The Ukrainian War: 4 Big Questions

The Ukrainian War is a true tragedy. Is there a word that can accurately describe what is going on? As it has been all over the headlines from every news source you can imagine,  this tragedy is something that is ruining the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. U.S news sources have been trying to document what is happening, but they are being held hostage and pushed out as Russia takes more control (which I will get deeper into). This has caused a lack of info on the war. I have done some digging, and composed four of the biggest questions to clarify what is truly going on in the Russia-Ukraine war.

1: Who is Actually Winning?

What’s the definition of winning? Statistically, the Russian army is funded 10 times more than the Ukranian army. So it would be near guaranteed that the power of the Russian army would obliterate Ukraine and stroll into the capital, Kyiv. However, Ukraine has held strong, as over a month into the war, the Ukraine still holds control over Kyiv. Is that winning though? Over 4,000,000 people have fled Ukraine, and 14,000 have lost their lives. So for an answer, Russia is doing worse than they expected, but still winning. They are absolutely destroying places in Ukraine, with relentless bombs and air attacks. The power of their army isn’t as powerful as they should be though. Don’t take this the wrong way, they have taken over multiple cities in Ukraine including Luhansk and Donetsk, but Ukrainian counter attacks have held stronger than predicted.

2: Why Is Russia’s Army Performing So Poorly?

Frankly, Putin’s planned invasion wasn’t very great. Their army wasn’t ready for this battle, and add the stronger than expected defenses of Ukraine, and it completely threw off the Russian army. Another aspect of their failure is because of lack of supplies. The economical attacks the U.S has placed on Russia has limited the production of gas and supplies for the army. There are many pictures from the war of Russian tanks being halted on Ukrainian roads, and they look like they are out of gas and unable to continue moving. It’s because they have no fuel to continue, and it halts the army’s push. Furthermore, Russia is failing to maintain control over the air force in Ukraine. Ukrainian defenses have still controlled most of the air, which is a big aspect of the lack of performance. Simply put, Russia was not ready to fight. 

3: What Do Russians Think About The War?

The Russian government has repressive policies on the internet about the Ukrainian War. They are controlling what is going in and out of their social media. Most Russians are not aware of what is truly going on in Ukraine. Putin calls it a “Special Military Operation”. Ukranian Nazis are killing fellow Russian citizens and we need to save them. Putin claims they are only damaging the places where Russians are being killed, as Russian troops invade emblazing a ‘Z’ on its tanks. This seems absurd compared to what is actually going on. It is crucial to understand that Russia controls what is on its social media, and hasn’t let anything get by. Therefore, Russian people have no reason to believe otherwise. However, there are people that are opposing Vladmir Putin, and are openly protesting his actions. How does Mr. Putin responded? He puts them in jail. It is estimated that 15,000 Russians are in jail. So to answer the question,  most Russians are out of the loop on the war, whereas some are openly protesting (then being jailed).

4:  Where Does The U.S Stand? 

As of right now, this conflict is still a fight between Ukraine and Russia alone. However, the U.S is the most powerful outsider, supplying Ukraine with anything they can besides direct military intervention. The reason they can’t cross that line: NATO (The North Atlantic Treaty Organization). In 1949, the U.S, France, Canada, the UK and a bunch of other European countries allied to halt the expansion of Russia post-war. The Soviets then responded with the Warsaw Pact, which included a bunch of communist countries. Obviously the Soviet Union fell, and the Warsaw Pact was destroyed, and most went to NATO. The reason this is so important is because Ukraine isn’t part of NATO. Why? This is because of Russia’s constant opposition. The fear is that with NATO intervention, it could become Russia versus The West, creating World War III. As of now, it is difficult for the U.S to intervene, but we have launched many economic attacks to hurt Russia’s economy. Anything more than that would be bad for NATO. 

In closing, I think it is important that we support Ukraine.  A fellow writer on the Falcon Press wrote an article about donations for Ukraine, I strongly suggest you take a look at that. If you have the means, I encourage you to donate, as every little bit helps.

Works Cited

Beauchamp, Zack. “9 Big Questions about Russia’s War in Ukraine, Answered – Vox.” Vox, Vox, 30 Mar. 2022, https://www.vox.com/22989379/russia-ukraine-war-putin-zelenskyy-us-nato-explainer-questions.

Jenkins, Cameron. “Kyiv Still in Ukrainian Control despite Russian Offensive | The Hill.” The Hill, The Hill, 26 Feb. 2022, https://thehill.com/policy/international/595961-kyiv-still-in-ukrainian-control-despite-russian-offensive/.

News. “How Many Ukrainians Have Fled Their Homes and Where Have They Gone? – BBC News.” BBC News, BBC News, 30 Mar. 2022, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60555472.

—. “How Many Ukrainians Have Fled Their Homes and Where Have They Gone? – BBC News.” BBC News, BBC News, 30 Mar. 2022, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60555472.

Sonne, Paul, and Mary Ilyushina. “Russia’s Firewall: Propaganda Stays in and Western Views Blocked out – The Washington Post.” Washington Post, The Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/17/russia-information-firewall-ukraine-war/.

—. “Russia’s Firewall: Propaganda Stays in and Western Views Blocked out – The Washington Post.” Washington Post, The Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/17/russia-information-firewall-ukraine-war/.