Russia Invades Ukraine—30 Years of European Peace Shattered
posted by Jacqueline Leibman | March 1, 2022 | In NewsAfter months of threats, Russia began their full-blown military invasion of Ukraine early morning on February 24, according to NBC News. Ukrainian citizens were awoken before dawn by the sounds of explosions and shelling in the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa.
Minutes prior, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a televised speech from Moscow, announcing his “special military operation” in Ukraine with the goal of “protecting” the Ukrainian people who “suffer from abuse and genocide from the Kyiv regime.” The “Kyiv regime” being a false claim about the government of Ukraine perpetrating genocide against separatists in the Donbass region.
However, the Ukrainian people are not giving up their country easily.
“Men and women, our defenders! You are brilliantly defending the country from one of the most powerful countries in the world,” stated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an address released by the Ukrainian government on February 25. “The fate of the country depends entirely on our army, on our heroes, our security forces, all our defenders. And on our people, your wisdom and the great support of all friends of our country.”
BBC News has reported that Ukraine has declared martial law, as well as “cut diplomatic ties with Russia, offered weapons to anyone who wants them and declared an overnight curfew for Kyiv.”
Just a day before the invasion, Reuters visited a high school in Kharkiv, where students were “learning about bulletproof vests and explosives as well as practicing evacuation drills and first aid.”
Images of traffic jams on highways in Kyiv as people try to flee the city have been circulating online. Social media posts, #ukrainewar, are showing images reminiscent of WWII, as people are taking shelter in underground subway stations. There have also been reports of long lines at gas stations and ATM machines.
Earlier on February 11, 3,000 U.S. soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Infantry Brigade Combat Team joined 1,700 soldiers of the same unit in Poland. Another 300 soldiers of the 18th Airborne Corps and 1,000 soldiers from the 2nd Stryker Regiment were sent from Germany to Romania in response to Russia’s encroachment on Ukraine.
“Whoever would try to stop us and further create threats to our country, to our people, should know that Russia’s response will be immediate and lead you to such consequences that you have never faced in your history. We are ready for any outcome,” Putin warned in his speech.
After Russia’s invasion, an additional 7,000 troops from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, and 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia, were ordered to deploy to Germany by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III “to reassure NATO allies, deter Russian aggression and to be prepared to support a range of other requirements in the region.”
Photo courtesy of Francisco Anzola.
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