Russian Invasion of Ukraine

On February 24th, Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled to bordering countries. Hundreds of both Ukranians and Russians have been killed, and cities have been ravaged. 

Before the invasion began, and when tensions were at an all time high, U.S Secretary Antony Blinken stated in an interview to MSNBC, “There’s what Russia says. And then there’s what Russia does. And we haven’t seen any pullback of its forces, we continue to see critical units moving toward the border, not away from the border.”

That was also when emergency security briefings, and meetings were taking place. Then, the full force invasion took place amidst a UN Security Council meeting. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced “special military operations.” Shortly after, rounds of missiles and artillery strikes took place in major cities of Ukraine.  

According to Politico.com, “Russia has now pushed more than half of the 150,000-plus troops it had arrayed around Ukraine into the country, three days after an initial invasion that has met stiff, determined resistance and run into logistics and coordination problems.”

Satellite images and multiple analysis claim that Ukraine is holding up a lot better than expected. However it is reported by the Ukrainian emergency service that over 2,000 civilians have perished. There are also mile long Russian convoys of military vehicles on key Ukrainian roads. Russia also has complete air control over Ukraine, making it harder for Ukraine to target those convoys.

As of now, heavy shelling is striking the major cities in Ukraine, and Russian forces are drawing closer to Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.  More meetings between the Ukraine and Russia will take place throughout March as the battles continue.