February 24, 2022, is the date that Russia chose to invade Ukraine. The invasion was described as “The biggest attack on a European country since WWII.”. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine had actually started in 2014. Between 2014 and 2022, Russian separatists fought against Ukraine in order to occupy Donbas, despite the negotiation of the Minsk Agreements in 2014 and 2015, which called for a cease-fire, the withdrawal of all foreign armed groups, and constitutional reform recognizing the special status of Donetsk and Luhansk.
The official invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, was announced by Vladimir Putin. In his announcement, he stated that Ukraine was “aggressive” that the Ukrainian government was associated with the Nazi party. He stated that his invasion of Ukraine was an attempt to “demilitarize and denazify” the Ukrainian government. He also stated that Ukraine was a puppet of the West to create tension between Russia and NATO. Not only did he attempt to associate the government with the Nazi party he also attempted to associate them with acts of terrorism in Russia.
The start of the Russian assault was on the capital of Ukraine Kyiv. The Russian military tried to take the capital as quickly as possible, sending in Spetsnaz into the city and airborne operations. Their efforts to take Kyiv ended in total failure. Next, the Russians attempted to seize two key airfields near Kyiv. They launched a full airborne assault on the Antonov airport and Vasylkiv Landing near Vasylkiv airbase on February 26. The United States requested that President of Ukraine President Zelenskyy be moved out of Ukraine to keep him safe from any Russian attempts to kill him. Zelenskyy responded, “The fight is here”.
In early March, on the northern front of Kyiv, Russia’s advances on the west side of Dnipro were greatly stalled by Ukrainian resistance. Russian forces advanced on Kyiv and managed to obtain Bucha, Hostomel, and Vorzel by March 5. With Irpin still being contested by Russia and Ukraine. The Ukrainian forces began a counter-offensive to repel Russian forces. The Russians, being unable to achieve a quick victory in Kyiv start indiscriminate bombing and siege warfare. The Ukrainian counter-offensive retook several towns to the east and west of Kyiv. Russian troops in the Bucha area retreated north at the end of March. Ukraine had regained control of the entirety of Kyiv as well as the three other towns as known as Bucha, Hostomel, and Vorzel. Ukraine has seized evidence of Russian war crimes that had happened in Bucha while the Russians occupied.
On 19 April, The New York Times confirmed that Russia had launched a renewed invasion front referred to as an “eastern assault” across a 480-kilometer (300 mi) front extending from Kharkiv to Donetsk and Luhansk, with simultaneous missile attacks again directed at Kyiv in the north and Lviv in western Ukraine. As of April 30, a NATO official described Russian advances as “uneven” and “minor”. Russian ground forces started to recruit volunteer battalions from the regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
I could go on and on about the Russian advances and battles in Ukraine. However, I want to talk about the environmental impact and the impact the war has had on the people. The war has cost Ukraine over 51 billion dollars in repairs and military equipment. A report by Yale School of the Environment said that over 687,000 tons of petrochemicals were a result of shelling and explosives caused by Ukraine and Russia. Nearly 1600 tons of pollutants have leaked into bodies of water. Many hazardous chemicals have contaminated over 70 acres of soil. More than 30 percent of explosives have littered Ukraine’s land, and due to the chemicals in the soil, it has made agricultural farming impossible in the areas of contaminated soil. More than 2.4 million acres of forest have been damaged.
Both Russian and Ukrainian sources have been said to inflate the casualty numbers for opposing forces and downplay their losses for the sake of morale. However, leaked documents show that the number of Russian casualties has had a great toll on the war, but the military is reluctant to convey the bad news to the chain of command. Both Ukraine and Russia have, in fact, admitted to taking significant casualties and considerable losses. The number of military and civilian casualties has always been impossible to determine precisely. While combat deaths can be inferred from a variety of sources, such as satellite imagery of military action, civilian casualties are much harder to determine. According to the Ukrainian minister of defense and CNN news, the total death count for the Ukrainian army is believed to be in the tens of thousands. But for Russia, the same cannot be said. It is estimated that there have been over 100,000 casualties.
On the topic of foreign assistance, Keil Institute tracked over 155.9 billion dollars/Euros from over 41 countries and European Union institutions in financial, humanitarian, and military aid to Ukraine from 24 January 2022 to 24 February 2023. The United States has given Ukraine the most military assistance out of any other country or organization, with an amount of over 29.3 billion dollars out of the so far 155..9 billion dollars given to Ukraine. Bulgaria, which is a major manufacturer of Soviet weapons, has covertly supplied over 2 billion euros worth of arms and ammunition to Ukraine.
One of the most notable things that has happened since the invasion of Russia is the amount of civilians that have been killed and the amount of war crimes that have been committed. Both Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of using banned chemical warfare. By 23 December 2023, about 78 percent of confirmed civilian casualties had been killed in Ukrainian-controlled territories, whereas only 21 percent of civilian casualties had been in Russian-controlled territories. Ukrainian investigators identified over 600 war crimes on 8 April 2022. The world is furious with the actions of Putin and the Russian government.
