What to know About Russia V. Ukraine!
An unpredictable Russian leader was amassing troops and tanks on a neighbor’s border. There was fear of a bloody East-West conflagration.
Then the cold war turned hot: Vladimir Putin ordered Russian forces to invade Ukraine. The repercussions were immediate, and far-reaching.
In the days ahead of the invasion, even as Russian forces reached an estimated strength of 190,000, and even as the United States warned in increasingly dire tones that a military strike appeared inevitable, Mr. Putin was claiming that he was open to diplomacy, and European leaders were working desperately to persuade the Kremlin to stand down.
Then on Feb. 24, the Russian president, addressing his nation, declared the start of a “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Now, the largest mobilization of forces Europe has seen since 1945 is underway, with Ukrainian soldiers and civilian resistance fighters battling to fend off a Russian assault on multiple fronts.
On Monday, talks began between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Belarus, a close ally of Moscow’s, but more movement took place on the battlefield than at the negotiating table. A 17-mile-long Russian convoy was reported making its way toward the capital, Kyiv. And in a chilling escalation, a barrage of Russian rockets hit a residential neighborhood in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, where at least nine civilians were killed and dozens injured.
Outside observers speculated that Mr. Putin, frustrated by the surprisingly slow advance of his forces — which greatly outmatch Ukraine’s but have faced stiff resistance from Ukrainian soldiers and civilians alike — may have grown impatient and decided to intensify the military barrage. That could signal more civilian casualties ahead, they said.
The number of refugees who have fled the country has topped half a million. And Mr. Putin appears intent on capturing the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and subsuming the country into Russia’s orbit.
Who are the people in power you may ask? lets start with Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin is a former Russian intelligence officer and a politician who has served as president of Russia from 1999 to 2008 and from 2012 to the present. He was also the country’s prime minister in 1999 and from 2008 to 2012.
Why is this man still in power you may ask?
When Vladimir Putin was named president in 1999, Russia constitution limited the president to two consecutive terms. That’s why, after his second term ended in 2008, he served as prime minister before becoming president again in 2012. However, in January 2020 Putin drafted an constitutional amendment that would allow him to remain president for two more terms. It was included in a package of amendments that was approved by the Russian legislature and, in July, by Russian voters in a national referendum.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Next is the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a Ukrainian actor and comedian who was elected president of Ukraine in 2019. Although he was a political novice, Zelenskyy’s anti-curroption platform won him widespread support, and his significant online following translated into a solid electoral base. He won a landslide victory over incumbent Petro Poroshenko in the second round of the 2019 presidential election.
He has been dubbed Servant of the People.
All in All,
This attack was unprovoked and uncalled for. Putin called it a “ Special operation Force “ on the news but little did we know it would start to what it would seem a WWIII” he has now taken over a nuclear base in Ukraine and has been placed it in “High Alert”. The world is waiting to exhale as Ukraine in facing this turmoil. Ukraine may seem as it may be a losing this battle but the underdog in my opinion always wins.
GLORY TO UKRAINE!
