Ukraine invaded by Russia

In the early hours of February 24th, 2022 The Russian military led by President Vladimir Putin, launched the unprovoked invasion of the country of Ukraine. They entered through the annexed Crimea, a small area south of Ukraine, They also entered through the Ukrainian Russian border, as well as Belarus, the country that borders Ukraine from the north. Missiles, artillery shellings, and invasions of cities have been taking place since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Vladimir Putin came to power on May 7th, 2000. Putin has always had a tight hold on the country, even in 2008 when Dmitry Medvedev won the Russian presidential election. Vladimir Putin was chosen as the active prime minister during Medvedev’s presidency. Putin was later re-elected as president in the 2012 Russian presidential election and has since served as president. The invasion was carried out by Putin’s command to stop the Ukrainian government from entering the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The Russian government has launched smaller invasions on towns and cities. Notably, Kyiv (also spelled Kiev), which is the capital of Ukraine. Heavy combat has been reported in Kharkiv which is the second-largest city after Kyiv. The city of Sumy has also been engulfed in artillery, airstrikes, and heavy fighting between combatants.

This deep-rooted tension turned war began in 2014 when the Ukrainian president of the time, Pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych was removed from office. This caused unrest among pro-Russians and led to the Russian annexation of Crimea, and established a high military presence in the southernmost portion of Ukraine. Russian separatists also occupied Donbas, a region in eastern Ukraine. To this day the Russian-backed occupation of Donbas, as well as the annexation of Crimea cause high tension between Russia and Ukraine. Both of these locations also played a key role in the invasion of Ukraine.

In a time when everyone has a camera in their pocket, the conflict is being filmed more than any other event in war history, Making it one of the most documented conflicts to date. The cause and effect of war are being broadcasted in its entirety. Shelled hospitals and daycares, airstrikes on residential areas and cities. Death on the streets. No war has been documented this extensively. New horrific clips come out every day that the war in Ukraine drags on. The invasion of Ukraine has resulted in heavy criticism of Vladimir Putin. Protests in almost every major Russian city including Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Chelyabinsk just to name a few. The act of war caused heavy sanctions to be placed on Russia, with emphasis on the economic sanctions. The United States banned all transactions with the central Russian banking system, banned hundreds of Russian companies from operating outside of their borders, cut funding to Russia, and many countries within NATO have cut all diplomatic ties with Russia. Since the invasion ensued and the sanctions have been imposed, The Russian economy has been facing a high inflation rate. The Russian ruble’s value has dropped from 0.012 rubles to 0.0092 rubles compared to one USD (United States dollar). After one week of the invasion, Ukrainian forces, have stopped Russia in its tracks with heavy resistance. Photo and video from the capital of Kyiv show the military handing out 18,000 assault rifles and ammunition to locals in order to defend their land. Civilian militias have played a big part in the slowing down of the invasion, but the war rages on. As of Wednesday march 2nd of 2022, the city of Kherson became the first major Ukrainian city to fall to Russian forces. This means Russia has currently captured the city.