Feb. 24, the world was thrown into a blender crafted out of fear and confusion. Some expected the tragedy, others unfortunately, did not see it coming. News spread throughout the world “Russia has invaded Ukraine!”. Back and forth for weeks the world argued whether this was true or whether that had evidence, so, may the people get what they want and the people want the truth. So here are the Top 10 facts you NEED to know about the Russian-Ukrainian war. 

1. Ukraine is NOT a part of NATO

Besides the couple times Ukraine has applied to be part of the organization, each time they have been denied a part. Only because of situations like this. In case Russia were to attack Ukraine, many social media posts resort to putting NATO under fire for not protecting Ukraine, but NATOs power is extremely limited due to their circumstances in this conflict. 

     2. This was a Premeditated Invasion 

Russia had long since been planning to invade Ukraine. Their conflict started in early 2014, but only now did it come to the world’s eyes and gain center stage in media coverage. Russia invaded Crimea earlier 2014 yet the media did not have much coverage on it so many countries were left in the dark about that dispute. 

       3. Putins a smart guy

Putin may be looked at as the world’s most inarticulate president because of current situations but when we take a step back we can realize Putin is actually an intelligent person. Putin was not only head of Russia’s KSB but also served as Prime Minister of Russia from 2000-2008. 

      4. Russia’s Many  War Crime Claims

In the article ‘Ukrainian officials say Russia has bombed a school with 400 people sheltering inside’ we can agree Russia has bombed hospitals, education centers like schools, and also used cluster bombs which are illegal to use especially in civilized areas. Russia denied using these cluster bombs intially when confronted. Yet, with further research, and video evidence, Russia was unable to back out on the claim. Still they would ultimately continue to not take responsibility. 

       5. Discrimination against people of color

It’s true that discrimination still exists today and even on a much larger scale than we thought. In late February, during the start of the conflict (or at least when it was recognized), people of color who fled to Moldavia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia were turned down and kicked out of buses and refugee centers because of their ethnicity. Ukraine’s Refugees of Color Are Facing Racism, Violence

      6. Ukraine is definitely not a Nazi run Country 

While President Putin has consistently declared that Ukraine has started a nazification of their country there is much evidence that conflicts that claim. For example, President Zelensky of Ukraine is actually jewish, and his grandparents lost their lives in the holocaust. Putin believes that Zelensky is mass murdering russian people in Ukraine. So Putin started creating a sort of genocidal view of them.

     7. The control of Russian Media

While Russians do have access to certain social media sites and are mainly known as a democratic country, their media outlets are still extremely controlled and free speech (or any rights for that matter) arent really taken into consideration. Citizens of Russia do not really know what is truly going on outside of their own country.

    8. The Economic Crash

Throughout these past couple of months since the invasion in Ukraine, Russia’s economy has been in a drastic state of decline. Citizens of Russia began losing major companies, seeing financial restrictions, and even obtaining restricted food transportation. Even though Russia was not expecting this reaction they forgot people start to catch on when their apple pay isn’t working or they can no longer get that 5 am McFlurry because all McDonalds are shut down. 

    9. Nuclear Threats… From two countries

While the response from Nato to the war has been strict on the consequences for Russia, Putin has made it clear he and his military refuse to back down. In early March this year Putin made a statement to his people that he would not hesitate to put America or any others back in their place. This poses as a concern in our assistance to Ukraine because our efforts have become very limited in fear of going to war, and possibly escalating to the peak of WW3.

    10. Fear of borders being crossed

For the past couple weeks the battle between these countries has spread to the borders, on the verge of spilling over to neighboring countries like Poland. The Ukrainian fight has been a push for the citizens and while they may be winning the fight they are lacking the full support needed even with millions of dollars of aid from the US. 

Even with the consistent reports flooding the news we will never fully know the true story. And it’s our mission as journalists to relay the events of the modern world. Throughout this unfortunate circumstance we can all stick together and support Ukraine as each day moves forward and they continue their fight for independence. Stay educated and stay safe Buena!