Since we last spoke in my “5 Current Events” column, the Russia/Ukraine situation has turned into a potential third world war. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin stationed 150,000 troops around the perimeter of Ukraine signifying that he would likely invade the country very soon. Shortly after, Putin launched a full-scale invasion into Ukraine consisting of various battles, missile strikes, and bomb threats throughout Kyiv, the capital. As an act to stop this mayhem, President Biden has since issued a number of sanctions on Putin and the rest of the Russian government which will strain them financially in every direction. By cutting off their money and making them financially dependent, Biden is confident that Putin will retract his troops out of Ukraine and put a stop to this madness (one can only hope…).
For as long as I can remember, Putin has not only been enraged by the existence of Ukraine but actively worked to stop their entry into NATO. What is NATO, you ask? NATO is a group of countries that have pledged to be allies to one another no matter the circumstances. If one country is attacked, they are all attacked and must support one another through any conflict. The 12 founding members of NATO are the US, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. Ukraine has been pushing to become a part of NATO but has yet to be successful. Because of this, they do not have as much military backing from other countries, making them seem like less of a threat to the Russian army. Ukraine’s health minister, Viktor Liashko, estimated that although they are unable to give an official number, around two hundred Ukrainians have been mercilessly killed by the Russian army and over a thousand have been wounded.
You may be thinking, why haven’t the people of Russia overthrown Putin yet? Well, it’s not that simple. Although Putin’s official title may be “President,” Russia is far from having a democratic government, similar to that of the United States. In fact, just about a year ago, Putin created a law that extends his presidency until 2036 just because he can. He has transformed Russia into a dictatorship where he makes his own rules and is not checked or balanced by any other governing entities.
In an act of retaliation against Putin, thousands of anti-war protests have begun all over Russia. The Russian people are not happy with their leader and are peacefully protesting to fight his dictator-like ways. The power of protest will be a key factor in this conflict.
Many celebrities have come out and publicly condemned Putin’s actions and shown their support for Ukraine. Giorgio Armani paid tribute to the victims in Ukraine by having his models walk in his most recent show in complete silence to promote uncomfortable conversations about the conflict. Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, the hilariously creative couple that we all know and love, have pledged to match donations of up to one million dollars for Ukrainians looking to flee their country to safety. Popular Russian rapper “Oxxxymicron” has also canceled his new headlining tour in support of Ukraine and in protest of Putin while the Ukrainian record label “Masterskaya” has stopped working with any and all Russian artists. Netflix has also issued a statement saying they will not add any Russian broadcast shows to the streaming service in response to Putin’s actions. Hopefully, this public outcry and the sanctions President Biden has issued will be enough for Putin to stop this massacre.
Resources for aiding Ukraine during this time:
UNICEF: Helping children in Ukraine