The Ukraine Invasion
The invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces began earlier this year. When reports of the Russian invasion first began to surface I thought this invasion would be quickly handled, boy was I wrong. I did not fully understand the history behind the tensions between Russia and Ukraine but they reportedly date back years and conflicts revolve around the statehood and ruling of Ukraine. I was surprised to learn that Ukraine was not a part of NATO, and that their petition at membership has not been readily accepted. I was disappointed when I saw country after country refuse to send troops, refuse to send advanced weaponry, and refuse to establish no fly zones. Citizens of Ukraine were left to fend for themselves while the World watched. Putin was able to deploy his men and untruthful propaganda while keeping powerful countries like the United States, from stopping the attack on Ukraine. Putin threatened nuclear retaliation in response to any NATO backed country assisting in combat in Ukraine. Putin's threat was taken seriously, because no country sent in troops, they only applied heavy sanctions that affected top political leaders and the Russian economy. The fallout from the Russian invasion can be felt all over the world. In the United States gas prices skyrocketed even though Russian is not our primary source of oil. Russian's invasion of Ukraine is also a humanitarian crisis. It is sad to see how countries like the United States, which has so much power, allow Putin to use his army to destroy innocent lives. I understand that the United States, the EU, China and others would like to avoid another war, however if left unchecked, this war could spiral beyond Ukraine.
https://www.vox.com/22989379/russia-ukraine-war-putin-zelenskyy-us-nato-explainer-questions
While it's easy to be saddened by the lack of real support for Ukraine, it's a very delicate situation and no country wants to be the one responsible for the start of a nuclear war. Wars nowadays are geopolitical and are done through proxy wars not by direct conflict due to the fact that nuclear weapons are in the mix. This is why we have to rely on economic warfare through sanctions and by supplying weapons and ammunition. Unfortunately we have to take Putin's threat at face value as too many lives are on the line. I do agree though that as a result of countries like the US playing it safe, the people of Ukraine continue to suffer and this conflict could spill over into other countries if it is not contained.
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