2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Demonstrations and protests related to 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine in Montréal CC-BY-SA-4.0Self-published work
March 20, 2022
Over the past two weeks, the world has been talking about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine nonstop. The situation is constantly changing and being obscured by inaccurate information and deliberate propaganda for numerous parties involved. Despite this, the following article seeks to provide an accurate overview of the conflict so far and its impact on the lives of people around the globe.
The Russian action against Ukraine began in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and seized Donbass and Luhansk, Ukraine. Seven years later, in 2021 Russia began increasing military power at the border of Ukraine, with the US accusing Russia and Russia denying a potential invasion[1]. Days before the invasion, Russian president Vladimir Putin began making addresses to the nation accusing Ukraine of committing genocide against Russian speaking Ukrainians, a claim which appears false by all current information[2]. On the 21st of February 2022, Russia officially recognized Donbass and Luhansk as territory of Russia and approved the use of military force against Ukraine.
The Russian government has since declared their military action in Ukraine a “Special Operation” and banned journalists from referring to the conflict as a “war” or “invasion.” [4] Despite how Russia wishes to portray their actions, they have launched numerous offensive measures against Ukraine[5], fighting using infantry troops on the ground along with naval and aerial engagements[6].
The United States along with other NATO nations have provided aid to Ukraine to aid in resisting Russia since 2014[7] and this support has increased since the start of the invasion. While the NATO organization has not supplied any weapons to Ukraine, the US, UK, Germany, and Turkey have all provided Ukraine with military items including missiles, drones, and other weapons. As of March 16, 2022 Whitehouse Press Secretary Jen Psaki has stated that the US will not be providing fighter jets to Ukraine in an effort to prevent escalation of the conflict citing the risk of a third world war should the US begin attacking Russia[8].
The effects of this conflict have been felt far from the front lines and are having an impact on the economies of nations around the world. On the 24 of February, EU leaders imposed economic sanctions on Russia, in an effort to pressure the Russian government into backing down from the conflict[9]. A few days later, the EU, US, and allies agreed to cut off several Russian banks from the SWIFT network, an international banking network which facilitates global trade and banking[10]. The sanctions imposed on Russia were effective at disrupting the Russian economy, with the Russian Ruble seeing a 40% devaluation.[11] These impacts are also being felt at home with gas prices in the US hitting an average of $4.33 per gallon on March 11th, the highest it has been since 2008.
As of March 20th the conflict is ongoing, with attacks from Russia continuing almost daily despite continued protests from the Russian people[13] and universal support for Ukraine from the global community.
Sources:
[1]https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/24/ukraine-russia-denials/
[6]https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/russian-navy-captures-ukraine-s-outpost-on-snake-island
[7]https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN07135/SN07135.pdf
[8]https://nypost.com/2022/03/16/jen-psaki-struggles-to-defend-drones-for-ukraine-but-no-fighter-jets/
[10]https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60542433
[12]https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gas-prices-fall-oil-ukraine-russia/
