Update on the War Between Ukraine and Russia
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a large-scale invasion of its neighboring country, Ukraine. At that time, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent approximately 200,000 soldiers into Ukraine. Russia sought to capture the capital city of Kyiv and overthrow the Ukrainian government in a matter of days. Initially, it looked like this would happen. Russia captured large amounts of Ukrainian territory very quickly at the start of the war. But Russian troops did not capture Kyiv, and since then the Russian military has been forced to retreat in several places. Ukraine’s military reclaimed the majority of the territory that was originally taken by Russia. Nearly ten months later, the war in Ukraine continues. Here, btw gives an update on what is happening in Ukraine now.
The War’s Recent Events
In September 2022, as the Russian military continued to lose territory to Ukrainian forces, Putin put out a call for 300,000 more Russian troops to join the invasion. Some Russian people began fleeing to avoid the draft, refusing to fight. In the wake of this setback, Russian forces retreated from Kherson, a port city on the Dnipro River near the Black Sea. President Putin appointed a new commander, Sergei Surovikin, and switched goals. Since October 2022, Russia has launched airstrikes on civilian infrastructure to break Ukrainian morale. These strikes have damaged almost forty percent of Ukraine’s power systems. Russia has its strongest control of territory along the eastern border between Ukraine and Russia and Ukraine’s southern border along the Black Sea.
Where Things Stand Today
Russia has continued to target Ukrainian power sources, knocking out electricity and water. This is a big problem for Ukrainian civilians as winter temperatures dip below freezing. However, Ukraine’s air force shot down more than sixty of the seventy Russian missiles fired during airstrikes the first week of December. This lessened further damage to the nation’s power systems. Ukrainian energy workers have already begun working to restore power to damaged areas.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world continues to take steps to curb Russian aggression. On December 5, 2022, the European Union (EU) placed an embargo on all overseas imports of Russian oil. At the same time, the EU, the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom, imposed a $60 price cap on the oil Russia is selling to other parts of the world. The goal of the embargo and the price cap is to weaken Russia’s economy. so that it won’t be able to continue funding the Ukrainian invasion. The reason for the price cap is to try to limit the rise in oil prices. Russia is the world’s largest oil exporter, so cutting off Russian oil entirely would be devastating for the economies of other nations. This price cap method has never been tried before, and some experts say that it might be difficult to enforce. Putin has announced that Russia will not sell oil to any country participating in the price cap.
Ukrainian President Zelensky Recognized
Here in the United States, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been recognized as TIME Magazine’s 2022 Person of the Year. One of the major goals of the Russian invasion was to capture or kill Zelensky in order to overthrow his government. But rather than flee, President Zelensky stayed to lead his country under extremely difficult conditions. Zelensky travels through Ukraine by train since air traffic has been limited to the military only. He meets with his advisers in hidden bomb-proof bunkers. He has also limited his international travel. He has gone online to attend world summits and meetings with other world leaders virtually. Zelensky was elected president in April 2019and doesn’t have a military background. His former career was as an actor, comedian, and movie producer. But his courage under fire has inspired many in Ukraine, as well as the rest of the world.