Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is an urgent crisis. Millions of innocent Ukrainian civilians are at threat of being killed by the Russian military. Please visit our Ukraine Impact page to submit donations for Ukrainian refugee children. Or, please directly contact our Sustainability Team.
The War in Ukraine
On Thursday, February 24, 2022, Russia began a full-scale assault on Ukraine by land, sea and air. Explosions were reported in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Many residents, mainly female and children, fled west. The United Nations’ refugee agency said Friday, February 25, 2022, that more than 50,000 civilians had fled Ukraine (Alvarez). On day one, more than 40 Ukrainian soldiers were killed, according to an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Attacking Ukrainian Civilians
Russia has not only attacked Ukrainian army bases, but has also specifically bombed civilian targets, including a maternity hospital. On Thursday, March 10, 2022, Russia bombed Mariupol, a port city in the southeast of Ukraine, killing more than 1,000 Ukrainians, including soldiers and civilians (Rachwani). Additionally, Ukrainian officials announced that a child was killed in another strike on a maternity and children’s hospital in the city of Mariupol. “The whole city remains without electricity, water, food, whatever and people are dying because of dehydration,” Olena Stokoz of Ukraine’s Red Cross told the BBC, adding that her organization would continue trying to organize an evacuation corridor out of Mariupol (“Ukraine war: Three dead as maternity hospital hit by Russian air strike”).
How NATO and Its Citizens are Responding
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military alliance formed in 1949 by twelve countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and France. Today, NATO is comprised of 30 states. Despite ongoing terrors by the Russian government, NATO has not engaged in warfare against Russia as Ukraine is not a member of NATO. United States President Joe Biden has announced, “That’s a world war when Americans and Russia start shooting at one another” (Crilly). Alongside the United States, other NATO countries have also confirmed that if their troops were to confront Russian forces in Ukraine, the result could be an all-out conflict between Russia and the west.
Although NATO is not directly responding to the invasion, many NATO countries have sent military equipment to Ukraine. Additionally, the citizens of many NATO countries have decided to risk their lives to fight for Ukraine. The International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine was created by the Government of Ukraine at the request of President Zelenskyy to fight against the Russian invasion. Approximately 20,000 people from 52 countries have volunteered to fight in Ukraine (Abend). These volunteer fighters come from such countries as the United States, Lithuania, Sweden and the United Kingdom (Mudge). Ukrainian authorities have also been handing out weapons to anyone willing to defend the country alongside releasing prisoners with military experience who want to fight.
Sanctions on Russia
Due to increasing tension, NATO countries have aggressively imposed sanctions on Russia. The United States and the United Kingdom have worked to ban all gas and oil imports alongside freezing assets of Russia’s central bank. Credit card companies, including Visa, Mastercard and American Express have announced they will suspend all operations in Russia in protest at its invasion of Ukraine (“Visa and Mastercard suspend Russian operations”). Swift, a global financial system with over 11,000 banks in over 200 countries that allows for the transfer of money across borders, has also removed seven Russian banks from its network (“An update to our message for the SWIFT Community”).
Sanctions have also been imposed towards individuals, including business leaders and oligarchs close to the Kremlin. The United Kingdom has sanctioned seven Russian billionaires. These sanctions include freezing assets and restricting the ability to travel. The United Kingdom has also imposed sanctions on 386 members of the Russian parliament, in line with action already taken by the European Union and United States (“UK sanctions 386 Russian MPs over Ukraine invasion”). Aside from government sanctions, international companies have also taken action to stop the sale of their products in Russia. Companies, including Prada, Dior, Gucci and McDonalds, have suspended sales in Russia.
Ukraine’s Military vs. Russia’s Military
Ukraine’s population stands at approximately 44 million while Russia’s population stands at approximately 144 million, almost quadrupling Ukraine’s population. Even with the large number of weapons and amount of equipment that Western allies delivered to Ukraine, the more technologically advanced Russian forces still outnumber the Ukrainian military. As of Friday, February 25, 2022, Ukraine passed martial law forbidding men ages 18 to 60 from leaving the country (Simko-Bednarski). Although Russia appears to be much more well equipped with soldiers and machinery, such as tanks, Russia has incurred a greater loss than Ukraine. As of Sunday, March 12, 2022, Zelenskyy reported that around 1,300 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in action while NATO officials estimated that 30,000 to 40,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded (Qena and Anna). Against many obstacles, Ukrainians are holding strong and fighting for their lives and their country.
The Ongoing Invasion
As of Friday, March 25, 2022, Russia has fully invaded from the south, north and east of Ukraine. Recently, Ukraine has begun large scale counter attacks in major regions, specifically around Kyiv and Mykolaiv. However, Russian troops continue to advance towards Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, especially from the northwest and the east. The fight in Mykolaiv is crucial for Ukraine as Russia already controls Mariupol. Ukraine must prevent Russia from fully controlling the outskirts of the country and cutting off its access to the Black Sea.
The Future for Ukraine
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is an urgent crisis as Ukrainian citizens face mass killing and ethnic cleansing. Families are being torn apart as women and children flee for their lives while the men stay back to fight for their country. The invasion has not only taken countless innocent lives but also destroyed the lives of others who survived, including some Russians. The citizens of Russia continue to be kept in the dark by the censored Russian news as other Russian soldiers continue to be lied to by their own President. Russia and Putin must be stopped before a full-fledged nuclear war breaks out and Ukraine ceases to be a country.
HELP UKRAINIAN REFUGEES
Please visit our Ukraine Impact page to submit donations for Ukrainian refugee children. The Ukrainian people are facing the threat of violent extinction at the hands of the Russian military. Innocent Ukrainian civilians, including the elderly and children, need urgent help. For direct questions, please contact our Sustainability Team. Thank you!
References
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